Pulled Pork Per Person Question

[lowcountrygamecock]

Wow that's a lot of P's. Anyway, what's a good estimate for the poundage of pulled pork a single person will eat? I am very new to smoking and will be smoking a butt next weekend for my in-laws. Just wondering how I need to go to feed say 10-12 people. We'll also have some baked beans and probably another side. Any thoughts?

 

[eman]

I would go w/ 1/2 lb pulled pork per person.
maybe lil more if ya are short on the sides.

 

[pineywoods]

If smoking for family and friends I figure about 1/2 lb per person. Figure a yield of 50% of raw weight. So 1/2 lb per person x 12 people = 6 lbs cooked weight which means 12 lbs of meat to start.

If you have some leftover I'm sure your guests wouldn't complain to much if ya sent them home with a little doggie bag :D

If you were doing this to make money I would suggest different amounts but when feeding family and friends I sure don't want anybody leaving hungry

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

So roughly how long would it take to smoke a 12 pound butt?

 

[smokeguy]

1/4 to 1/3 lb per sandwich is about right. So, estimate the size of your in-laws (yeah, I know...:) ) and go from there per sammie. Remember though that you will only get about 1/2 of your starting weight on raw meat give or take depending on how much fat you "cull" out while pulling.

So, if you have 12 folks, and think that ALL of them will eat 2 sammies, and you have the big buns and they're big people, then you need 12*.33*2= 7.92 lbs of finished meat (that's based on the 1/3 lb per sammie and 2 sammies per person), and that means you should have somewhere around 7.92*2=15.84 lbs of raw butt.
At 1/4 lb per sandwich you get 6 lbs of smoked finished meat (2 sammies each still). That's what I usuually use and looks like the rest of the folks do too that have answered.

It would be different if they weren't your inlaws....;)
You do NOT want to run out. Leftovers will be yours, and will taste 10X better when you get to sit back and eat it without any "judges" around .:p

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

One more question. What's the best wood to use to smoke a butt? I don't want the smokey flavor to overpower the meat. I love smoke and spice but the inlaws are not as crazy about either one.

 

[pineywoods]

That would depend on your tastes but I personally like pecan, hickory, and cherry and all 3 or a combo of them are great on butts

 

[crockadale]

I use Hickory and it will not overpower the meat unless you smoke it to death...thin blue smoke. Pinewood has also given you some good alts.

 

[smokebuzz]

1 thing to remember, is this a "party", beer, dancen, people gona be there a while? if so go a full pound finished per person (man, woman and child. )people will keep comeing up for more

 

[pops6927]

Smoke up 2 butts minimum; or if room do three - one for freezing!

 

[rivet]

Everyone here is correct, and take note: There is NOTHING worse than running out of food (not sides) at a "gathering" be it large or small -especially if you are the cook. Besides to really show your stuff, have your in-laws leave with a nice bowl of "leftover" meat...you will be in like Flynn!

Referring to your other thread on the 10LB butt, I would definitely add another 5lbs minimum as was recommended by Piney and the rest.

I lean towards hickory when doing pork...it just "fits" naturally. They seem to have been made for each other :)

Best of luck to you on your meal, and if you have any more questions~ this is the place to ask... There is more collective wisdom here available to anyone than exists at NASA, and the folks are friendly.

Don't forget to let us all know how it worked out, too....