Pulled Pork for 200

[Highline Smoking]

I joined a bit ago and like what others have posted and given me ideas. I have been asked to cook for a wedding on Aug 15th for my son-in-law ( and my wife thinks I can handle it Ha ha )
SO is 120-150 lbs of bone in to much ? to Little? for 200-

I was going to have the pork at the end of the serving line so plates were pretty full with salad and side dishes prior to getting to the meat .. ( Not my first rodeo..LOL) It will be pulled the morning of and was thinking of keeping it whole in coolers wrapped for probably a day after the cook, then pulled, and then transfer to those water type heating roasters. I have about 12 of them available at the church basement.

Pork butt ? or pork shoulder? don't know the difference for what I am being tasked for.
I was going to cook about 2 days prior in the Traeger - and wanted some opinions.. In the past when I have cooked a single butt the meat was sweeter with bone in. Just guessing right now on the poundage of meat...and need opinions.
Any suggestions for those with being tasked with this situation are well accepted and appreciated

Thanks

 

[912smoker]

I'll give ya a bump for others who may have had similar size cooks.

Keith

 

[kilo charlie]

A pork butt and a pork shoulder are the same thing.

Figure between 1/4 and 1/2 pound of meat per person. 200 people equals 100 pounds of meat at 1/2 pound per person. You're looking at about 13 to 14 pork butts/shoulders averaging 7 to 8 pounds each. That weight also includes the bone.

When pulling the meat, make sure to keep some of the good fat with the meat to help retain moisture. You can also search here or Google for finishing sauces for pulled pork. Try to pull the meat in a foil pan (or similar) to retain all the juices.

Ask yourself a few questions.
Do you have enough space in your smoker for 14 butts? Do you have enough rub for them all? Do you have enough tin foil and foil pans? Do you have enough cooler space to let them rest? Do you have enough time to pull 14 of them?

Have you considered holding them and serving them from a roasting pan? It would likely take 2 to 3 of them for that amount of meat.

 

[kilo charlie]

Also, make sure you have enough pellets.

Have a back up plan in case of inclimate weather. You can get a pop up tent for around $50 in case it's raining etc.

Hand pulling that much is going to be tiresome so consider using a Kitchen Aid or hand mixer to shred the pork.

Consider an overnight cook so they are finished before noon the next day. This way you're not pulling pork until midnight.

If you have access to Sam's Club or Costco, you can get foil pans and lids in bulk.

I'm sure there will be other ideas but this should help you get started planning.

 

[Highline Smoking]

A pork butt and a pork shoulder are the same thing.

Figure between 1/4 and 1/2 pound of meat per person. 200 people equals 100 pounds of meat at 1/2 pound per person. You're looking at about 13 to 14 pork butts/shoulders averaging 7 to 8 pounds each. That weight also includes the bone.

When pulling the meat, make sure to keep some of the good fat with the meat to help retain moisture. You can also search here or Google for finishing sauces for pulled pork. Try to pull the meat in a foil pan (or similar) to retain all the juices.

Ask yourself a few questions.
Do you have enough space in your smoker for 14 butts? Do you have enough rub for them all? Do you have enough tin foil and foil pans? Do you have enough cooler space to let them rest? Do you have enough time to pull 14 of them?

Have you considered holding them and serving them from a roasting pan? It would likely take 2 to 3 of them for that amount of meat.

Thanks for the insight-Yeah I have my local butcher going to order for me the meat averaging 9 lbs each so that would be around 117 lbs according to you caculations.
I was going to keep the whole pork in rest after the cook/and then have a pulling party to whom will attend LOL..

No I don't have enough room in my Traeger as why I was going to do a few day's cooking- and have a brother-in-law that's going to cook also and bring his Traeger over.
Yes I have made sure I have plenty of pellets- but didn't think far enough ahead on the foil Pans or enough rub. ( Thanks)

Have roasting pans available as per my post above....
I did see on here a recipe for a finishing sauce from a member- May give that a try.
I have my inverter/generator ready incase of a power outage- rare here in Wyoming- but that would for sure mess up a cook.

 

[Highline Smoking]

Also, make sure you have enough pellets.

Have a back up plan in case of inclimate weather. You can get a pop up tent for around $50 in case it's raining etc.

Hand pulling that much is going to be tiresome so consider using a Kitchen Aid or hand mixer to shred the pork.

Consider an overnight cook so they are finished before noon the next day. This way you're not pulling pork until midnight.

If you have access to Sam's Club or Costco, you can get foil pans and lids in bulk.

I'm sure there will be other ideas but this should help you get started planning.

I have a pop up for shelter (Thanks) I was going to use it also during the cook, as the sun will play with temp swings in the Traegers.
Have any good range on the meat temps, I know to temp not time for a cook- but i am sure they will all be ( the pork) temp games.. so 135-140 ish? as I had stated I will want them to rest in a few coolers.
Not looking forward to pulling party but kinda wondering if the meat will dry to much if I pulled a butt after it had a few hours rest in a cooler.
Any input 7-9 lbs butt average time frame so I can get a overall plan for days to make a schedule.
I get a bit OCD, so having a plan for cooking time would be great per butt if anyone has done one recently, as for me it's been awhile.

 

[kilo charlie]

I would plan for 10 hours, but most likely they won't take that long.

The weather including the temps and humidity and wind speed will all play factors but it's better to plan long and get done faster than the other way around.

How many can you fit in each smoker?

 

[mneeley490]

Good idea using a finishing sauce. My pulled pork always seemed to be lacking something until I tried it. Here's a good one from one of our members:

Chef JimmyJ's Finishing Sauce

 

[zwiller]

Good info so far. I ran 50lbs cooked PP for daughter's grad party... Yes 100-120lbs is a good basic target but your yield will be about only 50% so factor that in. I got 80% injecting and using STPP. From here, you're going to want to test just how much that Traeger can handle and I doubt it will go like you think. Large loads completely changes the cook. The odds of you running 4-6 at one time and it taking the same time as one is slim. I learned that the hard way. I say start NOW! Break into chunks, vac seal and freeze. Reheats beautifully.