325 wedding party...help!

[diamondrcattle]

Ive been asked to smoke enough pork butts for 325 people....45 are kids under 12. Ill be using my flat rack smoker. Raw, i was thinking 1/2 a pound per person....cooked down to 1/4 lbs of pulled pork per person. Beans and slaw with it so meat will be the main focus. How many pounds of butts should i plan on smoking? Thanks for the help!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I'd figure at least a 1/3 pound cooked per person, assuming there will be sides. You'll get about 40% yield from the raw weight.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Yep, I just looked back on a wedding smoke a few years back...yield was 41% on lean-trimmed bone-in pork butts, smoked 100% on open grates. As Case stated, 1/3lb/person cooked weight, or 107.25lb...translated as ~275lbs precooked bone-in lean-trimmed weight. Add about 20-25lb if you don't trim the external fat, or if they come with a decent fat-cap, for purchase weight. You could run a bit lighter with the 40 little guys and gals, but not a whole lot.

Eric