18 replies to this topic

[FreeportBum]

Friend asked me if I wanted to help him cook pulled pork for 150 people. Anyone done this? How many lbs raw would you say we need? I was thinking smoking them for a couple hours then finish in the oven(s). Serve the next day reheated in warming trays. There will also be burgers,potato salad,etc so pulled pork isnt the only thing being offered. Thanks for any help,tips or ideas.

[sicman]

Friend asked me if I wanted to help him cook pulled pork for 150 people. Anyone done this? How many lbs raw would you say we need?

A lot!

[Edmick]

Rule of thumb is usually half pound per person but counting on not everyone having some and the fact that you have burgers too, you could probably get away with less.

[The Hot Pepper]

Hope this helps

 

https://wileyschampi...-for-40-people/

[hogleg]

My guess is 75lbs of butts

 

[Rajun Gardener]

Here's a catering calculator that should help. I have the excel file if you want it send me an email addy.

https://docs.google....dit?usp=sharing

[salsalady]

How much is needed? A butt-load!




Sorry, couldn't resist! But I was also thinking of half pound per person. Especially if some can be kept cold and heated if necessary and taken home if not needed. Sounds like an epic cook...have fun!!!

[The Hot Pepper]

That's way too much imo. Half pound of pork when some won't eat it and some will eat burgers. And those that do eat pork usually eat 1/4 lb. Some will eat more. 1/2 lb per person works out to 3x too much.

[The Hot Pepper]

PS that's 75 pounds of pork! SL you cray!!!!!

[Rajun Gardener]

Change the numbers on that calculator to 150, it has 1/3lb per person with 2 meats. 

[The Hot Pepper]

Sounds like it needs a battery.

[The Hot Pepper]

He never told us if it's kids, or hipsters, or fat asses, or vegetarians. All these things factor in.

[WarrantMan]

Here is a copy of a recipe/procedure that I sent a to a Yankee friend and pepperologist in Pennsylvania. Was taught to me by a person whom I would like to call my father. My real dad died when I was young, but this guy known as "Smokey" was one of the best friends I ever had, he knew and lived BBQ, which by his estimation was only pork. He would get incensed by folks who called everything cooked on a grill "BBQ."

 

 

Here in South Carolina, BBQ is almost a religion. I share with you now the method/recipe I know to be one of the best I have knowledge of.  For the most part, pigs are cooked split in half. Dressed pigs above 150 lbs are frowned upon. So, 120-130 is considered optimal.

 

The pig is cooked split side down after whole outside body is rubbed heavily with salt (ribs toward the heat) over coals of oak maintained at around 225-250 degrees (never above, too hot) . After 10 hours or so if temp is maintained, the skin will begin to separate from the meat (you can test by thumping the skin). Once this occurs, the pig is flipped. The now hard skin is down towards the heat. The heat is  still maintained at 225-250 degrees. The hard skin now acts as a “bowl” of sorts and the meat will be cooking, bubbling with the fat.  This is how it is done. Now the variants are with the sauce.

 

The sauce I know as best I can recall:

 

1 gallon of apple cider vinegar

1 (unknown exact size) large bottle crushed red pepper (not Sam’s club large)

1 (unknown exact size) large bottle ground black pepper (not Sam’s club large)

12 lemons squeezed, after-squeezings retained.

1 half-cup salt

 

Bring vinegar to boil, add all ingredients to include the rinds of lemons.  Once boiled, score the bubbling meat.  Dip fat from the bubbling meat and mix it with the sauce solution. After several cups of fat mixed into sauce, then pour sauce liberally over the meat. Allow to bubble ½ hour.

Time to start picking. Enjoy!

 

This is when the “pulled pork” comes into play. Real SC pulled pork is really “pulled” out of the skin at this point. Not cut into pieces as some commercial chains offer up. It is hot,  it is usually the women who do this task, most wear rubber gloves like the old timey “dish gloves”  when pulling the pork. It is pulled out of the skin, bones discarded.  The meat is then put into large bowls or like some old school places here - in large wooden troughs.  Then as whoever eats the meat, will put it on their plate and dose it with whatever sauce is offered. Usually, the sauce will be one of three:

 

Vinegar sauce similar to the above one mentioned,  maybe a “hotter” version of the same.

 

Mustard sauce. A local concoction of mustard, and other components (this seems totally exclusive to SC)

 

Red sauce. Tomato based sauce that most Americans associate with BBQ.

 

It doesn't answer your question as to servings, but I would suggest that two pigs as described would satisfy the lot. He showed me how it was done and shortly before he died he made sure I understood it so I could carry it on. So, I share it here, so somebody with a love for the craft can carry it forward. RIP "Smokey."

 

[salsalady]

Well, I was thinking half pound raw weight, about 4-5 oz serving weight. Didn't figger people would be eating 8 oz of cooked meat. Yikes!


If the cookers want to trim it back a bit, I would guess that 75% will eat the main meat, 25% will go for dogs or burgers.

But again, there are always other factors to consider. Time of day, etc..

[The Hot Pepper]

But again, there are always other factors to consider. Time of day, etc..

 

I doubt he's serving 150 people BBQ at 6 am!

[salsalady]

Dude....I have been on campouts where 30 pounds of Q~ at 6am would of triggered a zombie apocalypse!!!!

[Thegreenchilemonster]

Yeah, did it in New Mexico six years ago. Smoke box did the trick. Mainly wood (pecan/mesquite), all day. Came out Puuuuuuurfect!

There was also a pie off.

The bacon strawberry rubarb stole the show, and my heart😍

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[JoynersHotPeppers]

Friend asked me if I wanted to help him cook pulled pork for 150 people. Anyone done this? How many lbs raw would you say we need? I was thinking smoking them for a couple hours then finish in the oven(s). Serve the next day reheated in warming trays. There will also be burgers,potato salad,etc so pulled pork isnt the only thing being offered. Thanks for any help,tips or ideas.

Once a year at our hunting club, as stated by others 1/2lb is plenty when serving other proteins. We did a 80lb pig for over 100 people and have leftovers. You could do 5 or 6 2 packs from Costco and have plenty.  

[FreeportBum]

So we decided to pay someone else to smoke the pork for us, going with 75lbs.  Thanks for all the suggestions though. Cheers