Jump to content

Menu

Please help if you are used to cooking for large crowds. (150 people)


Recommended Posts

Somehow dh and I were talked into making meatballs and sauce for 150 people. :willy_nilly::willy_nilly::svengo: We are not sure how many meatballs to make. Also, we don't know what the heck to store it in. It has to be made and then frozen; we are making it this weekend for the following weekend. If this is something that you do, please share your wisdom! I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Were you given a meatball count needed? Is this a main dish, like meatballs and potatoes or meatballs and pasta or is it meatball subs? Are you planning to have the meatballs in the sauce or separately?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the main course, being served with pasta, salad, and bread. I don't know how they plan on serving it, as we won't be able to attend this event. We are going to store the meatballs and sauce together, as we would if we were making it for ourselves. There will also be some sausage, because it doesn't taste the same if we leave the sausage out, but there won't be a large amount. They will probably serve that separately. We are responsible for only the meatballs and sauce, and the regular cooking crew at our uncle's church will be heating it and serving it up however they usually handle these things. He is the new pastor there, and isn't sure how they handle things yet.:001_smile:

 

 

 

 

Were you given a meatball count needed? Is this a main dish, like meatballs and potatoes or meatballs and pasta or is it meatball subs? Are you planning to have the meatballs in the sauce or separately?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends on the size of the meatball. 1 oz meat balls= 4 per serving. Larger ones, 2-3 per serving, depending on what it is.

 

I've made meatball subs for 150 and I used the larger meatballs. Each 6" sub had 3 meatballs on it. When I've made meatball soup, I figure 4 small ones per serving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

600 meatballs?! :svengo:

 

I don't have experience with something this large. But if you go to a party store they have those huge aluminum disposable trays with plastic tops. Maybe you could store them in that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does the church have a commercial oven you can use? Ours has a nice one that will take 6 half sheets at a time. That gets you down to just a few hours of baking time. And if it has a commercial stove top, you can brew up a couple of big pots of sauce as well while you bake the meatballs.

 

Figuring 15 meatballs to a pound of hamburger, that's 40 pounds of hamburger to bake. Ideally, you would buy meatball mixture from a butcher, but I don't know of any here that do it, so I would probably be mixing it with my kitchen aid 5 pounds at a time with the dough hook. Set up an assembly line - little kids can certainly form meatballs!

 

For the meatballs, I would cool them, put them in gallon ziplock bags and toss in the freezer. I suppose you COULD pour the sauce into gallon bags as well and freeze. Actually, that might work well. And you can freeze the sauce bags flat so they don't take up as much space and will transport well in a cooler.

 

If you don't have access to a commercial oven, then that's going to be an insanely long day of cooking......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm thinking about 700. It would be awful if you ran out. If you have extra, freeze them and make subs.

 

And I am staunchly against store meatballs. They taste nothing like a real meatballs, they should be classified as a different food group. I am a meatball snob, though, and it's Dh's fault. :D

 

Use an ice cream scoop so that they're uniform. One scoops, puts on the baking tray, the other molds.

 

It really won't be that bad, I make about 30 every time we eat macaroni. (two for everyone, and enough for leftovers)

 

Make your sauce seperate then put the broiled meatballs int he aluminum pans, ladle the sauce on top, then pop them in the oven to cook the rest of the way.

Edited by justamouse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did no one suggest lasagna or brisket or....something that needs less manipulation????

 

I've been talked into cooking insane amounts of hard to cook food for church functions before. I've gotten smarter everytime...these days if I'm cooking I try desperately to be the one who decides what is being cooked. :D

 

Much luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use an ice cream scoop so that they're uniform. One scoops, puts on the baking tray, the other molds.

 

I have also heard to pat the raw meat into a large jelly roll pan, filling to the edges, then cut the meat into the size meatballs you want. You could roll them so they're round if you want or just bake them in squares. (I think you'd probably want to transfer some of the squares to a different pan, though. They might bake very slowly and crumble if you try to bake them all together in the jelly roll pan.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have an IKEA near you, they sell fabulous meatballs--frozen in the bag.

 

I was just going to say the same thing. If I recall correctly, there are about 75 meatballs (small, rather than large) in a bag. When you buy the bag you get a mix for sauce and a jar of lignonberries. I get 6 servings of 12 meatballs each per bag; Ikea now gives you 15 meatballs for dinner (guess where I ate this evening?), which would be 5 servings per bag. They used to give you 10 meatballs, which would be 7 1/2 servings per bag.

 

At 10 meatballs per person, that would be 20 bags @ approx $10-11 per bag... yikes! Sorry, I can't help you solve the problem, but I thought I'd work through the math for you. Are you supposed to pay for this????

 

The IKEA meatballs are easy to cook -- just put on a tray and heat up. The sauce is made with cream that you supply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends on the size of the meatball. 1 oz meat balls= 4 per serving. Larger ones, 2-3 per serving, depending on what it is.

 

I've made meatball subs for 150 and I used the larger meatballs. Each 6" sub had 3 meatballs on it. When I've made meatball soup, I figure 4 small ones per serving.

 

I agree. You typically figure 1/4 lb of meat per person.

