HELLO AMERICANS. please help

[kayboose]

Morning chaps. I am an Englishman seeking some advice on bbq-ing and thought there would be no better people to ask than you guys.
my predicament is thus:
Its my brother in laws 30th birthday in june and he would love to have some kind of bbq/smoker set up to feed everyone. we are going to borrow a barn and field and have about 20-30 people in attendance. i would quite like to have something as a showpiece but hog roasting has been done to death (and also there would be to much meat) i was hoping you guys could suggest some suitable ideas for how to cook and/or smoke, what cuts of meat, how long it would take.
I dont have any kit save for a basic bell smoker at the moment but i am quite happy to go out and buy whatever is needed, however, i have had quite good experiences in the past with fire pit barbecues but only on a small scale. however, how would i get smoking done with just a fire pit?
With regards to meat, i quite like the idea of the spectacle associated with a whole pigs head, but would that feed 30 people or would some people end up with a plate full of fat? Would a whole suckling pig be a good idea? too small or big? Also, if nescessary i can camp out next to whatever setup i make the night before so i can take care of the cooking for however long it takes.
any informatioon/suggestions would be very gratefully recieved.

Many cheers.
Dave

[BluDawg]

I go with a whole shoulder a couple of chickens and and 3 racks of ribs, Cut the ribs into 3 sections down the length of the rack before cooking to make riblets.

[Boots]

I think Dawg is on target, if only using your bell smoker yer limitation would be how much meat can you physcially stack into your smoker in order to have something for everybody. Myself in that situation, I would go all pig ribs because they are flat and you can stack them it you need to like cordwood.

If you also use a firepit method (we characterize that as "grilling") then you have the option of doing split chickens or some flat beef (flank steak, flat iron steak, etc).

[Gator]

How about digging a pit, stacking bricks and BBQing over an open fire - that is my favorite and is how "they did it in the good ole days in Texas" - Google Lyndon B Johnson BBQ. Quite the spectacle.

However the degree of difficulty to BBQ for 30 folks with little experience = high & 30 people standing around "waiting" on the food to finish makes it worse. That would suck the fun right out of it for me. I would give whatever you decide a trial run or have it pre-cooked....you don't want the party to be your first attempt. IMO.

Good luck and take pic's.

['89HOG]

You could start the day with a good breakfast ala South Tejas, and cook cabeza (cow's head) in the ground... the way vaqueros used to do it. Dig a 2 ft diameter hole x 2 feet deep. Build a fire with lots of mesquite wood and let it burn until it becomes glowing red embers. Cover the embers with a couple of inches of dirt. During the time the fire is burning, be preparing the cow's head by rinsing it good, removing the eyes, ears, and tongue. Although some people like the taste of the tongue, cooked in this method it usually leaves the rest of the head with a bad taste (no pun intended). Once the cabeza is clean, add salt, pepper, 3 large 1015 onions (sliced), 3 cloves of garlic, cut up cilantro, and cover it with thick parchment paper (or foil). Then wrap that in a burlap sack that has been soaked in water. Put the cabeza in the hole over the dirt, then fill the hole the rest of the way. Build a small fire over the hole and keep it going for 8-10 hours. Once the fire is out, get the shovels and dig out your meal. Uncover and serve with corn tortillas.

Cheers