How many pounds of pork to feed 40 adults?

War_Eagle_2244

I’ll be smoking some butts for my nephew’s birthday party.  I’m planning on 40 adults but it’s probably more like 30-35.  How many pounds of shoulder should I get to feed 40 adults?  I was thinking probably 3 butts at 6-7 pounds each…18-21 pounds total.  Shouldn’t that fit on a large pretty easily?  TIA<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Tjcoley

I figure 1/2 to 3/4 pound uncooked per person. 21 pounds for up to 40 adults should be fine. Have done three 9 - 10 pounders on a large with no problem. They were stuffed in pretty tight until they shrank, but turned out great. Looks like you are good to go. Let us know how they turn out.

Gandy Dancer

Try this:

HOW MUCH MEAT?
For pulled pork, a typical sandwich (or serving) is 4 oz of cooked meat. For adult males, you might want to plan on 2 sandwiches per person. For women and children, plan on one sandwich per person. The average butt loses about 40% of its weight while cooking. So, to get 6 pounds of cooked pork (24 sandwiches) you would need to start with 10 pounds of butt (2.4 servings per LB of uncooked meat). So a simple little formula is all you need:

Number of men (men or large eaters)= M
Number of women and children (lighter eaters)= W
Pounds of Butt to buy = B
B=(2M+W)/2.4
So if there 5 men and 5 women,
B=(2*5+5)/2.4 =15/2.4 = 6.25 Pounds

nolaegghead

That's some sexist math, man. 
)

probe1957

I eat more than my wife (drink more too) but she is way fatter than I am.

NibbleMeThis

@probe1957 I hope she doesn't read this forum :-)

SamFerrise

Pork math.