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11 Tips To Choose The Best Wedding Caterer & Avoid Disaster

11 Tips to choosing the right wedding caterer

A wedding is one of the most incredible days in someone’s life and the catering needs to be absolutely spectacular that day. It is very important to choose the best caterer to manage the food department for your special day and avoid any unnecessary inconveniences.

Tips

It is important to find and choose the right person for dealing with the catering service for the big day. Let’s have a look at some of the tips that can help you select the ideal one.

1.Plan a proper budget

First things first, budgeting is the most crucial thing that you have to decide on before you go further into the process of picking a caterer and many couples get very overwhelmed with the pricing when they hear out the caterers. So have an idea discuss with each other and set out a number that you would like to spend in this particular sector before you meet the caterers.

2.Test before you choose

Keep your mind and options open and meet at least 4-5 caterers before you pick one for the event. Compare what each of them has to offer to you.

3.Check reviews

Most wedding planners and caterers have their website these days and it is a very convenient way for you to check the reviews and ratings of the caterers that you are deciding to choose from. Checking the reviews will help you check the caterers efficiency and how good they are at their service.

4.Have a look at the serving styles and dinnerware

Many times it happens that the venue doesn’t accommodate you with the facility of the dinnerware required for serving the guests. Discuss with the caterer whether they provide the proper dinnerware and linens for the tables.

5. Choose someone who communicates well

Your wedding is the most important day of your life, and to make it a picture perfect event, you have to be constantly communicating with the planners and caterers at all times and check their profile to see how efficient they are at communicating with their clients before heading forward.

6. Have a taste test

Taste test is the most important part of the selection process for you have to choose the food that tastes nothing less that spectacular.

7. Discuss about their flexibility with the menu

While planning a food menu it is crucial that the caterer are flexible with sudden adjustments in the menu to avoid disasters. Some guests might be allergic or intolerant to some food and ingredients and it can only be found out on the RSVPs. So have a talk about whether they are open to tackle such sudden changes and alterations if required.

8. The serving portions

Not to much not too less, the portions of each course of meal has to be of the perfect amount. Check if they provide the right portions and sizes of appetizers and main course and sides.

9. Check for proper professional behavior

Professionalism is extremely important when you are dealing with any sort of event or service provider. You have to observe how punctual and professional they are with the work they do and whether they have a proper eye for detail.

10. Check for proper hygiene maintenance

As you are hiring someone to serve hundreds of guests with food you have check out whether the caterers prepare their meal in a well clean and hygienic environment and whether they take proper precautions for keeping the meals fresh.

11. Sign the contract

Once you have decided on the caterer of your preference, ask them for a proper written agreement to be signed on that specifies all the important points and numbers for future convenience of both you and the caterer and also to avoid any unnecessary hassle.

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Related:

Wedding Menu

Conclusion

The trick here is to take your time and keep an open mind for proposals before you dive in. There are so many options and menus to choose from. If you follow these tips and tricks ou sure won’t get overwhelmed and confused with the process of choosing the best caterer for your wedding.

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How To Smoke Ribs To Have Your Guest Beg For More

Smoked ribs have become an American Institution just like baseball and the 4th of July. Nothing beats a barbecuing session in your backyard with some friends and family. Good thing, it quite easy to make smoked ribs with or without a smoker. Here is how to smoke ribs to have your guests begging for more.

There are several ways to prepare smoked ribs, and they all need a smoker. You have the option of leaving the ribs open or wrapping them as they cook. It all depends on your preference.

You need to use a rub or a sauce or even opt to leave out the sauce. The smoker is great to cook the ribs because it leaves them tender both on the outside and the inside.

For a crispy exterior, you will just need to finish cooking them over high heat. Whichever method you decide to use, there are standard equipment as well as ingredients you will need.

Here Is What You Will Need

The first thing you will need is a traditional barbecue meat smoker. If you do not have one, you can opt to use a charcoal grill, gas grill or the oven in your kitchen.

If you are using the smoker, you have to make sure that you have a lot of fuel because this is going to be a long cooking process. You will need to have your charcoal and even wood chunks in place that will help you control the level of heat.

A meat thermometer will also come in handy as well as a heavy duty aluminum foil and a large knife as well. If your knife is dull the knife sharpener guy always advises you to sharpen your knife.

You will, of course, need a rack of ribs, the rib rub and not forgetting the barbecue sauce that is if you intend to have barbecue sauce on your ribs.

Prepping the Smoker

Before you put your ribs on the smoker, you have to prepare the smoker for several hours before time. To make sure that it has the right temperature. Prep the smoker 6 hours before cooking to the temperature of around 220 F.

You will also want the smoker to have strong smoke when you start cooking as well as the end of your cooking. To have smoke from the smoker, you will need to add wood chunks to the fire before you place the ribs on the smoker.

When you have the fire going, you will need to adjust the smoker to the right temperature. When you do this, it is now time to start prepping the ribs.

Prepping the Ribs

It is very crucial to have the right rack of ribs. When you get your ribs, you need to look go a full rack that is even throughout in thickness.

