need help planning a bigger cook

[Patrick_CT]

I need a little help. My father asked if I can do pulled pork for his lodge which is about 50 men. He has not decided what they want to have with it either... so he also wanted suggestions for the rest of the meal. Not sure if it is best to have them serve it as a sandwich or by itself, however it seems whenever I have rolls for it people do not use them and I am stuck with a lot of rolls.

I figure that since it is for dinner then I should figure 8oz cooked per person to be on the safe side That would be ~25lbs cooked with 50% loss so start with 50lbs? ... or does that sound like over kill. I also think that boneless would be easier to pull, but have only cooked bone in so far... (this always seems to be a debate) I am sure that the guys there would not mind taking some home but I also do not want to have too much.

What would be good suggestions for them to do as the rest of the dinner? I was thinking that baked beans would be good and I can also make them..... but other ideas would be great.

The other part would be that it needs to be made a couple days in advance since his meeting/dinner is on a Tuesday night. So it needs to be easily reheated. (I think that it could be put in a crock pot on low or in one of their ovens, but I would need to give specific instructions so they do not ruin it. I have not tried to reheat this amount of food before.

Any thoughts would be great!

 

[FLBentRider]

I figure 1lb raw per person for events where the pulled pork is the main dish with hearty eaters. There will usually be leftovers, but that is better than running out.

Baked beans, cole slaw, corn bread...

To reheat, I would put it in covered 1/2 steam table aluminum pans and add a splash of your choice, about 300F until warmed through, 45 minutes to an hour.

 

[squirtthecat]

Ditto. 1 pound raw per carnivore in attendance.

Ice cream buckets will hold about 8-9 pounds of pulled pork each. Great for storage & transport.

 

[TentHunter]

Whenever I cook for large crowds I figure about 3/4 lb per person (pre-cooked) and usually still have left overs. But then again I foil and add some of the juices back in and that adds to the final weight. So the only weight I'm really losing is the bone. If you're not foiling you may want to count on closer to 1 lb. per person pre-cooked.

One tip to save money is find out if you can get a discount for ordering a 50 lb. case of whole shoulders instead of just getting butts. Just have the butcher cut them in half separating the picnic from the butt to make them easier to handle & cook.

Sides: Roasted potatoes are always a huge hit no matter what meat I'm serving. I usually have very little left over. They're inexpensive, relatively easy to prepare and are easy to keep warm.

Baked/bbq beans are also inexpensive, but not nearly as popular.

 

[FLBentRider]

A lot of it depends on whether you are feeding a football team or the wives club. If you know your clientele, you can dial it in a little closer.

I would much rather have leftovers than hungry guests, so I err on the plus side. pulled pork freezes well.

I also pack a box of quart freezer bags for "take home" portions.

 

[Patrick_CT]

This is a group of all men and some are big eaters. I will not be present since I am not a member anyway... I am also not sure if they serve it buffet style or not... I would guess yes and that could make for more being eaten as well.

 

[FLBentRider]

Buffet style always uses more.

Besides, after the first taste you know half of them are coming back for seconds!

 

[BBQ Joe]

I did 8 butts for a grad party last year. Each pulled butt fit nicely in a 1 gallon zip lock freezer bag. I used a roaster to reheat and serve the pork in. 3/4 to a pound raw sounds right.

 

[scooter]

Try using slider buns. They are not as big a commitment as regular sized buns. You can buy more of them for less than the same amount of regular sized buns.

 

[Big Poppa]

you can also use the freezer bags that secure well and put them in hot water to reheat. I would tell him that since you cannot be there and have to cook in advance to offer to do just the meat. What scooter said on the slider buns or get the little white hamburger buns