Quote:
Originally Posted by theflints01
We charge much more for whole hog than pork butt. Think about it like this- the butcher I get my hogs from charges about $2.30/lb for a cleaned hog on the hook, or about double what pork butts go for depending on where you get them. Then you only get about 50-60% yield from a whole hog as opposed to 80%+ from pork butts. Then there's the labor issue. In my pit a 130-180 lb hog takes in the 20 hour range to cook and it has to be moved 4 times during cooking, as opposed to butts which take 8-10 hours and never get moved. We also serve our hogs on the buffet line, carving slices for the guests. If you were to pre-shred all the meat, who would know the differnece from whole hog or butts other than the white meat in the pans? And in actuallity, I think pork butt tastes better anyway. So if you do whole hogs the client is paying for the show more than the Q. I typically charge in the $20-25/person range for whole hog (including all the sides) depending on the number of guests. This scares away many clients who then opt for pork butts. It's just a lot more work and expense. Unless you have a source to get hogs for a great price and a set it and forget it pit, It's a tough gig to pull off.
Sean
Raging Bull BBQ
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How do you get 80%+ yield from pork butts?