Barbecue Catering 101

By DONNA L. COLE

Nothing says summer cookout quite like barbecue, but really who wants to deal with the mess especially if company’s coming? With a handful of local purveyors specializing in catered, finger lickin’, smokin’ spit-fired, honest-to-goodness goodness, all you’ll need to worry about are the napkins — oh right, they bring those and wet wipes too.

So, where do you start? Here’s a tough assignment — try out the area barbecue joints and pick the one you like best. Once that decision is made, it’s on to specifics. You’ll need to know the number of guests expected and what type of food you’ll want — whole pigs, ribs, chicken, pulled pork and so forth.

“My words of wisdom are to trust the people doing your booking,” said Jenni Rooney, assistant manager of Adam’s Ribs Eastport/Annapolis. “It’s best to figure out ahead what you want and then let them guide you figuring out the numbers.”

With a wide array of different combinations, Adam’s includes just about everything you’ll need short of the kitchen sink — tables, main courses, sides, desserts, wipes, utensils and the list goes on.

Each Adam’s Ribs is individually owned, but according to Rooney, when Adam’s Eastport quotes, they include it all in one price.

“Different companies price things differently,” she said. “When people are booking catering, ask up front if there are any hidden charges.”

If ribs are the main course, Rooney estimates a pound per person, but there’s another option, which ensures the right amount is ordered.

“We bring our food there, we bring our own grills and cook the food to order,” said Rooney. “If it is 50 people we know how much food to bring, if it’s 100 people … that’s one of the advantages of cooking the food there — we just keep cooking until everyone is fed.”

As for current trends in barbecuing, well, let’s just say it’s not good news for Porky.

“Something that’s become really popular and a lot of fun is whole pigs — having a pig picking party,” explained Rooney. “We bring the pig cookers with us.”

What about vegetarians?

“We’re always able to provide food for vegetarians,” she said. “We’ve been noticing it’s definitely on the upswing; veggie burgers, Portobello burgers, grilled vegetables — we can always accommodate any dietary restriction.”

There’s another interesting item you might not expect to find at a barbecue.

“I love the grilled fish — salmon with a pineapple mango salsa or Alaskan halibut with sweet tea glaze,” said Rick Smith, who with his wife, Nadine, own Bayside Bull in Edgewater, as well as an upscale catering division called Catering by the Bay.

Regardless of fitting the mold, he definitely knows a thing or two about catering barbecue.

“We’ve fed the Brigade of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy several times — we feed them about twice a year — 4,000 Mids,” said Smith.

Included in this lineup are pulled pork, pulled chicken and pulled beef among other delicacies.

According to Smith, his catering prices range from $6 to $140.

Budget is perhaps the most important consideration with planning of a barbecue.

“You’ve got to have a base to start with, then you can scale down or scale up,” said Marla George, owner of Pit Boys in Annapolis.

“What sets us apart — everything is homemade, we do all of our salads, we make everything ourselves,” said George, who said they cater all types of events, including very fancy.

But it always starts with a grill.

“I can cook just about anything on a grill — even eggs,” she said. “Anything I do for parties, we do on a grill.”

You can leave it to your barbecue caterers to suggest sides and desserts too, but if you want some informality to the event or don’t have to budget to include the extras, you can divvy up desserts and sides among the guests.

Those guests with last names beginning with A through L handle side dishes, M through Z take care of desserts.

What’s an absolute must at your barbecue?

“Ribs,” said Rooney. “Ribs, ribs and more ribs — ours are baby back. We have a patented, secret recipe that I cannot divulge to you — all the Adam’s do it that way; it’s a time honored tradition, but I can tell you they’re the best ribs in the area. But, it’s a secret — if I told you, I’d have to barbecue you.”

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in the Annapolis area. She writes the “Home of the Week” for The Capital.