 

Ummmm, that's a rilly, rilly long day of cooking. How on earth do you make 600 meatballs :eek:

 

You don't do it in a day. At least I wouldn't. ;)

Edited by Mrs Mungo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. You typically figure 1/4 lb of meat per person.

 

 

 

You don't do it in a day. At least I wouldn't. ;)

 

 

Hmmm, if you had several days then, that is doable. I guess it is what it is......maybe 5 pounds of meat per day or something :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think we are going to go with 4 per person. If there is extra it will go in our freezer. They are not tiny meatballs, but not huge either. I would estimate 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Unfortunately these meatballs are not cooked in the oven. This is one of those family recipes that must not be messed with. They are rolled and dropped right into the sauce to cook for a few hours. They are a pain to make, but are yummy. I don't think dh realized how many people he was agreeing to cook for when he said yes.:001_smile: The church is 2 hours away, and we can't cook these in one day, so we are stuck with our not very large kitchen. I wish dh was still a firefighter. The firehouse has a great kitchen, with commercial freezers and a stovetop with 8 burners. I just wish it was going to be raining all weekend instead of the beautiful weather they are forecasting.:tongue_smilie:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buy disposable aluminum trays in bulk from Sam's and a huge commercial roll of foil.

 

You might want to read this site for practical info and food safety: http://www.party-recipes-and-ideas.com/catering-101.html

 

As for quantities, if they're about an inch in diameter, most people will take 4-6, but some people will take none. It really depends on what other food is available. Caterers plan on about a pound and a half total of food per person at every dinner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ummmm, that's a rilly, rilly long day of cooking. How on earth do you make 600 meatballs :eek:

 

One at a time.

 

Why not just ground beef well seasoned. Meatball ingredients but cooked up loose a panful at a time and then mixed with tomato sauce. It'll look the same after it is chewed and swallowed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ummmm, that's a rilly, rilly long day of cooking. How on earth do you make 600 meatballs :eek:

 

Chances are they'll use those catering tray holder thingys that have a candle heater thing underneath. They take standard size foil trays. I'd use the "half size" trays, to make them easier to store and to take out of the oven and such. I believe they often come with cardboard lids. Put the foil side of the lid towards the food. You can write info on the cardboard side of the lid, if you like.

 

To form the meatballs, I would either use a scoop (the kind with the "sweeper" thingy to eject the formed meatball), or the method where you put the meat into a rectangular pan then cut meat "cubes". I would tend to use smaller meatballs, to minimize waste. That way, kids can take a smaller serving, and people are less likely to take a bunch of huge ones then leave them. When catering in general, small=good.

 

Can you borrow the firehouse kitchen?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think we are going to go with 4 per person. If there is extra it will go in our freezer. They are not tiny meatballs, but not huge either. I would estimate 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Unfortunately these meatballs are not cooked in the oven. This is one of those family recipes that must not be messed with. They are rolled and dropped right into the sauce to cook for a few hours. They are a pain to make, but are yummy. I don't think dh realized how many people he was agreeing to cook for when he said yes.:001_smile: The church is 2 hours away, and we can't cook these in one day, so we are stuck with our not very large kitchen. I wish dh was still a firefighter. The firehouse has a great kitchen, with commercial freezers and a stovetop with 8 burners. I just wish it was going to be raining all weekend instead of the beautiful weather they are forecasting.:tongue_smilie:

 

I would be borrowing every large crockpot I could muster then. You may be able to cook some in the oven in a large roasting pan, in the sauce just like on the stove top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One at a time.

 

Why not just ground beef well seasoned. Meatball ingredients but cooked up loose a panful at a time and then mixed with tomato sauce. It'll look the same after it is chewed and swallowed.

 

Yeah my initial comment was probably not so helpful. I did say and I think it is doable. Just commit to a certain amount at a time spread over so many days. It's just really spendy and I am not sure I could do that. I think OP deserves a BIG reward :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OP I hope they are giving you money to pay for all that meat. :eek: I get roped into things like this too from time to time, but never for that many people. I think the most I've ever cooked for is about 50, but I made the entire meal and all the sides too. Nobody ever reimbursed me though. :( sniff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, we are being reimbursed for everything. I have all of our receipts saved.:D This is really my mil's fault. She doesn't think anyone should ever say no to her brother. He still thinks we are going to be at the event to cook the pasta, heat the meatballs and sauce, and serve everything. We will be away that weekend on a business trip. :tongue_smilie: I think she is afraid to tell him...

 

 

 

 

 

OP I hope they are giving you money to pay for all that meat. :eek: I get roped into things like this too from time to time, but never for that many people. I think the most I've ever cooked for is about 50, but I made the entire meal and all the sides too. Nobody ever reimbursed me though. :( sniff.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, we are being reimbursed for everything. I have all of our receipts saved.:D This is really my mil's fault. She doesn't think anyone should ever say no to her brother. He still thinks we are going to be at the event to cook the pasta, heat the meatballs and sauce, and serve everything. We will be away that weekend on a business trip. :tongue_smilie: I think she is afraid to tell him...

 

Oh thank God. I'm so glad they're going to give you the money. I was freaking out for you over the cost of that meal. lol :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...