Is this enough food for 50 people?

WSM2 · Oct 4, 2011

Greetings Brethren,

I am trying to determine if I am cooking an accurate amount of food for my brother's upcoming wedding. Can you please help me with portions?

He is asking for ribs, pulled pork and two (2) sides.

• If I purchase 20 LBS OF "uncooked" butts, will that serve 50 people with 4oz portions of "Cooked" pulled pork?

• And will 17 Racks of St. Louis style Spare ribs feed 50 People?

• As for the sides, I was going to do 6 quarts of Coleslaw and 6 quarts of baked beans.

So... taking into consideration, all the above, will I adequately feed 50 people
from adults to kids?

Thanks!

rwoodling · Oct 4, 2011

I figure 1/2 lb pre cooked pork and 3-4 ribs per person on adults. With what you listed you should having some leftovers for sure.
20 lbs will yield about 16lbs cooked so that will serve around 48.
17 slabs with 12 ribs per slab is 204 so at 4 apiece thats 51 servings.
Side always mess me up and I always go over but thats better than running out. Happy cooking

Ron_L · Oct 4, 2011

I disagree that 20 lbs raw butts will yield 16 lbs cooked. My yields are more typically about 60%, so 20 lbs raw will yield 12 lbs cooked. I always use a 50% yield to ensure that I have enough.

big brother smoke · Oct 4, 2011

The rule of thumb when cooking for others with regards to pork is the following equation: 20lbs. = 10lbs cooked = 40 1/4 lb. sammies.

You will probaly get a 60% yield as mentioned above, but you need 10% overage as well, so that is why you need to use the 50% ratio. YMMV!

Bottomline: increase the pork 10 lbs.

Hotrodhog · Oct 4, 2011

WSM2 said:
Greetings Brethren,

I am trying to determine if I am cooking an accurate amount of food for my brother's upcoming wedding. Can you please help me with portions?

He is asking for ribs, pulled pork and two (2) sides.

• If I purchase 20 LBS OF "uncooked" butts, will that serve 50 people with 4oz portions of "Cooked" pulled pork?

• And will 17 Racks of St. Louis style Spare ribs feed 50 People?

• As for the sides, I was going to do 6 quarts of Coleslaw and 6 quarts of baked beans.

So... taking into consideration, all the above, will I adequately feed 50 people
from adults to kids?

Thanks!

I just did 44 people last week, I did 2 eleven pound costco Butts and had a decent amount left over, I would up the beans and serve rolls or buns with the pork.

butlerjandb · Oct 5, 2011

I can only contribute to the quantity of pork butt / pulled pork. Generally, our pork butt runs out quick. We usually cook about 16 - 18 lbs of pork butt and have people devour it. We go through 40 hamburger buns and the majority of the pork with 20 poeple around, but we also don't usually have coleslaw. When I am cooking for others, I use the 1/3 lb per person rule for the overall quantity of meat. I agree with others though, it's better to have a little too much than not enough. Best of luck!

Dr_KY · Oct 5, 2011

big brother smoke said:
The rule of thumb when cooking for others with regards to pork is the following equation: 20lbs. = 10lbs cooked = 40 1/4 lb. sammies.

You will probaly get a 60% yield as mentioned above, but you need 10% overage as well, so that is why you need to use the 50% ratio. YMMV!

Bottomline: increase the pork 10 lbs.

I'm with this cat right here.

Remember it's also going to depend on how well you pull and clean your finished product. I like to remove the things I wouldn't want to eat such as excess fat.

Is this enough food for 50 people?

WSM2

Well-known member

rwoodling

Knows what a fatty is.

Ron_L

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big brother smoke

somebody shut me the fark up.

Hotrodhog

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butlerjandb

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Dr_KY

Quintessential Chatty Farker

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