Pork Roasts for a Crowd 
I am cooking at my church this Friday and need some help. I am the chef for the annual mother/daughter dinner. I will be serving approx. 100 guests. I will be making roast pork, scalloped potatoes, salad, appetizers, dessert, rolls, and beverage. I will be purchasing the food in bulk at Costco. I figure 35lb of uncooked boneless pork roast, 40 pounds of scalloped potatoes, 2-3 pieces of apps. and dessert per person and several gallons of lemonade and ice tea. Coffee and water will be served also. 

We have three big ovens so the meat will all be in at the same time. How long will 35 pounds of pork take to cook? I know at home I cook a 2-4 lb roast in about 1 and a half hours at 350 degrees. Not sure how to convert the time for 35 pounds. Any help would be appreciated.    Thanks (wish me luck!) 

Thanks for visiting Chef-Menus.com. Whew! Have you got some cooking to do!  I do wish you luck, chef!   Your food quantities sound right. What is the weight on each roast? I think that whatever time it takes to cook one roast of a certain weight, it will take about the same time on 10-12 roasts of the same weight (about 30mins per pound) 

It also depends on the ovens; do they maintain the true temperature? Meaning, if the temperature knob is at 350F, is the oven temperature 350F. If you or no one else knows, you could use an oven thermometer and test it before Fri. I think it's worth it. 

Using a food thermometer is always the best way to know when food is done, start checking about 10 minutes before you think it should be done (pork=160F) Finally, my favorite tip, let the meat sit at room temperature about 60 minutes before you cook, that assures an even start and will prevent uneven cooking.   Hope this helps, have fun  Chef Deb 

Pork Roast Recipes


And again from this ambitious chef.....

Hi, You helped me in the past so I thought I would contact you again. I was cooking pork roast for 100 ladies at my church and you gave me some good advice. 

I am having a fundraiser Oktoberfest at the church.  Looks like we could have over 250 people attend!  I am making brats, pork roast, 1/4 chickens, sour kraut, sweet sour cabbage, and dumplings. How much sour kraut and sweet sour cabbage should I make? Also, do you have any good recipes?  Wanna come and help! 

Yes, I remember you and your pork roasts question! I assume everything went well since you are willing to give the porkers another try! 

First I would determine how much your crowd loves cabbage! Then, if you are serving two types of cabbage, I would do half and half. You would need about 20 pounds of fresh cabbage for 100 servings of the sweet and sour and about 10 quarts of canned sauerkraut for 100 servings (assuming about 1/2 cup of each cabbage and assuming that not all 250 persons will eat either cabbage dish). Of course you could bump these numbers up to serve more. 

But whoa.....if you are making homemade sauerkraut..I guess you know you will need a whole lot more cabbage...good luck with that! 

Actually, I don't have any good related recipes, but I was thinking that either adding apples to the sweet/sour cabbage or a side dish of cooked apples with orange zest and nutmeg would be a nice addition to the brats and pork....also very "fallish" 

You need help? where in the world wide web are you?? I am in the Wash DC area.. .. Have fun, I know you will  

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Scalloped Potatoes for 100
What about the amounts or recipe for scalloped potatoes and ham? On the Internet I got recipes for 100 that varied from 30 to 44 lbs of potatoes, sliced. That's a big difference.  I took Corn and Tomato Scallop for 100 and figured I could just omit the tomatoes and do everything else the way it was written.  

Thank you for your help - I really appreciate your time and effort - hope you are having a good Easter season and Spring comes soon for you. 

Birthday Party Menu for 60
I am hosting a surprise 60th birthday for my husband.  I found your website and your recipes are what I had in mind for quantity cooking.  I anticipate 50-60 guests. 

I am serving 3 appetizers: Pesto Crostini, Stuffed Mushrooms with Spinach and Blue Cheese and assorted nuts. 

Dinner Menu: 

Tossed salad with Italian Dressing, croutons and heirloom tomatoes (from my garden) 

Your recipe for Baked Ziti with Four Cheeses
Your recipe for Italian Meatballs
Rolls with Roasted Garlic Butter

Dessert: 

Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Petit Chocolate. 

My questions: Your meatball recipe makes 100, 2 oz meatballs, will 3 meatballs per plate.  Along with 1+cup of baked ziti,  will that be enough? 

I am going to make the meatballs plus 1/2 of the recipe and the baked ziti + 1/2 of the recipe

I realize the meatballs are under your appetizer menu, but will they work as the entree?   Thank you for your time. 

Thanks for your questions.  Yes, I would do what you planned, the meatball and ziti recipes plus 1/2 recipe. 3 meatballs per plate should be plenty for average eaters. You can always get another pound or 3 of meat and make extra (better too much then too little) and they freeze beautifully.  Happy B-Day to your hubby and have a fun party!  Chef Deb 

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Pasta Recipe for a Crowd
I am cooking for 100 people. How much pasta and sauce do i need? 

Well, it probably depends on the type of sauce you are planning, but as a place to start, I would say you would need about 4-5 gallons of sauce and about 10 pounds of dry pasta. 

