how much pulled pork


 
J

J Rector

TVWBB Super Fan
Hello Everyone

I was asked to make pulled pork for my dept at work and will need to feed 12 people.How much should I start with in raw meat? I'm figuring around 1/2lb per person just to be safe ,but whats the rule of thumb for weight loss.
I'll be cooking this next Sunday and taking it in a crock pot to reheat so I can stink the whole oplace up
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.Is there anything I should be aware of with a crock pot?Never used one.

Thanks for the help
Jeff
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff rector:
...How much should I start with in raw meat? ... crock pot?Never used </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Most say allow for 50% shrinkage and that would be 12 lbs of raw meat. The number of sides and particular appetites you are aware of could make a difference. I always err on the side of too much.

I've used a crockpot a lot, but never to warm pulled pork. My thought would be low because they do generate a good bit of heat and you don't want it to overcook and dry out. They take some time to warm up so you should probably allow an hour. I would spray the CP liner with pam.

The only problem you'll have is the DEMAND for a repeat performance.
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Paul
 
No, if you assume 50% shrinkage and 1/2 pound per person, you'd need 12 pounds. But, for this few number of people I'd recommend you:

1. Prepare two boston butt roasts and cook them as you like
2. let them rest for an hour or two wrapped in foil and stashed in a cooler
3. pull the pork
4. portion into vacuum bags (i.e. foodsaver)
5. suck and freeze
6. reheat packages of pork in a large pan of hot water

If you have a vacuum saver of some sort then I'd recommend using it. You can reheat w/o drying the meat out. There has been much discussion on here about that and some searching might provide some additional tips for you. I'm assuming you have the option of heating a large pot of water. If not, then your crockpot idea might work ok. Just don't overcook it as Paul mentioned.

Also, if you have a vacuum saver and don't mind a little extra work, make four shoulders and save it all up. It's always nice to have extra. BBQ and homebrew are better than hard currency when bartering for favors
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24 lbs ! The extra 12 was to have avaiable when the boss threatens to fire you if you don't bring it again tomorrow !!
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Sorry about the math, I'll correct on my first post to avoid misleading someone.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff rector:
Hello Everyone

I was asked to make pulled pork for my dept at work and will need to feed 12 people.How much should I start with in raw meat? I'm figuring around 1/2lb per person just to be safe ,but whats the rule of thumb for weight loss.
I'll be cooking this next Sunday and taking it in a crock pot to reheat so I can stink the whole oplace up
icon_biggrin.gif
.Is there anything I should be aware of with a crock pot?Never used one.

Thanks for the help
Jeff </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I did this twice. Both times the people were "sauceaholics". I put the pulled pork in the CP and added BBQ sauce. I know I lost a lot of the "bite from the bark" but they seemed to like it and ask when I'm bringing more.

Using baggies or the foodsaver does appear to be the best choice.

Depending on what you intend to serve with it will determine how much pork you'll need. If you just serve pork & buns you'll go thru a lot of pork. Add some cole slaw (vinegar based is my favorite with a vinegar based sauce is my favorite) and another easy side will cut down on the amount of pork you'll need.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
 
The foodsaver is definitely the way to go. We cook 4 butts at a time, pull the bone out and then freeze two of them for future use. We defrost and then boil the butts in the bag for reheating. Works terrific!
 
I think 1/2 lb. per person is pretty generous. I'm a huge eater, and putting away 1/2 lb. of pulled pork would REALLY fill me up. For some reason, it just seems to fill me up quicker than, say, a 1/2 steak would.

Last week I fed 5 people, 2 of them big eaters, and we didn't even come close to polishing off all of the meat from a 6lb. butt.
 
