Mexican buffet- help please

[indignatio]

Hi. I would like to feed 100 or so in the summer. I have settled on a Mexican theme. I was planning bbq hot food of chicken, beef Salmon and vegetables. Sides of different salads and then salsas, guacamole and soured cream.
Any advice welcomed
Help on the day will be abundant, as much prep in advance(frozen) is welcomed

Hi, OP -

Sounds wonderful. I adore Mexican food!

By all means do this if you like, but salmon is a cold water fish and one of the few that does not feature in Mexican cuisine. However I think it goes well with several traditional Mexican flavourings such as lime, chiles, cilantro, etc. Also avocado.

Prawns, catfish, Chilean sea bass, tuna and many others are genuine Mexican substitutes.

Chicken and beef of course feature heavily in Mexican cooking so that’s great.

One nice touch would be laying in Mexican sour cream, Mexican Coca Cola (much tastier than the European stuff), Mexican beer and maybe having a Margarita bar - the last two only if you are doing alcohol, of course. I am writing somewhat glibly because I have done this in America but I know it might be really tricky to find some of these things in the UK.

Your idea sounds fabulous and I hope you have a great time!

Love Mexican food.

Sounds fabulous OP. can I come? LOL

I love Mexican food too! For the fish you can use hake or haddock. I doubt you will find Chilean sea bass or catfish in the U.K.

Make sure to put some corn cobs on the bbq grill. Also try to find a make a tomatillo sauce. And fresh tacos!

Tamales. They are work but delicious.

As a vegetarian who loves Mexican food - please do lots of refried beans too!

Mexican rice and beans would be good.

@poetryandwine Thank you.

I think I will have to stick with salmon due to availability and cost. Catfish might be a step too far.

Margaritas are definitely on the menu.

How does Mexican soured cream differ from uk soured cream please?

@Overtheatlantic

Thank you. I was thinking esquites to incorporate sweetcorn. I will have to use feta rather than cotija

I have tried to grow tomatillos in the past without too much success. They are not a vegetable (fruit) I have ever come across at the local market.

Fresh tacos and @MrsTerryPratchett tamales maybe a step too far for 100

Sounds fantastic! Can I come?

Personally, I would have gone for a build your own taco bar and/or chili con carne with a chocolate dessert because I think it would be easier than the food you have chosen. But your choices sound far tastier!

Is gazpacho soup Mexican or Spanish? Just curious as I serve it with both.

Being a practical sort my thoughts immediately go to that's a lot of guacamole you're going to need, and it can't really be made in advance because avocados are not so nice not fresh, who's going to be mashing the probably 35 minimum avos for you OP? That's allowing about a third of an avo per person assuming everyone will want a spoonful of guacamole with their meal.
Sounds completely fab though, may I ask what the event is? I'm imagining a lovely garden party of some kind. You need a designated guacamole maker!

@Coyoacan and @FloweryFlump

Thank you both. Because of the issue in keeping food warm (I have only capacity for the bbq items mentioned above) I was thinking of a bean salad to incorporate the beans.

As a vegetarian, if all the salads and salsas were vegetarian (and gluten free) would you feel short changed if the only bbq/hot food was the peppers, onions mix ?

If your avos are ripe enough, I would have thought guacamole in the Kenwood would be doable - just get the lemon or lime juice in quickly.

If you have a bit of oven space, a casserole I have mentioned here is easy, filling and forgiving.

parboil chunks of pumpkin. Make an Italian type tomato sauce. Slice the pumpkin and layer in a dish was the sauce. Sprinkle nutmeg and a bit of cinnamon between the layer and mix in bacon bits or Greek feta for a salt hit. Breadcrumbs on top and into the oven until brown.

To serve 100, each week for a few weeks, get another lasagne dish from the charity shop and make another batch and freeze. Defrost and reheat early. Wrap in foil to keep. It won’t matter if it isn’t piping hot when it’s served.

@DifficultBloodyWoman I think gazpacho is Spanish, but there is bound to be a South American twist which could be used.

@heldinadream I was planning on 1/4 avocado per person, will have to look again at quantities. Now, how to ensure 25/33 avocados are all ripe on the correct same day, that will be a challenge. I did have a designated guacamole maker, but unfortunately he can't make it now. I will find another before the beginning of August

Abandoned by your designated guacamole maker OP, that's shocking! 😂Hope you find another one. Gosh yes hadn't thought about making sure they are all ripe, avos are not good at cooperating are they?

@TheSandgroper Thank you

I love the lasagna dish idea. The pumpkin recipe doesn't really fit with the rest of the menu, but the concept is perfect.

The local charity shops have already been the source of the glasses and cocktail shakers for the margaritas as well as a lot of cutlery

At the risk of upsetting the purists, you can buy frozen avocado. It’s expensive but it’s pretty good and it’s ready chopped so all you have to do is mash it a bit if you like your guacamole chunky.

This beef is amazing. The orange juice makes it.

www.recipetineats.com/mexican-shredded-beef-and-tacos/

It sounds really lovely but catering yourself for 100 especially where part of it is bbq is a massive undertaking. How many bbqs have you got? Mexican food is always incredibly messy as well I find with juices leaking out from the sides of tacos or burritos etc. You'll need a ton of napkins.

It's very old school but my mexican dip always gets devoured.
Quesadillas ( pre-made and just heated through on the bbq or a frypan and then sliced into triangles.) Lime mixed with sour cream to pour on everything. Defiinitely need corn cobs ( sprinkle with seasoning before bbqing).

Agree with pp. It is a lot for 100. Assume its an important event. People will end up with sauce down their fronts, so maybe don't ask for evening dress!
And yes 1000 napkins at least.

As a vegetarian, if all the salads and salsas were vegetarian (and gluten free) would you feel short changed if the only bbq/hot food was the peppers, onions mix ?

yes, I would tbh.

As a vegetarian, what would you want so as not to feel short changed?

Do you have or could borrow/hire multiple bain maries to keep things hot? Unless your family have a Mexican background, I would think majority are used to TexMex type 'Mexican' rather than actual Mexican meals.

I think someone else mentioned having a Mexican lasagne, using tortilla wraps as the lasagne sheets. Its lovely served hot with guacomole and salad Mexican lasagne (taste.com.au)

I'd just set up serve yourself type options- tortilla wraps, tacos etc with various fillings- meat, cheese, rice, guacomole etc.

That seems like a lot of food to have to bbq fresh. I would personally do a slow cooked Mexican pulled pork, as well as chicken pibil (slow cooked chicken) as you can cook both in advance and they both keep warm well in a low temp oven or slow cooker. I’d serve with plenty of tacos and tortilla chips along with the guacamole, salsas, sour cream, salad etc.

For veggies I would do a vegetarian chilli (black bean and sweet potato is nice) as you can also cook this in advance and keep warm. I’d cook rice fresh and they can then have the same guacamole, salsas etc as the meat eaters.

I also don’t think a 1/4 of an avocado per person will be enough, people will load the guacamole on and some people may go back for seconds