Cook hamburgers before party?!
Cook hamburgers before party?
Having a barbecue for 60 people and trying to make it easier on me for that day. I was wondering if anyone ever cooked their hamburgers before the day and put them in something to keep them tasty and moist
Answers:
NO... easier is never as good... heating them in liquid (the "au jus" suggestion) actually will dry them out ==the fat in the burger , which is what makes them juicy and flavorful is drawn out of the burger. if you want to make your life easier, use the preformed frozen patties, they are ususally so thin they cook in about 3 mins. be sure you have plenty
you can re-heat them in au jus
No I haven't and don't think I would. Just get a box of the premade patties, they literally take just minutes to cook and they taste wonderful.
Ya you can do that-I would cook them ahead of time and put them in plastic containers with lids and freeze them till the morning of your party then thaw them and brush with BBZ sauce then reheat on the BBQ for a few minutes for that just BBQ'ed flavor!! have fun!!
I agree with BlueSea, and you can season them anyway you want =)
No matter what method you use, hamburgers cooked the day before aren't going to taste very good. A better idea is to get someone else to do the grilling for you.
i wouldn't cook them ahead of time.
that's kinda the point of a BBQ....although 60ppl is a lot of mouths to feed all at once.
Maybe you can make the patties a little smaller so that they will cook faster. (Cooking all Same like temps. at the same time will make it a little easier too FOR EX: all the medium done burgers at the same time....all the well done burgers at the same time....& so on)
Oh & u can keep other snacks around while cooking and people won't even notice....
Yes, have done that before.
We had to cater for about 100 and have it all ready together. So the day before... prepared all the patties, cooked them all on the bbq and then refrigerated (not freezer) them in a couple of big plastic containers. On the day we just put them out on plates and nuked them (ie microwave) for a couple of minutes and had them all ready in about 15 min.
Just the patties though...
also sliced all the tomatoes the day before, lettuce takes no time so that happened on the day and then made the burgers up real quick
If a burger ain't fresh it ain't good. You can cook one side and put them in a pan on the side of the grill on a low heat. Then cook them the rest of the way when somone wants one.
You can only do this a few minutes ahead of time though. Gotta be fresh!
totally go with the premade patties.......that way u can do waht u really wanna do that day which is mingle! u arent throwing this party to wow the guests with the homemade burgers...u wanna see these people and actually interact with them rather than spend the whole time cooking......yes u want the food to be good....but they arent expecting everything to be made from scratch i am sure!
I have thrown many grill parties and I tell you, people will not mind the wait. They will actually be glad there burger is being cooked fresh or to order, and will simply tell you "let me know when there done." I would worry about getting everything else in order like, salads, chips, rolls, beans etc... and let your grill items be the highlight of your cookout. I have also been the grill chef at many functions and the guests (big$$$) have no problem waiting for there "special order" grill item. So don't worry have fun grilling in front of them, you'll be the star of the show...:) Good luck and have fun!