If you get a rack that is thick on one side and thin on the other, it will not cook evenly. Due to the nature of the ribs, you will obviously not get a rack that is even on both sides. All you need to do is look for a rack that is not too lopsided.

Related: How To Smoke Chicken

When you get the ribs home, you will have to work on them a little. The first thing you need to do is trim the ribs. This means that you cut away any loose pieces of meat because they will dry out while cooking.

When trimming you need to remove the membrane as well.  This is the most important part of trimming because it ensures that the meat will cook evenly.

The membrane is the layer of skin on the bone sided part of the rack. The membrane is a sturdy material that if left on will block the smoke from reaching the meat. Also when cooked in low temperature it will be tough and distract the eating process.

After that, you will need to apply the rub. The rub is the source of flavor for the ribs. You will need to use the rub just before you put it in the smoker.

The rub is made of a spice mixture will give the ribs the flavor throughout the cooking process. You can choose a sweet rub, a spicy rub or a savory rub; the choice is all yours. It is also important to note that the spicy flavors will mellow during the cooking time so you will need to make your rib extra spicy.

Also, remember not to put the rub too early before placing it on the smoker because it falls off in most cases. After you are done with putting on the rub place it on the smoker.

How Long To Smoke Ribs

The standard time to cook the ribs is anywhere between 7 to 8 hours. You can decide to have the ribs on the smoker without wrapping them for the whole seven hours, but you if you would like to cover them you will need to place them on the smoker for 3 hours unwrapped the wrapped them tightly with the heavy duty foil for 2 hours. Then for the last hour unpack them.

How to Tell Them When The Ribs Are Done

There are several ways in which you can check if the ribs are done. The most common one is to check if the bones are peeking out. If you see about a quarter inch of the bones which is referred to as the pullback along the slab. This is a good indication that the ribs are ready.

Related: How To Smoke Brisket

A thermometer should ready between 185 and 203 degrees depending on your desired level of tenderness.

Another way to check if your ribs are done is to bend the slab of ribs using a pair of tongs or gloves. Pick the slab and bend it making a U shape. There should be a crack or a separation if the ribs are done.

Another method to use is probing. With this method, the chefs put a skewer between the bones, and if there is minimal resistance and the skewer pulled out cleanly then the ribs are done.

Others use the tasting method to check if the ribs are done.

Conclusion

Making the perfect smoked ribs is an art. If you find that you make some mistakes with your initial trials, then you need to recognize where you made a mistake and improved it the next time you are making your ribs.

The more you practice the better you will be at it. Use the tips above to get the best smoked ribs.

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13 BBQ Tips For Success In Any Backyard Party

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Smoking meat like the pros is not hard, you just have to have a little patience and the right technique.  That’s right when we say BBQ we are not talking about grilling hamburgers or hot dogs. We are talking about slow smoking meats until perfection that your guests will love.

Check out these BBQ tips and learn how we smoke our meats here at David’s.

Prepare the Meat

There are several things you should do to prepare the meat.

First, you should let it warm up to room temperature before you start cooking it. This allows it to cook more evenly and prevents it from drying out around the edges.

Unless you are cooking a very thin cut of steak, we recommend this step for all other meats. For large roasts (prime rib) this could take up to 4 hours. If you don’t feel comfortable with this it is not necessary, but will produce a better final product.

Another optional step is to brine the meat. This adds water into the muscle cells and helps prevent drying out as well. Check out this video to see how to brine chicken wings.

Finally, before you cook, you need to season your meat. At the very least add some salt. However, you can find many different rubs at your local grocery store or create your own!

Prepare the Sauce

You can, of course, purchase your sauce from the store, but what’s the fun in that? It is just as easy to make your own and then you can flavor it however you like. For a quick and easy recipe, check out this video:

Prepare the smoker

Whether you are using gas, wood or charcoal, you will need to get your grill or smoker hot (visit here). The temperature needs to reach a minimum of 225 degrees and up to 350 degrees depending on what you are cooking.

Different types of wood will give you different flavors, we recommend to try several to see what you like. We mostly use oak but popular choices include cherry, pecan, and hickory.

Some pitmasters like to soak their wood in water for an hour or so before using it to give more smoke flavor. If you have a small pit where the meat will be close to the firebox this isn’t really necessary.

Control the Temperature

This is probably the most important piece to the smoking puzzle. Successful bbq depends heavily on maintaining a constant temperature.

If you are using gas or electric, this is not an issue. But with wood or charcoal, you will need to monitor the temperature every 45 min to an hour.

If your pit does not have a rotisserie you will also need to be aware of any “hot spots”. You may need to rotate your meat every so often to ensure even cooking.

One way to help control your temperature is not to open the smoker! It’s hard to resist not to peak but it’s best not to. Get yourself a probe thermometer so you don’t even have to worry about it.

How long to cook

Cooking times can vary depending on:

  • Size of the cut of meat
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Type of meat

Brisket

Brisket is considered a tough cut of meat so you will need to cook this to at least 185 degrees internally depending on your desired level of tenderness. Sorry, no medium rare on this one. Do not go over 205 degrees or you risk drying out the brisket.

