Whole Pig for 40 to 50 people

Cue's Your Daddy

is one Smokin' Farker
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
671
Reaction score
210
Points
0
Location
Ronkonko...
What size pig would you think i would need for 40 to 50 people, only thign being served is the pig and hot dogs and hamburgers if someone wants. and normal sides. Thx
 
100 lber should do. I usually double what your cookin for with that being the only meat served.
 
I would do a 30 pounder and back up with pulled pork and charge them at least a grand just for the pig. But I am from NJ and we rip people off!
 
I think a 50 pounder would do quite nicely with no left overs.

The thing you may want to think about is that there is usually a price brake around 60-65 pounds.... For us it came to about 40 cents a pound cheaper to move up a few pounds...
 
Last one I did was 50 pounds and it feed 40 people with absolutely no leftovers...........and we did burgers, dogs, and all the sides.
 
Gotta factor in the mix of folks too - men @1.5 lbs, women @1.0, kids @0.5. A group of 50 folks from work went thru a 60 lb hog and left nothing but a pile of bones and skin!

If there's a bunch of other entree choices, lots of sides, or any veggies involved (not vegetables - I'm proud to say that I convert at least one veggie per pig pickin'), that may be fine.

Personally, if I'm doing the work (whether somebody else is paying or not), then I like to take home some for the freezer.

Good luck, have fun!
 
1lb a person since your having hot dogs and burgers.
 
There is quite a bit of weight loss while cooking a whole hog. I always figure 2 pounds per person. A 100 pound pig on the hoof is a big difference to a cleaned and gutted pig that weighs 100 pounds. A 125 pound pig will weigh approx 100 pounds after gutting--feet removal and -scraped of all hair.

A 125 pound pig in this area usually runs about $165 dollars. I buy from "Pigs R Us" in Marysville or from the swine unit at Chico State.

It takes approx 12 hours of labor to prep and cook the pig---depending on type of cooker. Determine what an hour of your labor is worth--determine fuel costs and wear and tear on your cooking equipment. Pig plus fuel approx $200.00 cost plus labor at $30.00 per hour would give you a cost of approx $560 total. Determine the total price by selecting what your labor is worth.

If you are cooking for a party at your own house--then labor equation goes out the door--you are working for yourself.

New Jersey must have some very expensive pigs or very high wages. I do not think that $1000 dollars for just a 100 pound pig would fly in this area.
 
There is quite a bit of weight loss while cooking a whole hog. I always figure 2 pounds per person. A 100 pound pig on the hoof is a big difference to a cleaned and gutted pig that weighs 100 pounds.

It's a good point - my numbers are for a gutted/prepped pig, the way a butcher would weigh the meat. We used to get pigs from a friend of a friend direct from the farm and had to factor that in, but if you're buying from a meat market then they sell the way you buy at the meat counter in your grocery.

Factor in your source too!
 
I would do a 30 pounder and back up with pulled pork and charge them at least a grand just for the pig. But I am from NJ and we rip people off!

:thumb:

I think a 50 pounder would do quite nicely with no left overs.

A 50 lb pig will net you about 16-17 lbs of useable product. Being the only meat you need to figure at least 1/2 lb pp. Your pig will only feed 33.

YMMV.
 
Back
Top