Menu help please!

rach83

So we're having a family gtg (about 20 people) this Saturday to announce the baby's sex (hopefully!!).

Anyway, so far the menu will be things like pasta salad, veggies and dip, deviled eggs, shrimp, etc. The only thing missing is the meat. We were going to grill beef and chicken but Josh doesn't want to be at the grill all day. We looked into some prepared meat but it seems really expensive.

My question is...what kind of meat or main dish could we have that doesn't require too much effort or someone standing at the grill for half the day?

TIA!!!

tarmar81

Grilling fish would be pretty easy because it doesn't take long to grill at all.  Tilapia or salmon maybe?

Or you could skip the grill entirely and get a ton of smoked salmon to eat with toast points and capers.  Expensive, but delicious.   Granted, pregnant women aren't really supposed to eat smoked salmon apparently, so you'd have to miss out I guess...

Otherwise, I don't think you necessarily need meat or a main entree if you have lots of appetizers.

amelianguy

The only suggestion I have is, last Thanksgiving at work we had a limited budget so we went to Sam's Club and got a precooked brisket for about $30. It was big, probably 15 pounds or so. All we did was cut it up and throw it in the crock pot with some bbq sauce, and it turned out really good!

rach83

Thanks Tara....I should have mentioned it starts at 4pm so I think people will be coming hungry so I'm not sure just apps and side dishes will be enough?

That's a good suggestion, Amelia! Thanks!

billyandsara

You could marinate and grill some simple london broil. I usually let it marinade over night and then throw it on the grill. It cooks fast and is simple but tasty. I usually marinade mine with some teriyaki sauce and some onions on top.

steeser03

Along the same lines as Ames, you could put either a pork roast, some chicken breasts, or a beef roast in the crockpot for 8 hours. At the end of the eight hours, shred with two forks, and add sauce.

You could do different flavors to maximize. For pork- jamaican, bbq, or kraut. Chicken- again jerk, bbq, orange glaze, teryaki. beef- bbq, tomato sauce and peppers/onions.

kelklump

crock pot a pork butt or shoulder - it makes excellent pulled pork and they can sauce it on the side. We do this for EVERY big party now because it keeps everyone from dealing with the grill or slaving over something in the kitchen.

 

Diamond_Doll

I like Amelia's suggestion. I would look into ordering BBQ. You can probably find a local place that does "catering" and will have large amounts of pork or chicken for relatively cheap. That, to me, with deviled eggs, baked beans, potato salad is the perfect food for this time of year.

lneuner09

kelklump:

crock pot a pork butt or shoulder - it makes excellent pulled pork and they can sauce it on the side. We do this for EVERY big party now because it keeps everyone from dealing with the grill or slaving over something in the kitchen.

 

I was going to suggest the same thing!  Even some pork loins (tends to be a little cheaper) in the crock pot on low for 8+ hours (I have a recipe in the blog, super easy), shred, sauce, then everyone has yummy pulled pork without slaving over the grill all day or worrying about keeping everything warm. 

rach83

Thanks all!

DD, we actually did look into ordering bbq. That turned out to be a really expensive option for some reason:(

kass09

lneuner09:

kelklump:

crock pot a pork butt or shoulder - it makes excellent pulled pork and they can sauce it on the side. We do this for EVERY big party now because it keeps everyone from dealing with the grill or slaving over something in the kitchen.

 

I was going to suggest the same thing!  Even some pork loins (tends to be a little cheaper) in the crock pot on low for 8+ hours (I have a recipe in the blog, super easy), shred, sauce, then everyone has yummy pulled pork without slaving over the grill all day or worrying about keeping everything warm. 

Ditto this.  Or, I'm not sure if this is too casual, but at our family get together/bbqs we typically do burgers and dogs.  They don't take that long to cook on the grill; yeah, there might be 20/30 minutes or so that he'll be on the grill, but typically it is not an all day affair.  Maybe you've ruled that out for some reason, but just thought I would throw it out there. 

melpfaff

You could cook off chicken the day before and add it to the pasta salad.  Also would work great over field greens and strawberry salad.

I like the idea of London broil.  Steak tips usually cook up fast as well.

For the crock pot, I have done large pieces of chicken in a bbq sauce.   Ribs would work as well too. Then you aren't heating up your house or slaving over the grill.