How much to buy

[Justswingin]

Hi!,
I’m new to the forum and may have this in the wrong place. I’m cooking for about 60 people this weekend and will be smokin some pork butts.. I was wondering what y’all do to figure how much to buy? I’ve been using 6 ounces per person.

 

[kruizer]

You will be short a bit on your portion size. I would recommend a minimum of 8 ounces per person and that would be cooked weight. You can expect to lose up to 50% in the cook.

 

[Dutch]

Hi!,
I’m new to the forum and may have this in the wrong place. I’m cooking for about 60 people this weekend and will be smokin some pork butts.. I was wondering what y’all do to figure how much to buy? I’ve been using 6 ounces per person.

Hi Justwingin, what other foods will be served? If you're sticking to 6 ounces per serving, you'll need approximately 25 pounds of meat. when I used to cook for large groups, I'd always increase my meat weight by 10%. This will give you a cushion in case you have some heavy hitters on the pulled pork. If you do 30 pounds of butts this will give you your cushion plus enough for plan-ahead meals (aka leftovers). As always YMMV and let us know how it turns out!

 

[SmokinEdge]

If you have a server for the meat, you can control portion size much better. If they serve themselves then better figure on 8oz per person.

 

[sawhorseray]

I'd go with 4 butts in the 8-9 pound range just to be safe, any leftovers make for some real nice tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. RAY

 

[Justswingin]

Thank you all very much. My original thought was 8 but then questioned that it was to much hence the 6 ounce number. It’s good to seek wisdom.

 

[thirdeye]

I plan on 50% yield and this gives me a safety net. The calculation is easy, for example 0.5 lb (8 ounces) per person.

0.5 lb per person X 60 people = 30 pounds of cooked weight.
30 lb X 2 = 60 lb of raw weight.

Tips: have your meat table at the end of the line, this way plates will be somewhat full when the guests get meat.

We always have a roaster of hot dogs for the kids, and another roaster with some sloppy Joe mix (kind of an adult recipe, not a school cafeteria kind of recipe. The sloppy Joes are a buffer for the people that want seconds. And I'm always shocked at the adults that like a hotdog. I cook them in beer and set pans of dogs in the smoker for more flavor.

Lastly we have the styrofoam clam shell boxes stashed out of site. As the event is winding down, and if there is leftover food we will bring those out and offer go-boxes.

 

[SmokinAl]

Here is a spreadsheet that may help you out.
Al

 

[Justswingin]

Hi all,
So I thought I’d give a quick follow up. I decided to go with 4 butts all between 8.25 and 8.75 pounds each. We ended up have a pan leftover which is fantastic and I got a bunch of positive comments. Thanks for all the help. Keep smokin.
JS