Pulled Pork Question


 
M

Mike BBQ

New member
Hi I have been asked to smoke some Pulled Pork for a church event, they told me to plan on about 45 - 50 people so I figure I need about 4 pork butts in the 8lb range. Question's
if I cook all 4 on my WSM 18 at the same time will they fit ?
How much longer will it take to do all 4 at the same time ?
Or do I just do it over two days time ?
Maybe I do 2 of them and take 2 to my son and have him do 2 for me?

Thanks for the help
 
You can fit all four on the two racks just fine. Very efficient to do it that way.

It will take longer and take more charcoal/BTUs since you have a much bigger mass to raise the temp on. I would ditch the water and try to cook at a higher temp than normal.

After 8-10 hours in the smoke and after your bark is set, you really don't need to be doing anything other than raising the internal temp to get to the 200-ish tender zone. At that point, any heat source will do. So I'd go ahead and wrap and hit the easy button. Cook the wrapped butts on a gas grill or in your kitchen oven at like 300F until tender.

Once done, you can put the butts in a cooler with towels. You can hold/rest them that way for a loooong time.
 
according to bbq bible: "When cooked and shredded, a bone-in pork shoulder will lose around 40 percent of its weight. For example, a raw 10-pound pork shoulder (or two 5-pounders) will yield about 6 pounds of finished meat, serving 12 to 18 people"

If you go conservative (having more meat per person, 10 lbs of raw meat for 12 people gives you about 0.8 lbs raw meat per person. 50 people x 0.8 lbs raw per person = 40 lbs.... so you might be 1 butt shy of having "plenty"

However much you decide to make it, I would recommend cooking it well in advance and saving the "juice" that collects when you wrap the butts. Shred is and bag it and refrigerate of freeze then put into some big ole' aluminium pans and reheat in the oven with some of that juice mixed with bbq sauce and/or mop.
 
Hi Mike,

Here is a thread that might be worth reading through. it is several pages yet there is some great info in there.


tvwbb.com

Preparing to cater my own baby shower

Hi all, my wife and I are throwing a baby shower this July and we are planning to serve all of the food for it. Here's the BBQ-related items on the menu: -Brisket sandwiches -Pulled pork sandwiches -Burgers + hot dogs (will be cooked at the venue, not worried about this) I am expecting about...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
I've done 4 that size on an 18.5" WSM. It definitely takes longer than doing 1. Is pulled pork the only meat at the even? If not, then 4 should be plenty.
 
Each butt is a heat sink. So more butts means more heat and more time as they absorb the heat and cook.

If you have side dishes, people will eat less meat, depending on where you live though.

I always budget 6-8 oz cooked meat per person. And budget minimum 25% meat shrinkage on large cuts like butts.

For the cost per pound of a butt, it’s easy to just have more leftover. No one will complain and you’ll be asked to cook again in the future.

Good luck and post pics.
 
Mike BBQ said:
Hi I have been asked to smoke some Pulled Pork for a church event, they told me to plan on about 45 - 50 people so I figure I need about 4 pork butts in the 8lb range. Question's
if I cook all 4 on my WSM 18 at the same time will they fit ?
How much longer will it take to do all 4 at the same time ?
Or do I just do it over two days time ?
Maybe I do 2 of them and take 2 to my son and have him do 2 for me?

Thanks for the help
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How did it turn out, Mike? Did you get it done at once, or did you spread it out over several cooks?



More thoughts -- Ditto everything said above. The only thing I'd clarify is that the 40% shrinkage applies to the POST-trimmed weight, not the purchase weight. I cook frequently for several nearby churches. My rules of thumb make sure I have plenty of pork butt:

1) I assume 45% yield of PURCHASE weight (I trim a lot of the surface fat away and I hand pull and toss any junk or excess fat.)
2) I assume 6 ounces per guest if this is the only meat and normal sides. (Most people will put 4 ounces on a bun, but some folks eat 2. And if they don't eat a bun they usually end up with 6+ ounces on the plate.)
3) When feeding a crowd always always cook in advance if there is a specific time the meat is needed. Fridge of course, or freeze if it is more than 2-3 days before service. I portion it in quart bags, 1 to 1.5 measured pounds per bag, then fit the quart bags in 2 gallon bags to freeze. Using these small portions allows me to control any leftovers better and also to adjust future calculations of meat needs.
4) If you are getting reimbursed for your costs, in addition to the cost of the meat don't forget the costs of wood chunks/chips, fuel (gas or charcoal), rub ingredients, sauce ingredients if provided, and anything you use in the way of freezer bags, disposable aluminum prep pans, etc.

I am cooking on a WSM22, so I can fit three butts on top and 3 on bottom, about 45 raw pounds or so. So that yields about 20 pounds of finished pulled meat. Being a cautious pessimist, I assume that I will have enough for 45 people even though all the math above suggests this is enough for 50 people. If the crowd is going to be bigger just lather, rinse, repeat another day. A lot of work, but the smiles are worth it!
 
I would like to thank all who provided tip and pointers for my first pulled pork. I came out Great and the people at the event were thrilled and loved it. The event was a food pantry give away at the church and the only complant I got was "what its all gone I wanted more" "when are you doing this again" That made me happy now on to the next smoke.
 
Mike BBQ said:
I would like to thank all who provided tip and pointers for my first pulled pork. I came out Great and the people at the event were thrilled and loved it. The event was a food pantry give away at the church and the only complant I got was "what its all gone I wanted more" "when are you doing this again" That made me happy now on to the next smoke.
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Reading this just makes me feel good. Thanks for helping your community. And kudos to you on your success!
 
Glad it went good. I would have guessed you would have needed about 50 lb of uncooked meat for 50 people. That's five 10 lb butts, or 6 8 lb butts. It's always preferable to have too much than too little. 1/2 lb cooked meat per person is a pretty common rough guide. Women and children may eat less and men may eat more. That means starting with ~1 lb per person raw.
 
MartinB said:
Glad it went good. I would have guessed you would have needed about 50 lb of uncooked meat for 50 people. That's five 10 lb butts, or 6 8 lb butts. It's always preferable to have too much than too little. 1/2 lb cooked meat per person is a pretty common rough guide. Women and children may eat less and men may eat more. That means starting with ~1 lb per person raw.
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l know now only problem is they never know how many will show up and this time they had like 3X what they have had the past 3 or 4 times they have done this. I know they will be asking me to smoke more for the next event.
 
Mike BBQ said:
l know now only problem is they never know how many will show up and this time they had like 3X what they have had the past 3 or 4 times they have done this. I know they will be asking me to smoke more for the next event.
Click to expand...
Yep I get it.
I recall all the people that rsvp'd for my own wedding........ And it was about $75 a head for the food /alcohol 25 yrs ago. We had probably about 20 people that did not show up just wasted expense to us. That was a lot of money back then. Hell it's a lot of money today.
 
Glad it was a hit Mike.

We have block parties a few times a year. I either do pulled pork or tri-tip. I budget about 4-6 oz of meat per person and it always works out. However, there are many more dishes and at least one other meat (chicken most often).
 
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