Pounds of pork

[gamblerpro1]

I need 40 pounds of pulled pork. How much do I need to start with. I'm not sure of the loss that will occur while cooking. Any help would be great guys

[Soybomb]

I plan for 50% yield after cooking (its probably closer to 60 usually, but I toss a lot of fat and other nasty looking bits). Then plan for 1/4# finished product for small eaters, 1/2# for big eaters, or 1/3rd pound for middle of the road. I'd cook 8-10 butts.

Also be sure to have a plan on how to pull it, keep it at a safe holding temp, potentially cool it, etc. 40 pounds of cooked pulled pork is a lot.

[Evil-g]

Expect to lose at least 40% of the pre-cooked weight. How many people are you cooking for. Then you can use a BBQ calculator to figure it out. Here a BBQ calculator I like to use.

http://www.freewebs.com/susquehannabluesmoke/Catering/BBQ%20Calculator.xls

[SirPorkaLot]

Yield = ~50%
I would cook 100lbs of pork (~10 butts) to get 40lbs of pulled. You will end up with just a little extra that way. Extra pulled pork is not a bad thing.

[Ron_L]

Most guys who cater or vend use 50% yield, so start with 80 lbs.

[RolandJT]

Don't double your conservatism.

If 40 pounds already has a margin--like you figured 1/2 lb per even though you got a lot of kids in the crowd, then go to 80lbs of raw butts. 50% yield is good and you might even get a lot more.

If 40 lbs is right on the nose and you have no extra, go to 90-100 pounds of butts.

If 40 pounds has some extra and you do 90 or 100 pounds of raw butts you might end up with a massive amount left over.

I personally build in my margin on the cooked weight and use the 50% yield exactly to buy raw butts (learned that one by accidentally ending up with pulled pork for the family for 3 months).