church dinner for 200

[foodie5951]

I need help on cooking dinner for 200, for a special occasion with a budget of $3,000. They would like a beef and chicken choice, and thats what i need to brainstorm about. Bottom rounds? how many? Chicken in oven receipes (chicken breasts only) as the church has no grill. The sides are just veggies and a starch, no dessert or drinks needed. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by foodie5951

I need help on cooking dinner for 200, for a special occasion with a budget of $3,000. They would like a beef and chicken choice, and thats what i need to brainstorm about. Bottom rounds? how many? Chicken in oven receipes (chicken breasts only) as the church has no grill. The sides are just veggies and a starch, no dessert or drinks needed. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Bottom rounds? I cannot think of a much worse selection for a catered dinner. Round looks beautiful in the meat case, but it is devoid of marbled fat, and, as such, it can be very dry, even when cooked with alot of moisture. Once sliced, it can be very problematic when used for a quantity service. Much depends on regional tastes and the ethnicity of the church's congregation. I've catered many such church dinners and always had great success with beef briskets; but, unless you have some meat cutting skills, you'll have to buy them trimmed. A couple of months ago, I took a small deal for 100 plates with a similar menu. I bypassed the local restaurant suppliers and bought 15 lb. untrimmed beef briskets at SuperWalmart for $1.70 a pound. After trimming, I got 10 lbs. per brisket to go into the roaster at $2.55 a pound. They have to be cooked slow and low with significant moisture. With a little Wright's smoke oil, a little barbecue sauce, and some creativity, you can serve some delicious barbecued brisket.

Breasts only? Never...you gotta have some thighs. Some folks insist on dark meat; even choke on the white.

[chefboy2160]

Foodie, RSteve is spot on about the bottom rounds. Are you going with Banquet style or Buffet? With 3 grand I would spend every penny and kick it up. Sounds like you only have ovens and top side burners. What about a buffet with salads(potato , pasta , spring mix) relish trays, assorted rolls , corn cobs , baked beans and platters of oven fried 8 way cut chicken and a nice carving station with prime rib! Set up a seperate dessert table with assorted favorites(dont forget some fruit) and a beverage self serve area and you will rock them!

[shroomgirl]

It's unclear, is $3000 the food budget/staff budget? Are you making a profit?
If you are working out of their kitchen and doing the prep yourself without license/insurence/kitchen rent/etc......and not making any money then the budget is really decent.

Prime rib would also be my choice.....cut in the kitchen or carvers.....200 folks I'd have at least 3 people cutting to get them through, probably precut some in the kitchen just to move the line along.

Yesterday I made chicken with pesto and tomato sauce.
baked off chicken with garlic/s&P, then put in tomato sauce pan, rewarm/blop on pesto for service.
Chicken Mirabelle is always popular, premake and warm.....keeps well in chafers.

Roasted Veg Platters......can be room temp......new potatoes, asparagus, green beans, red peppers, red onions, some fennel was around so I used it.....

Huge green salads, mandrian oranges....what can I say, they are so popular.
top with some pecans, make a buttermilk dressing or vinagrette

That's a healthy budget for no drinks nor desserts.......

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

If you are working out of their kitchen and doing the prep yourself without license/insurance/kitchen rent/etc......and not making any money, then the budget is really decent.

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by chefboy2160

a nice carving station with prime rib!

Hopefully, I won't offend anyone with this statement. When people eat buffet style at church dinners, they embrace the aura of The Last Supper, and they eat like there is no tomorrow. As such, you will hear in your sleep, the night after the event, "Can ya give me another slice?" Prime rib for 200 on a $3000 budget is virtually impossible; particularly if the beef actually is "Prime." People have become accustomed to 8+ oz. servings. The prime rib could total half of foodie5951's total budget.

[shroomgirl]

$5.75# for prime rib.

[shroomgirl]

$5.75# for prime rib. If this is a donation to the church 100# will run you $600.

[foodie5951]

Many thanks to all who replied to my post.
To RSteve - i don't know where the "Prime Rib" reference came from, i had mentioned "Bottom Round" for 200 as they wanted to keep the budget at around $3,000 for everything including the labor cost for 4-5 people and i agree with you that prime rib would take most of the budget by itself. I also agree with you about the "last supper" mode of eating that many of these functions do seem to perpetuate.

Thanks again everyone and I love this forum!!

[foodie5951]

I'm begging patience from everyone as this is my first blogging experience. I just read all the replys and now understand much better.
To answer some - this is for profit as i am a neighbor (who caters) of the person in charge of the dinner and not a church member.
They wanted only a beef and a chicken choice, no other options but those and the $3,000 was for all costs, food, drinks, desserts, staff, rental (china),etc.
Thans again!

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

$5.75# for prime rib. If this is a donation to the church 100# will run you $600.

I think we may have a problem with the definition of "prime." In the U.S. at retail only three grades of beef may be sold: prime, choice, and select. Technically, these are the three grades that food service operators of all genres should be using. Choice is most often used by caterers, and I would venture a guess that 75% of prime rib served is not prime, but choice. Choice is significantly cheaper than prime, particularly dry aged prime. If your meat supplier is selling USDA prime graded whole rib at $5.75 lb., he's infinitely below market price in most major cities.

For those curious, beef still has multiple grades: prime, choice and select, as already noted, but also standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. Select used be graded USDA "good" but grocers lobbied to have the grading name changed because it sounded better in their ads.

Regarding quantity, I'm not certain that 100# will be enough. A cooked and trimmed serving of prime rib is traditionally 6 to 8 oz. when served at events such as the one being described. Even if these rib roasts are roasted low and slow, you can plan for a minimum reduction of 20% shrinkage and trimming. You may get 80 lbs. ready-to-serve. If you can hold the portions to 6 oz, you'll get 200 servings, as shroomgirl noted. If your carvers get generous and cut 8 oz servings, 160 servings.

Another problem is the ribs may arrive overly fat and you lose another 5% in the roast and trim.

Originally Posted by foodie5951

"i don't know where the "Prime Rib" reference came from."

Two posters suggested prime rib in their posts.

And, yes...Graded choice boneless rib roasts, preferably rolled and tied from your supplier, about 110 lbs. are an excellent choice.

An aside: Check with all your local beef suppliers, including a member of said church, who may be a grocer. In some regions you can purchase whole beef tenderloins, silver skin, however, intact for under $6.00 per pound.

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by foodie5951

... the $3,000 was for all costs, food, drinks, desserts, staff, rental (china),etc. Thanks again!

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[foodie5951]

RSteve - thanks for making me laugh! YIKES is right, i am doing this as a favor for a neighbor who belongs to the church. I do not know any other member to ask if anyone knows where i could get a better price on the meat. On another note, we are also having chicken so I don't really need 200 servings of beef, although i am aware that alot of people will be asking for both in the buffet line.

[shroomgirl]

With events like this I station staff at the protein......serving eliminates pilers.

and with chicken, slicing meat thin that 100# would be the ballpark.

So this is a gimmee essentially.

[CeeJay]

Foodie 5951 try going to your local vender and asking for a no roll, 13 up rib eye. A no roll rib eye is not graded so it a little less expensive, some hotels use this product for their buffets. Hope this works.