Thanks for the replys everyone

I'm stuck right now with bringing the pork n and then adding it to the cp and letting it warm up there.I plan on cooking and pulling sunday and taking it in mon. A foodsaver is not an option at this point.I was thinkin of putting it in a large foilpan sealed and take it in the following morning.As far as the amount is concerned the general way of talking has been making pp subs with hoagie rolls.As far as barks concerned I doubt they know what it is.Any other Ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks again for the help
Jeff
 
A large foil pan for transport is fine but cool the pork as you pull it as quickly as possible before sealing the pan. Couple things you can do: Chill your sauce. As you pull the pork kind of spread it out on a cookie sheet and when the sheet is full stick it in the fridge on a rack if necessary so that air can circulate under it. Repeat with another sheet or pan. When the pork is cool or almost there put it in your foil pan and mix in a little cold sauce before sealing your pan and returning it to the fridge. Any way you want to chill it quickly will work; the point here is that you don't want to seal a pan with a mass of warm meat in it and stick it in the fridge, nor do you want to cool it on the counter. Either way it takes too long and you open yourself up to bacterial issues and/or off flavors.

When I save butt for a re-heat and I'm wanting to make a big deal of the bark, I save the bark separately from the pork. I reheat the pp alone, make adjustments by adding vinegar, juice, sauce, or rub, then when it's hot (and about 15 min before serving) I add the bark to the top of the pork (chopping it up a bit first if needed). Right at serving time, I stir it in.
 
Thanks Mr Kruger
I knew there was something I could mess up.I never woudl've thought to cool it first.now maybe I wont give everyone food poisoning
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.Although there may be a few there i wouldn't lose any sleep over
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.

Thanks again
Jeff
 
Jeff, I've served pulled pork a LOT at work, and I think I've got it down as far as amount/heating.

Two 6lb. butts will feed 25 people, with an average mix of men/women (men eat about twice as much, so you gotta figure for that).

For heating, bring refrigerated/thawed pork in a ziplock baggy to work, then stick it in a crockpot (on high at first, then turn on low when it's heated) about 2-3 hours before serving. It will come out nice n juicy, and the prelunch smell will drive your co-workers nuts.
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I wanted to add to this.

I am taking pulled pork to a party of 5 couples + kids this weekend. I am going to do 2 6lb butts (leftovers, all the better). Now, I plan on pulling the pork just prior to leaving for the party. Is it OK to just throw it in one of those foil pans, throw a little vinegar sauce, cover it and leave for the party? We would eat within 1-2 hrs of pulling the pork...I could also throw the tin foil pan in towels, in a cooler.

OR I could take the finished butts to their house (wrapped in foil and in cooler) and pull it there.

What do u think?
 
If you pull it before departing, it will cool rapidly to below 140°. If you are waiting 2 hours to serve, you want to keep it above 140°. Whole, foil-wrapped, and in a cooler with towels, it should stay above 140 on its own. Depends on if you feel like showing off and pulling it at the party.
 
Jeff,

Like John L, I've done this cook several times with raving success at work. I follow the same approach he does. I've found that a 7lb butt (precook weight) will feed 8 or 9 pretty hungry guys.

The only other thing I might add to John's approach is I add some "juice" to it while reheating, about 1/2 - 3/4 cup for a butt. The "juice" is about 2 parts apple juice, 1 part vinegar, and about a tablespoon of rub I applied to the butts. Add it to the croc pot when you empty the meat in the bag, warm on high for about 1.5 hours, stir, switch to low for another hour or so and people will start walking around in a daze from the smell.

I'm sure it'll go great.

Jim - show it off at the party.


P.S. Ask someone else to bring in buns and sides, make a potluck out of it.
 
Guys

After an 18hr cook AND 1 more hr in the oven at 325...I foil wrapped both butts at 200F internal and put in cooler with lots of towels. In cooler at 3:30, out at 6 at the party to be pulled. PERFECT! Very hot still..almost same as when I put them in. Pulled, threw in my aluminum pan and added about a cup of a vinegar/black pepper/brown sugar 'pre-sauce'. Everyone was very pleased.

Thanks for the advice! Pulling it at the party was the ticket...definitely guaranteed hot and safe meat!
 
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