How much pork per person

That makes 4 pounds of cooked pulled pork as your end goal. In most situations, the above formulas and principles will work perfectly. But there are definitely a few things you should take into consideration when making your calculations. From time to time, it might be best to adjust the amount of pulled pork per person that you make to best accommodate your eaters.

Is your smoked BBQ feast being served for lunch or dinner? The setting of your cookout also plays a big role! Are you cooking for a sit down dinner or a poolside cookout? When cooking for a sit down dinner, people tend to eat more and go back for seconds if they have extra room. If your cookout is a little bit more of an active setting like a pool party or a tailgate, from my experience this often translates to a smaller need for the amount of food per person.

Since people are up and walking around, they tend to err on the side of not overstuffing themselves with food. Is pulled pork the main event? Or are you also grilling burgers or smoking other types of meat to go along with your pork? For instance, if you are cooking a pound slice of raw pork, you will end up preparing 10 pounds of pulled pork ready to serve. We understand how confusing everything must be looking to your right now.

Therefore, here is a sample calculation for you so that things can get in perspective and start making sense for you. In a nutshell, you have to get about 40 pounds of raw pork to feed 60 guests to the fullest. Sure, this can be a great formula to rely on, but you still have to think of other factors before reaching upon final estimates.

As a matter of fact, different age groups have different appetites. While teenagers tend to consume more, a group of old men will consume less. Similarly, children will eat way less than adults.

On the other hand, men usually consume more than women. Additionally, we will also suggest that you consider the occupation of your guests too. For instance, a group of athletes might have a bigger appetite than people who work desk jobs. Is it some social event, or as we mentioned earlier, an outdoor party? If it is just a simple get together where you invited your neighbors and friends to spend Sunday night, things would be different.

To sum up, you first need to be sure about the event you are planning to cook for as different occasions require different types of meal planning. Moreover, allow us to mention that sit-down meals require more food on the table than stand-up socials and events. We are sure you must be aware that most people tend to consume more meat during dinner. So, you might just want to thoroughly consider the time of the day before you start the meal planning.

If you are looking for a rough estimate, then you probably will have to allocate about 5 to 6 ounces of pulled pork per person if it is a lunch and about 7 to 8 ounces per person if it is a dinner party. The amount of pulled pork you need for sandwiches will obviously be different if the pulled pork is served as a complimentary side dish , such as with a salad.

However, if you are opting for a buffet, we would suggest you be a tad more generous with servings. This is because buffets are tricky, and you can never be sure about how much meat each guest will get to enjoy. Well, we say it is better to have leftovers than guests leaving with half-empty stomachs, no?

Plan on serving about 5 to 6 ounces of pork for sandwiches or buns. Even with thorough calculations, you might end up with some leftover pulled pork. So, take an airtight container to store your leftover pulled pork.

Note that you might need more than one to store it. Furthermore, you want your hogs raised humanely and with respect. Family farmers have heard you: A growing number raise pork the old-fashioned way—mostly outdoors—focusing on heritage breeds see below.

Natural: Ideally, a term used to describe meat that contains no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Enhanced: Some processors inject pork with a solution containing water, salt, sodium phosphates, and other flavor- and moisture-enhancing chemicals. They can increase the weight of the package by as much as 15 percent. Which increases your cost.

These added ingredients must be listed on the label. Raised Without Antibiotics or Administered Hormones: Like humans, pigs are routinely inoculated to prevent disease. As for hormones, their use is not permitted by law in the raising of pigs, so the claim is virtually meaningless. USDA Organic : This label certifies that the animals were raised without antibiotics on percent organic feed and that they had access to the outdoors. The more lavish your family dinner is, the more meat products can be served at your party.

People tend to focus more on meaty products for holiday events like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. People of different cultures have a very different take on the correct meat portions. For example, people from Switzerland consider meat a rare delicacy. An average meat serving size for Swedish people is much smaller than the portion size of your average American. Educational factors also play a part in the amount of meat people prefer to consume. All of these factors can make it hard to decide just how much meat you should be serving.

When meat is the main focus, you should allow for generous portions even though you might have quite a few side dishes on the table.

At simple events like birthdays, anniversaries, or casual parties, meat can be served as just part of the main dish. In these cases, you might get away with less meat. You may also find certain bits and pieces like bone or fat unappealing and might wish to cut these away before cooking it. Let us move on to finding out actual quantities of meat you will need to buy. Once you have an estimated quantity you can mark up for additional guests or markdown as needed.

I tend to mark up, as a few leftovers are always welcome. For detailed knowledge on yields you can refer to this USDA guide. Estimate about 4 to 5 ounces of chicken per person.

For chicken, you can also calculate by pieces instead of weight. If chicken is not the main dish and you are serving you will need about 1. For chicken thighs keep about 2 per person for adults and guests who are big meat eaters. For others, 1 chicken thigh per person should be enough. Similarly, keep 2 drumsticks per person for adults and big eaters and one for kids and the rest. If I am serving chicken wings as the main dish I keep about pieces per person.

If you plan to have a number of other appetizers too then pieces per person will do. If your calls for a whole chicken then calculate the quantity keeping in mind that a whole chicken will be good for people. We generally do not serve turkey on its own, it is always with sides, dressings or gravy.