How much pig will I need?


 
D

Don M

New member
I've been told that I'm cooking for a graduation party. 22 people. The request is pulled pork and ribs, if possible. I've got a 22 inch WSM. I'm thinking two decent sized butts on the bottom and as many ribs as I can fit in a rack on the top. Think I can fit any more ribs on the bottom? How much pork butt will I need and how many ribs can I fit in there?
Thanks, folks!
 
If it was me , you have enough pork butt. Is it going to be pulled or minced? As far as the ribs go if you roll the ribs you ought to get maybe seven on the top for a 1/3 of a rack for everybody. You don't have an OTG or Performer to add a couple more racks do you? Good luck!
 
Rick Reynolds said:
If it was me , you have enough pork butt. Is it going to be pulled or minced? As far as the ribs go if you roll the ribs you ought to get maybe seven on the top for a 1/3 of a rack for everybody. You don't have an OTG or Performer to add a couple more racks do you? Good luck!
Click to expand...

I agree with Rick.
Plus dont forget the sides..
 
I was planning on pulling the pork, not mincing it. I went to the store last night and they had two packs of bone-in pork butt for a $1.79 /lb. The total weight of two butts was around 15 lbs. Enough?
Sadly, no Performer or OTG; just a Weber gas grill.
Sides are covered.
 
I cook a lot of butts and almost always get right at a 50% yield. Of course the more you cook at a time the closer you will be to the average. Having more is never a problem.

15 lbs should yield you 7.5 lbs. If doing 1/4 lb sandwiches that's 30 sandwiches.

You didn't mention what type of ribs you would be cooking. I can get 3x STL Spares per 22" cooking grate and 4x Baby Backs per cooking crate. A sandwich and a quarter rack is a good size meal with a side or two and of course everyone probably won't eat both.

You could also finish your butts up earlier, wrap in foil and store in a cooler and then throw the ribs on. With just 2 butts I would use a smaller cooler and use towels on top to hold in the heat. Also you could foil the butts before they finish and finish the butts on the gasser while the ribs are on there if you didn't want to hold for that long.
 
Great info! Very helpful. I'm cooking Baby Backs. I normally fit 3 per rack on the 22.5 inch WSM, so I was thinking about using a rib rack to get more on, and perhaps trying to fit one rib on the rack with the butts, if possible.
I'm thinking the two butts should go on the bottom rack on the bottom rack and then add the ribs to the top rack later, right?
 
Don,

If you plan on having the butts & ribs finish at the same time then it would be fine to put them on top.

However if you plan on have the ribs finish at a later time than the butts, then you have a couple issues with the ribs on top. One, you are going to have to remove the ribs to pull the butts off. Two, you run cross contamination issues depending on your timing.

I would still suggest finishing the butts off early or foil & onto the gasser.
 
Another thought would be to do the PP the day before and reheat just prior to service. Just add in a little of the drippings and some apple juice when reheating. That leaves only the ribs that you need to worry about on the day of the party plus you have the added space for more ribs if you want. Also this will free you up from pulling 2-3 butts worth of meat and allow you to enjoy more of the party.
 
Just as a follow-up:
1. Put on two 8lbs butts about 4:30am. Party to start at 6:00pm
2. Butts done at 12:30pm!!! (last time I had one go 16 hours; this shocked me. Foiled both, but in a cooler to keep warm. Still very hot at 5:30pm when pulled.
Four racks of ribs on at 1:00pm. Done at 5:oopm.
4. Both were big hits with everyone. Thanks for all the help on my first big cook.
 
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