Hot Dog Dinner Duty Instructions

 

Pack 204 rotates the responsibility for preparing the Hot Dog dinner between dens.  Here’s how to make it work when it’s your den’s turn.

 

  1. Divide the Den – Divide up the responsibilities ahead of time.  You’ll need a “preparation” crew and a “cleanup” crew.
  2. Pick up the gear – There’s a milk carton of paper plates, paper cups, dried lemonade, etc.  Pick it up from the Den that previously had “Hot Dog” duty.  There may be leftover hot dogs, buns, chips, etc…
  3. Shop.  Usually, we go to the Smart and Final store at 1783 Hillsdale Avenue.   This year we’ve got about 40 cubs and you can probably count on about 30 on any given night, plus parents.  Counting leftovers you’ve inherited you’ll want to total up to roughly:

·         50-75 hot dogs and buns.  We have one family who can’t eat pork so all beef hot dogs are what we use.  They come in both refrigerated and frozen varieties.  You can get the frozen if they’re cheaper, but they’ll take a little longer to cook.  Cook times below assume refrigerated.

·         Two or three huge bags of chips depending on size.  You’re going for roughly 4lbs of chips here.  It can happen that the monster box of individual chips is cheaper than big bags.  Kids like individual packs.

·         Mustard, Ketchup and Relish.  We go through a big bottle of Ketchup and Relish every two meetings.  Big bottles of Mustard last quite a bit longer.

·         Enough dry lemonade to make 4 gallons.  We don’t usually need to buy this.

·         Paper plates, paper cups, and napkins.  Figure on using about 60.

·         Individual foil sheets.  Again, we very seldom need to buy these.

·         The budget goal is 50 dollars.  Try not to overspend.  (Save the receipt so you can submit it to the Pack Treasurer for reimbursement)

  1. Pack Meeting – Show up early at 5:45 PM.  You’ll need time to get the water pot boiling, so start that first – as soon as you arrive.  Pick one of the “medium huge” pots, (not the really giant ones) fill it with water, and put it on the stove with a lid.  (Only one person really needs to be this early for this)
  2. Trash cans:  Put one of the big 33 gallon cans in the kitchen, and one out in the small hall.  Giant can liners are hiding somewhere.
  3. Set up tables and chairs in Healy Hall (the Gym).
  4. Cook the dogs.  Drop in the first batch between 6:15 PM and 6:20PM.   You’ll want your full “preparation crew” present for pulling them out, stuffing them into buns, and wrapping them in foil beginning at 6:25PM.  Cubs start showing up right at 6:30.  I usually use tongs (in the drawer next to the stove) for pulling out the hot dogs.
  5. Cook the second batch.  As soon as the first batch is out, drop in the second batch.  You’ll have a huge stack of ready hot dogs and it will look like you won’t need more, but they get eaten fast.   The second batch should come out about 6:40, which is about when the second big crush of cubs shows up, and when the first group starts going back for their second hot dog.
  6. Start the cleanup.   The cleanup crew can get started as soon as the last dog is wrapped, though the job can’t be completed until after the small hall’s cleared out.
  7. Wash all dishes.  There’s dishwashing detergent available and a huge stash of laundry service towels in the cabinet over the biggest sink.  Return everything where it came from.
  8. Wipe down all kitchen counters, and all tables
  9. Break down tables and stack chairs.
  10. Sweep the floor.  Small broom and dustpan is probably in the tall locker closest to the swinging door in between the kitchen and the small hall.  Big push duster is in the big storage room behind the gym at the end of breezeway.
  11. Take out the trash and put fresh liners in the trash cans.

 

Pack 204 thanks you for your effort!

 

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