Pulled pork Sliders -how much meat?

[WICKSTICK83]

I’ll be making pulled pork for sliders for a large crowd. I don’t have a people number but they said they wanted enough meat for 1000 sliders. Initially it was around 300 but since I committed they asked if 1000 was too much.

Sliders are the small buns so not a whole lot of meat on each one, maybe 3 sliders to one regular size sandwich? The staff will be serving so the portions can be controlled and would be average size. I’ve seen portion suggestions per person but I couldn’t find anything like how much per sandwich, let alone a slider.

Any suggestions on how to figure out the amount of raw pork butt will be needed for this?

Luckily I found about 80 lbs (precook) of pork butt in my freezer and the Metro Market has it for 1.79/lb this week.

Thanks all in advance.

[jfmorris]

If I had to make a guess, I would say 2 ounces of pulled pork for a slider. A regular size bun would take 4 to 6 ounces.

1000 sliders is still a bunch of meat - 2000 ounces *FINISHED* product. 125 pounds of pulled pork. Since your post cook weight is about 1/2 the pre cook weight, especially if using bone-in butts, that is a LOT of butts. I hope you have access to a large trailer style offset! Or the ability to back out of the cook that has more than tripled in size...

[WICKSTICK83]

You pretty much figured with the same numbers I had in my head. Was hoping I was wrong.
I’m lobbying for a lower number like 500.The wife is on the church planning committee so I should have some luck there. (She loves my pulled pork)
I can manage that. 3 cooks each, 40 lbs on at a time. In the past on my large WSM four, 10lb butts cook with no issue.
Thanks for the input!

[bbqLuv]

2000 ounces cooked at 50% loss, means 4000 ounces uncooked, which comes out to 250 pounds, or 25 10 lb. butts. Butts generally weigh in between 6-10 LB.
Good Luck and have fun.

[Draznnl]

When I recently made about 100 sliders for a block party, I went with 1/8 pound of cooked pulled pork per slider. I found about 25 pounds of raw boneless shoulders were needed. Hope this helps you in your Herculean endeavor.

[jfmorris]

That is good confirmation of the number we came up with above, since 1/8 pound = 2 ounces.

[FireMan]

Or call your local Q joint in town. They still there? Haven’t been in East Troy since before Covid.

[WICKSTICK83]

LD’s is great!! Still going strong. It’s worth the trip plus there’s lots more to do in East Troy.

[Donw]

Some suggestions.
You don’t have to do it all in one day. Cook what you can when you can, and pull and freeze in bags that can be reheated on the day.
If you have a pressure cooker like and Instant Pot, cook some of the butts in there. They cook fast so you can cook a number of butts quickly. The meat will be tender and juicy and when you mix it with butts done on the smoker it will add moisture to the mix and the mix will have the flavor and bark of the smoked butts. If you lightly sauce it will all taste the same no matter how cooked.
On the day reheat how you wish, place quantities in hotel pans, sauce and hold covered in an oven until a pan is needed on the line. I’m a purist when cooking for a small crowd but a realist when feeding 300+ people. Just my 2¢.

[WICKSTICK83]

That’s a good idea for keeping it juicy. Thanks for the advice. I do plan to spread out the cook. Can fit about 40 lbs per cook on my WSM and using the butts made room in my freezers. Also got one of those temp controllers, that should be a big help.