Feeding a Crowd on a Budget
Yes feeding over a 100 people can be easy and you can prepare most of it ahead of time. Here are my tips and recipes for feeding a crowd on a budget.
- Choose recipes that can be made ahead of time;
- Keep flavours fairly basic and add spice and heat with condiments;
- Make sure that what you choose is easy for people to serve themselves, for example I always decant condiments in to easy to use containers.
- I have a collection of clear squeeze bottles that I use for sauces and mayonnaises.
- I also have some clear lunch containers with flip lids for things like salad items, this keeps them tidy but you can still see whats inside. They are easy to access and the lids don’t get lost!
- For thicker condiments like mustard or cranberry sauce I use small mason jars with spoons.
I chose three options for the party food for the self serve food table:
- Baked Ham Sliders.
- Walking Tacos;
- Tortillas or Taco Boats. The walking tacos and tortillas used the same meats and condiments. I made a beef taco mince and shredded chicken.
- I also decided to use smaller containers and refill during the party to keep food fresh.
Baked Ham Sliders
The baked ham for the sliders can be done the day before or the morning of the party. You will want one small dinner roll per person, not everyone will want one but some people may have two so it will balance out. You can pre butter the bread rolls to make things easier for self service, especially if your table is small like ours was. The condiments I used for the sliders were:-
- Tomato
- Cheese slices
- Mustard
- Balsamic Beetroot Chutney
- Corn Relish
You can however use anything you think your guests will enjoy.
Baked Ham
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Meat Rack
Ingredients
- 1 Leg of Ham
- 1 Jar of your favourite fruit jam I have used many different flavours of jam when baking my hams. My favourite is Pear and Vanilla but any flavour will work great. Apple & Cinnamon, Fig, Cranberry Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150°C.
- Remove the skin from the ham. You can do this easily by using a knife to detach the skin from the shank and then slowly use your fingers under the skin to remove it. The idea is to retain as much fat as possible. This is the trickiest part of the recipe!
- Next you will need to score the ham fat. Just cut along the ham fat diagonally, being careful not to go too deep into the ham. Then go diagonally in the opposite direction to make diamond patterns. You can also just cut lines across the ham. Or use your imagination and try something different. The reason for doing this is just so that the jam has a place to sit and flavour the ham and it looks great once its cooked. Delicious!
- Place the ham on the meat rack in the roasting pan and fill the pan to the halfway mark with water. The reason for this is that it will keep the ham super moist and it will also prevent the sticky jam from making a mess of your pan.
- The ham will need to bake slowly for about 2hrs. Check it after the first hour to make sure the water hasn't evaporated, if it has carefully replace it.
Walking tacos and tortillas – perfect for feeding a crowd on a budget
The walking tacos were on the menu mostly for the young crowd as they are easy to grab and eat. If you’re not familiar with walking tacos here is how they work.
- First you grab a small bag of Doritos or any corn chip, and crush them lightly. Open the bag.
- Add in your meat of choice.
- Top with as many of the toppings as you like. Grab and fork and you’re good to go.
- We also supplied tortillas and taco boats for guests to combine with both the meats.
- The condiments served with both the walking tacos and the tortillas were:-
Mexican Beef Mince
Use for tacos, nachos, tortillas. Great to make for a crowd
Ingredients
- 2 kgs beef mince
- 1 Sachet of mild taco seasoning
- 2 Cans of chopped tomatoes
- 500 mls Chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
Instructions
- Fry the mince in the oil in a large saucepan on medium to high heat. You will need to do this in two lots so that you can get the mince nice and brown.
- Add the taco seasoning and the canned tomatoes.
- Add half the stock and simmer for 30 minutes on high heat. Check at this stage to see if you need to add the remainder of the stock. You want to simmer the mince until the liquid evaporates and you are left with a moist but not watery mixture. This usually takes about an hour but it might take a bit longer depending on your stove and the liquid in the tomatoes.
Notes
- I used mild taco seasoning in this recipe as it makes it more versatile for a mixed group. If you like more heat add a spicy taco seasoning instead.
- You will need to keep checking on the meat in the last half of the cooking to make sure that as the liquid evaporates the mixture doesn’t burn.
- If you want to cook this for less people you can halve the recipe or alternatively you can freeze in smaller lots for use at another time.
Mexican Shredded Chicken
Tacos, Tortillas, Nachos
Ingredients
- 2 Rotisserie Chickens – meat removed
- 2 Jars of mild tomato salsa
- 1/2 Sachet of mild taco seasoning
- 1 Can of Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Finely sliced onion
- 1 Red capsicum, finely chopped
- 250 mls Chicken Stock
Instructions
- Add all ingredients together in a large saucepan and simmer on medium/low until all excess moisture has evaporated. Be careful not to let it get too dry but if that does happen just add in some extra chicken stock.
- Serve with taco shells or tortillas topped with grated cheese, shredded lettuce, guacamole and sour cream.
Notes
- If you find that the mix seems a bit dry whilst your cooking just add in some more stock or salsa. I cooked this once and didn’t have either left so I added in some tomato sauce. It was delicious!
- This recipe freezes well.
- If you are cooking for a smaller group just halve the ingredients.
- Chicken is also great in lettuce cups topped with guacamole and sour cream.
I hope you found this information helpful for your next party. If you need some help with setting up for your party check out my Post here.
