Pulled Pork Portion

I figure a good samich is 1/3 lb (5.3 oz) your going to yield 50% after cooking so if my brain is working right you will need 130-140 lb raw weight.

^ +1 he hit the nail on the head....

I agree w/ your 50% yield and your 1/3 lb. per sammy estimate, but not your math. If 1 lb. feeds 3 people, then it would take 58.33 lb. to feed 175 people (175/3). Assuming a 50% yield, that would put you needing one more 30 lb. shoulder for a total of about 120 lb. raw meat. A couple more things I'd consider are:

1) Will the crowd be a mix of men, women, and children? If not, you might want to adjust the amount of cooked meat you'll need.

2) Will they be serving themselves, or will you have someone putting the meat on the bun for them? If they serve themselves, they might go over your 1/3 lb. estimate.

3) I've read in the catering forum that the placement of the meat in the line (if self serve) can affect portion sizes as well. Put it at the end of the line so they've already put the sides on their plate.

I'd recommend asking the same question in the catering section of the forum (here). Those guys live and breathe this stuff.

...of course my math figgerin could be what's questionable. It's been a long day.

130-140 lbs. raw is about right IMO. Never come up short. Also, use small buns. It helps reduce waste. If they're real hungry they'll come back for more. Good luck with your cook!!!

All good suggestions so far.

I'm right in there with the 130-140 pounds (especially if you are cooking whole shoulders) because the yield is less on the picnic end than the butt end.

We use those plates with three compartments, and put the buns at the beginning of the line, followed by the sides, then some chips....and the meat at the end of the line. I like to be pulling some meat just to show off, but we have someone dishing up portions out of a Nesco roaster onto buns for portion control. The meat is drizzled with foil juices and sprayed with warm apple juice. 4 kinds of sauce are available, for self serve.

We make a hardy bean dish (like the Hog Apple Beans) with sausage and bacon in them. Sometimes we'll make 20 or so fatties and serve slices.

I know this sounds weird but we generally make a roaster full of sloppy Joe meat. Real good sloppy Joes, all from scratch. You would be surprised how well they fill any gaps in portions or appetites. And they are a good value. PM me if you want the sloppy recipe. I think my recipe is for 10# of meat.

You might have leftovers, pick-up some styro clam shell boxes, they work great.

If you expect kids, you can buy Sara Lee rolls and have sliders. We use nacho trays to serve sliders and sauce in. Also sliders work good for seconds.

For raw weight of pork two of my math formulas are:
lite eaters / small roll .5 times number of people equals raw weight 87.5 lbs
med eaters / med roll .75 times number of people equals raw weight 131.5 lbs
this is for reference only, and same as above advice
remember hot n fast yeilds a little less product, and finnished product has a liuttle sauce on it..
tend to go to the larger side, left over is better than last ten people in line, no product..