It’s best not to rush this to prevent drying out so we recommend cooking brisket at 225 degrees. If you have a whole brisket with the point attached it could take 12-18 hours to finish.

To speed this up, you can wrap the brisket in foil after the first few hours. This prevents evaporation known as the “BBQ stall”. This trick can also be used with a pork shoulder.

Ribs

As with brisket, ribs are also a tough cut so you will also need to cook these at 225 until they reach 185 internally.

However, ribs are much thinner so they should only take 4-6 hours to complete.

Chicken

You have the option of cooking chicken at 225 if you want to slow smoke them and they will take 3-4 hours but you can also cook them at 350 as you would in an oven for 45 min to an hour.

Try to cook these to 165 degrees internally, no more and no less.

Pork butt/shoulder

You will cook these exactly like you would a brisket. 225 degrees for 12-18 hours until you reach 185-205 degrees internally if you want pulled pork.

If you want to slice these you could cook them to 165 which are great for sandwiches.

Pork collars

In our opinion, and this is what we use in the store, pork collars make the best sliced pork for sandwiches.

Cook these at 225 only until they reach 145 internally. They should only take a few hours depending on how big they are.

They will be some of the juiciest slice pork sandwiches you’ve ever had!

Salmon

Definitely cook salmon at 225 unless you feel comfortable cooking over high heat as it is easy to overcook. It is highly recommended to brine salmon as well to help prevent drying out.

Cook until 145 internally and it should only take 45 min to an hour depending on the size of the filet.

Rest the meat

Just like cooking any type of meat you should let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing or carving.

This allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat and helps prevent it from leaking out as you cut it.

Carve correctly

With some of these meats, it is obvious how to cut, like with ribs or chicken, just follow the bones.

However, with brisket and other types, you need to slice against the grain. You should be able to visibly see muscle grains running in one direction, you will want to slice with your knife perpendicular to these.

This ensures your guest will be able to bite through a tender piece every time.

Enjoy with friends and family

Of course the best part about slow smoking a BBQ is being able to share with loved ones. So take a minute to enjoy your hard work with family and friends.

Have them bring the drinks and sides!

Do you have more BBQ tips? Let us know in the comments below!

Related How To Articles:

Brisket

Pork

Chicken

Ribs

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Is it possible for barbecue meat to smoke well in an electric smoker?

The concept of smoking food has evolved over the years. Today, it is more about taste and texture, not so much making food last longer. For tender and better-flavored meat, you may want to try out smoking your BBQ this season. When talking about smoked meat, most people think of ham and bacon, and not so much barbecue. But what if you could get just as much out of your electric smoker? The real question is, is it even possible to get your barbecue meat readied by your electric smoker? Find out below:

The art or science of smoking

Unlike the belief of most people, smoking is far much an art than it is a science. It is not so much about how well you can use your electric smoker, but how much patience and expertise you have in getting your barbecue meat evenly cooked.

Selecting a smoker

For your barbecue meat to be what you want it to be, you need to start with the choice of smoker you get. Technically, the entire process requires you to have a container to hold in the smoke, a source of the smoke, and the food to smoke. This means you need one of the best electric smokers there are in the market to set in for the cooking. However, when it comes to the choice of the smoker, you need to analyze it based on:

  1. The space you have
  2. The fuel you’d like to use
  3. The amount of effort you want to put into it
  4. the amount of food you would want to be preparing
  5. your budget

Your choice of fuel

Different smokers have different fuel needs, ranging from charcoal, wood pellets and propane, to hardwood and electricity.

However, for the best smokey taste on your barbecue meat, you need to get a smoker that relies on the hardwood as fuel. Freshly cut hardwood is the best as half of its weight is water. This gives your meat some nice, moist steam that will help flavor the meat. Other than that, hardwood contains a lot of sugars and carbohydrates, which further sweeten the meat.

The good thing is that you can find an electric smoker that can heat the wood and give you quite the results you need.

Controlling Temperature

Smoking barbecue meat requires a lot of patients and keenness to details. As the meat has to cook slow and low, you need a smoker that can control the temperatures. This is where an electric smoker can come in handy. Get one that has regulating controls to help with managing the temperatures. Remember that the low temperatures allow the smoke enough time to sink into the meat, while also to naturally tenderizing the meat.

Pro tip: Keep your temperature between 212 degrees Fahrenheit and 230 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.

Keep track of the smoke

On your electric smoker, you need to be alert with the kind of smoke you are using. The last thing you want is to end up with meat that tastes like they were in a house fire. Black smoke is a bad smoke you want to avoid. Your goal should be toward white and blue smoke, for a more refined taste. To avoid the black smoke, ensure that your food is not directly over the fire. The reason is that it will cause the juices of the meat to burn out because of the lack of proper ventilation.

To answer your question, it is very possible to enjoy barbecue meat smoked in an electric smoker. Like with other types of smokers, you will need to learn the art of smoking, so that your meat can be evenly and adequately cooked as you enjoy as much flavor and juices as possible.

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