Biggest Cook Coming Up.....Questions???

[G Savrnoch]

I hope this is the appropriate forum for the question.

So I've done plenty of butts for the home crowd and have it down to a science I think.

This weekend coming up I've been asked to do some pulled pork for mom's 75th birthday party where we expect 35-40 guests. Now there will be plenty of other food besides the pork so it will not be the only option. But, I've never cooked for such a large event with so many guests.

So a few questions for the more experienced here.

1. How much food should I expect to cook i.e. how many lbs. per person? Keep in mind, there will be lots and lots of other food including grilled burgs etc....
2. If it's a bone in shoulder, how much meat can I expect after it's pulled off? (e.g. 5 lbs. of meat from 8 lb. bone-in shoulder)
3. With multiple shoulders in the WSM can I expect approx. the same cook times i.e. 1.5 hours per lb? So if for example I had 2-8 lb. shoulders, is it still approx. 12 hours cook time or does the added meat affect things?
4. Would you pull it at home and put it in containers e.g. foil top for transport (20 minutes away)? Or keep it wrapped and pull there? Does it matter either way?
5. Sauce in, or on the side? My preference is leave the sauce off and let the person choose how they want it.

For the record, I always cook to doneness temp NOT time. But I need to still estimate my time.

To be honest I feel a bot of pressure on this one only because I'm serving several people beyond my immediate family. Generally when I cook at home I don't put a lot of thought to it, I just have fun and enjoy the cook. I think my pork is great and so does anyone else I've shard it with. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

 

[ChuckO]

You mention you have a bullet proof method, however if time is the essence, here's a cook I did for a large crowd, that knocks off at least 1/4 the time to cook butts.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?51784-Smoked-and-Braised-Pulled-Pork

I duplicated the above, below

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?52135-A-Mike-Coffman-inspired-cook

20 LBS produce the below yield (bone in) I transported it about the same distance as you need to transport. As you can see, I made the meat available as is, and people could put it in provided buns or tortila

My point is, you can have a quality cook in a short amount of time, and when it comes to birthdays, time is not always on your side

 

[G Savrnoch]

I love it, I am going to remember this one for future. Basically 3 hours in the smoke and 5 hours braised in beer. Having said that, time is not an issue on this one. The party is Sunday afternoon so I can put the butts on any time Saturday.

 

[KevinJ]

Hello,

1 & 2) Average yield is just over 1/2 the starting weight of the butt. So an average 8lber will give you 4 pulled. With tons of other food you can assume 1 sandwich per person at 1/4 lb per sandwich. So for 40 people you need 10lbs pulled and that would mean 3 butts with some leftovers. For me, if I am buying three i might as go with 4 since they come in packs of 2. (If the PP is the main food I tend to go with 1/3 to ½ a pound per person.)

3) Cook time will be the same. It may take the smoker a little longer to get to temp, but total cook time should not vary too much.

4) No doubt, pull at home. Pulling all of that takes some time and it can be messy. Pull it, add finishing sauce, and transport so when you get to the party you can enjoy.

5) As mentioned above just use a finishing sauce when pulling. The meat will soak it up and add another layer of flavor. If you want to really go for it, try making a few sauces off of some recipes here and let them pick the one they want.

Good luck with everything.

 

[G Savrnoch]

Hello,

1 & 2) Average yield is just over 1/2 the starting weight of the butt. So an average 8lber will give you 4 pulled. With tons of other food you can assume 1 sandwich per person at 1/4 lb per sandwich. So for 40 people you need 10lbs pulled and that would mean 3 butts with some leftovers. For me, if I am buying three i might as go with 4 since they come in packs of 2. (If the PP is the main food I tend to go with 1/3 to ½ a pound per person.)

3) Cook time will be the same. It may take the smoker a little longer to get to temp, but total cook time should not vary too much.

4) No doubt, pull at home. Pulling all of that takes some time and it can be messy. Pull it, add finishing sauce, and transport so when you get to the party you can enjoy.

5) As mentioned above just use a finishing sauce when pulling. The meat will soak it up and add another layer of flavor. If you want to really go for it, try making a few sauces off of some recipes here and let them pick the one they want.

Good luck with everything.

Awesome..........thanks for the advice.