I don't know if you are cooking or purchasing sauce, but here is a simple recipe for marinara sauce for 100. Serving size is about 1/2 cup 

2 lb onions, chopped 
10-16 garlic cloves, minced 
2 cups olive oil 
5 gallons canned tomatoes, undrained 
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 
1/4 cup dried basil, crumbled 
3-4 tablespoons salt 
3 teaspoons black pepper 
In large stockpot, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender and golden brown. Add tomatoes and juice and break tomatoes into small pieces. Stir in seasonings. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until sauce reaches desired consistency.  Hope this helps

I would say about 15-18 lbs of 20-25% fat beef would do it. That should give you a little better then a 1/2 cup serving per Joe. You didn't ask, but you would need roughly 10-12 cups of sauce for this much meat.  Hope this helps.. Chef Deb 

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International Menu for a Crowd
Hello, I am cooking Greek food for 40 - 50 people. Do you know if the Greek salad would be okay made the day ahead? I have only ever made it an hour or two ahead.   Also in addition to Greek we will be having nasi and bami (this is a very international crowd and I am hoping to have stuff everyone will like). I will be doing some chicken 
wings to accompany these dishes and I am wondering how many wings I should do. Help?  Thank you for any suggestions.

Yumm-ee! I love Mediterranean and all Pacific style cuisine....wish I could be there! 

For the salad you may be able to get away with cutting/prepping the peppers, cucumbers and onions the day before (assuming you are using these ingredients). Store separately and layer paper towels in between to absorb run off water from veggies. You can of course make the dressing 1-2 days ahead. Also wash and prep lettuce (if not using bagged) the day before, store same as other veggies. Put together right before serving 

For the wings, depends on how many you are planning per person. You also have to judge by how many are actually attending, what kind of appetites they have, are there other meats, are there a lot of children, what is your budget, etc, etc. I would say 2 wings pp or 3 pp to be generous. So that means 80-150 wings. There are roughly 8-10 wings per pound (depending on size) which is therefore anywhere from 10-20 pounds of chicken. Does my math sound right? Somewhere in the middle is always a good place to be.  Hope this helps, let me know 

And several days later.....

Well, I did it. I had 53 people. I did 65 boneless skinless chicken thigh filets - lemon roasted. 4 kg Greek roasted potatoes. I did 80 wings. I had to stop there with the meat as I was out of oven and crock pot space. The tsatziki dip was a hit.  I had one big pan of Nasi and one big pan of bami - I could have had more of both of these. It seemed everyone ate till they were satisfied and I did not have much left over so it worked out good. Thanks for your help.

You are welcome and good for you! The lemon roasted thighs sounded like an inspired touch! Just today I received a question about a similar menu/proportions...I'll quote you in my answer! Thanks for letting me know....Happy cooking! 

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Office Party for a Crowd
I am responsible for our Faculty Christmas Party this year. 
Faculty will bring desserts and salads (last check. there will approx. 60-70 people). I think I would like to do Italian and one of the dishes will most likely be Chicken Cacciatore.  I need other suggestions for at least one other main meat dish and perhaps some pasta dishes.  Thanks

Thank you for visiting Chef-Menus.com. To make it easy (if you want it to be), I suggest a store-bought or homemade ham (I have a good recipe for a whole ham braised in port, let me know if you'd like it) with potatoes augratin or mashed potatoes and simple green beans or peas. Or, if you're ambitious, a leg of lamb, standing rib roast or 2-3 sirloin roasts with baked orzo and cheese

One suggestion you didn't ask for, for the Chick Cacc, use diced boneless thighs. It's difficult to eat bone-in chicken and remain calm, cool and clean in front of co-workers and the boss.  
Hope this helps you.  Have a wonderful holiday! 

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Potatoes for 400 (you heard right)
I am doing a church dinner for 400. I would like to serve herb roasted potatoes. I was going to par boil them and then put them in oil, garlic, basil, on large trays in the oven. My question is how long would you cook them in the oven, not to be over done.  I would have to do them in batches like one large pan (the size almost of the oven shelf) one pan on each shelf in the oven. Thank you for any help you can give me. 

I appreciate your patronage. Whoa! Potatoes for 400...let me know how it turns out! 

The parboiling is normally a good idea but I would think that for such a large amount, the time it would take you to parboil and drain/dry the potatoes would take the same or even more time then roasting them raw. Plus, I'm a firm believer in eliminating extra steps. 

Cooking time depends on the oven of course. I assume this is the church’s commercial oven? If you’ve never used it before, I would suggest doing a trial run with an oven thermometer to test the “true” temperature. 

Otherwise, I would say the cooking time would be only slightly longer then in smaller batches, For raw potatoes: 40-50 mins at 375-400 degrees. For parboiled, 25-35 mins at the same temp. 

For most things I usually only use the time as a guide and decide that something is done by testing the food. So when the potatoes are browned and a fork goes through easily but does not fall apart. I would suggest removing them immediately or even shut off the oven about 5-8 mins before the potatoes are done and leaving them to stay warm.   All is just my humble opinion. I wish you all the best.  Chef Deb 

And then.......

Thank you so much for your advice. We never do anything small, we need our heads examined. Just kidding, we have a great time and raise money for our Church and Community. I kind of misled you, I am cooking for 400, but as our dinner is continuous seating, I hope to put about a third of them in the oven at a time. We also have two ovens (commercial as you said) so I thought I could have them nice and fresh most of the time.  My last question to you is, would the times you gave me be the same if I am only putting a third in the oven at a time? Thanks again for your help 

Yes, cooking for a community crowd is always rewarding. Yes, it should be around the same cooking time. Start checking pots at around 30 mins. and then every 5-10 mins.  Extra info you may already know: Russet potatoes cook faster then red or whites and also fall apart quicker, I would stick with reds or Yukon Golds. 

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More Cooking for a Crowd Ideas

Hi, I need info on how to convert recipes for quantity cooking.  Thank you 
 
Did you go to Creating Quantity Recipes? This page tells you how to convert recipes and do  batch cooking. May be just what you're looking for
Chef Deb