I need to make pulled pork for AT LEAST 20 adults on Saturday. Any suggestions on how many pounds of meat I will need? Keep in mind that there will be other things made such as hot dogs and hamburgers for the kids. I would assume that some adults may choose that (although I wouldn't recommend that over PBC Pulled Pork!). Thanks for any tips you have!
MeatHunter63 I agree 10 pounds will be more than enough. Be aware though they will love your Boston Butt and you will have left over hot dogs and things.
I agree with Pit Boss on this. I cook for 20 or so people every Sunday in the summer and I usually cook 2 butts when I do pulled pork... avg size is 6-8 lbs and there is usually enough for a few people to take home some left overs. Definitely the case if you are going to have burgers and dogs.... You may be able to get away with one 8+ pounder...
MeatHunter63, Seems to me I heard, read, or have been advised?, that when your cooking for a crowd and are going to have side dishes you can plan on needing 1/4 # - 1/3 # bare meat per person! If you know the guests a room full of Ditch Diggers are going to Eat More than a room Full of Ladies or Kids! Remember with Boston Butt you are going to have 20 - 30 % cut away (Shrinkage) do to Fat and Bone! In a Nutshell I Agree with David Parrish & Nate on their quantity estimates! Left overs can be frozen so Error on the Generous Side!
Eat Well and Prosper! From Fargo ND, Dan
If there is other food there, and the butts aren't sold in twins, you can get by with one. If you WANT to have leftovers then 2 will be way more than you need...but you can have fun messing around with the remaining butt. If you don't already have a FoodSaver (or other such device) get one!! Always good to have a bag or 3 of frozen PP ready to drop in boiling water for last minute meals or for beans, tacos, nachos...etc!
BBQCentralShow, Gregg That is just exactly the kind of good Common Sense Suggestions that I think would serve you and the Pit Cast and BBQCentralShow Well! ðŸ‘ÂðŸ‘ÂðŸ‘ÂðŸ‘ÂðŸ‘Â
Eat Well and Prosper! From Fargo ND, Dan
I would go with an 8-10 pounder given you have sides and other options. I also recommend halving the butt - 2 smaller butts will have more surface area for more bark.
Guys, let's look a little deeper. A 10# butt precooked weight will only yield about 70% cooked weight. That means you got 7# of cooked meat. At 3 sandwiches per pound, you're cutting it really close for 20 people. A 7# cooked butt and a 1/3# portion gives gou no room for a second serving and a lot of guys will easily pack back 2 pulled pork sammies. I'd be looking to cook something in the neighborhood of at least 13-14# precooked weight and a 70% yield of pulled pork. That equates to something like 27-30 portions after the cook. That gives you plenty of slack. This assumes a 50/50 split of women to men and the men each eating twos ammie's and the women eating one sammie.
Set up the table with sides at one end and pulled pork at the other end. Run people through the buffet from sides to pulled pork at the other end. That way folks fill up on sides. I'd also serve bags of popcorn seasoned with a light dusting of the rub you put on the butts. People love it. People also fill up on popcorn before the main event.
Here's to a great cook and even better memories with family and friends!
Popcorn seasoned with the same rub used on the butt? That is a really cool idea. Would you recommend it for a beef rub as well, or just a pork rub? @CeramicChef.
I honestly think 2 people per pound of pre-cooked meat is sufficient given personal experience.
CeramicChef - I shared your idea with my wife and she really liked it. We will definitely be trying it out for our next cook. It's a very clever idea. Thank you for sharing.
I always make the mistake of calculating how much I eat, and then multiplying that by the number of expected guests. So in your case, I'd probably cook about 15lbs of butt, and then just to be sure, throw in a few racks of spares. And maybe a 6 lb brisket flat, just in case. And then, like me, you would be able to send everybody home with leftovers, while wondering, yet again, why you made so much!
A lot of us have cooked for crowds and I have done so on countless occasions. The biggest mistake I see people make (my mom likes to call me for advice and then she always challenges my calculations thinking I shot too low) is they think in singular terms. They look at the butt and try to figure out how many people that butt, by itself, would feed. But, when you factor in munchies (chips and dip and whatnot), accompaniments (slaw for the pulled pork), sides and alternate meat options (hot dogs for the kids, etc.) and it turns out you just don't need quite nearly enough as you might think.
Given the fact that you are serving a lot more than just the pulled pork I am confident that 10 pounds is more than enough. It will be a little scary at first as it doesn't look like much food when it's pulled and when people start scooping it onto buns it looks like it's dwindling too quickly. But, before you know it everyone will have had a sammie and some will be coming up for seconds and you'll realize that you in fact have all you need.
Having said all of that, nothing wrong with making more than necessary. Pork butt is cheap and it is pretty good leftover. I like to freeze leftover pulled pork and use it along with andouille and chorizo sausage to make a cajun-style breakfast hash with the trinity, potatoes and a little shrimp or chicken stock to give it all some cohesiveness.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
I'm not going to write a book over this topic just smoked two 10 lbers and don't worry about it. What you have left over freeze it or let the guess take some home with them. There...problem solved
Thanks everyone for the awesome tips!! I'm going to go with 10 plus pounds separated into two hunks (probably an 8 and a 5) of meat for the extra bark. I am also going to try out CeramicChef's idea with the popcorn. Sounds delicious! The BBQ gods look like they are going to cooperate on Saturday. Should be sunny and around 70* here on the East Coast after a week of rain.
Bottom line is what are you more worried about running out of - food or money. If the former, cook extra, if the latter, cut it close - if you run out of Q, people will eat other things.
If the former, cook extra, if the latter, cut it close - if you run out of Q, people will eat other things. 
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