Party with 125 Guests

[Patrick Sullivan]

I'm cooking for a party on Saturday for 125 guests. I've got 50 lbs of finished pulled pork and about 35 lbs of smoked turkey breast (Aaron Franklin's recipe). Do I have enough meat or should I cook more??? I plan to heat the meat sous vide, then serve.

 

[JKalchik]

IIRC, common wisdom is 1/2 to 1 lb. finished per person. You have 85 lbs, for 125 guests. If you have plenty of sides, that may be sufficient. Also depends greatly on the crowd. If this is a high school football team...... yeah, you'll need more.

 

[Anthony Hunter]

IIRC, common wisdom is 1/2 to 1 lb. finished per person. You have 85 lbs, for 125 guests. If you have plenty of sides, that may be sufficient. Also depends greatly on the crowd. If this is a high school football team...... yeah, you'll need more.

I agree. If everyone eats an average of 8 oz. each, you’ll be ok, but if your guests are really hawngry you will likely run short. Better to have too much than not enough, so you may want to bump your meats by 10-20%

 

[Jonas-Switzerland]

If you want to be on the safe side, pulled pork is really easy to freeze and reheat on the spot. If you have a freezer available, this could be an easy spillover catch, without wasting good food.

For beef I calculate 200gr or 1/2 lbs per person. But IMO heavily smoked stuff like pulled pork or pulled beef easily goes like 300-400gr per person (assuming you smoked 50 lbs of pork butt. If you smoked pork butt and arrived at 50 lbs pulled pork, then its a different story)

 

[Tony Coloma]

Pound per person and massive sides. Usually more than enough.
What will you be serving. Who, when, what kind of event is this?

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I think you will be fine, load some pans of Mac and cheese, baked beans, cheesy potatoes into the mix and the day will be won!

 

[Patrick Sullivan]

Pound per person and massive sides. Usually more than enough.
What will you be serving. Who, when, what kind of event is this?

It is a wedding reception celebration. My wife and I got married one year ago. I had cancer at the time and we did a quick ceremony with only a few relatives. We want to have a larger get together with friends and family. I have artichoke dip, elote dip, pulled pork, smoked turkey, beans, mac & cheese, cole slaw and cake for dessert.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I agree. If everyone eats an average of 8 oz. each, you’ll be ok, but if your guests are really hawngry you will likely run short. Better to have too much than not enough, so you may want to bump your meats by 10-20%

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

It is a wedding reception celebration. My wife and I got married one year ago. I had cancer at the time and we did a quick ceremony with only a few relatives. We want to have a larger get together with friends and family. I have artichoke dip, elote dip, pulled pork, smoked turkey, beans, mac & cheese, cole slaw and cake for dessert.

Congratulations on the recovery! Blessings on you and your wife too! I’m pretty sure you will have plenty of food! Try to relax as much as you can, these things may be fun but, can also be stressful.
You have plenty of feasting, so, let that just go. The rest will all fall together as it will.

 

[BFletcher]

I echo TFL's sentiments; congratulations and I hope you are doing well.

Please consider sharing some pictures with us!