Pulled Pork for a Crowd

[sets14]

Honestly for that amount of meat I would hire someone to come smoke a pig-we call it a pig pickin' where I live- or buy the meat already prepared from a local restaurant or caterer. The pulled pork I make takes hours and I can do one large butt in my crock-pot, 2-3 in my oven. The oven method is more time consuming but either way, you are looking at a lot of time cooking and shredding. Sometimes $ = convenience of my time.

 

[littledebbie335]

For that many people, it really might be more economical to have it catered. It certainly would be easier! If I were you, I'd probably get a few quotes from local places and then also make a list of how much it would all cost if I were to do it myself.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with having it catered. I'm from Georgia and we have a smoker, which in our family is the only way to make pulled pork, my honey would faint if you even mentioned doing it inside. His daddy has been known to smoke enough for 200 for the church but it takes two huge smokers and 4 helpers and all day to do it. Maybe have the meat catered and make a big ole batch of cole slaw and buy a whole lot of bags of chips.

 

[LynnTH]

I think I am rethinking this. We have bought the Sams Club BBQ Pulled Pork in the Freezer section many times for small gatherings. And we really like the pulled pork. I think it might make sense to just get a bunch of those and heat them up in the roasters. 1 package is about $13 and makes 30 sandwiches. So, if I get between 10 and 15 packages. It will be less than $200. I think that might be the easiest way to go - and I just looked at the package and they are gluten free. I think I was just overthinking it and thinking it would be way cheaper if we made ourselves - but seems it would be too much of a pain. This I just need to heat up and we know we like it...

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I havent' read thru but I have a super duper easy recipe for the crockpot. you could make a bunch in advance and freeze it. It freezes and reheats very well.

Take a boston butt pork roast as it has a good meat/fat ratio. Over in the seasoning aisle is a McCormick spice mix for BBQ pulled pork. I think 1 packet is enough for 5pounds of meat.

Stick your roast in the crockpot add your seasoning packet and is says on the back add like ketchup and I think brown sugar smear it all over the roast stick on low for 8 hours. Once done shredded your meat. I add a little Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce at the time but you don't have to I'm a saucy person.

Then let cool stick in gallon bags and freeze.

a 5 pound roast should get you 20-25 sandwiches.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

They only way I make pulled pork is in the crock pot. Recipe is super easy and delicious
2 pound pork tenderloin
1 can root beer
Cook on low about 6-8 hours
Remove pork and drain out root beer....shred pork, place back in crock pot and add BBQ. Then warm.

 

[tiggerluver12]

easy pulled pork: rub pork butt with a good BBQ rub, slice onions and put all in crockpot. Pour in 1 can of Dr. Pepper or Root Beer for each pork butt. Cook all day until easily pulled apart. YUM!

 

[dsanner106]

Apparently, somewhere between 76lbs and 100lbs of before cooked bone-in pork butt and 2-3 gallons of BBQ sauce is the needed amount...http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/136712/pulled-pork-for-200

I have cooked for church groups and I would have said 100 lbs for 300 sandwiches, bone in. That is 1/3 lb per person, but you have bone and other weight in there so about 1/4 lb after per person. As long as you have plenty of sides, this is a good formula.

 

[usnuzuloose]

If you want to do it yourself, you could buy a few crockpots from a thrift store. And cook it that way as well and keep it warm in those as well.

 

[Kae]

Make ahead and freeze.

Kae

 

[Cadiewampus]

If you decide to do it yourself afterall I highly recommend you get yourself a pair of these

 

[ktate82]

If you decide to do it yourself afterall I highly recommend you get yourself a pair of these

I saw these in a "list of dumb things people buy off Amazon", and I was instantly offended! I love my bear claws and they are awesome! Glad to see someone else feels the same lol.

 

[Cadiewampus]

I saw these in a "list of dumb things people buy off Amazon", and I was instantly offended! I love my bear claws and they are awesome! Glad to see someone else feels the same lol.

Yep I saw that article. Apparently the author has never tried to shred a boston butt with couple of big forks. It can be done but I usually end up slinging pork everywhere if I use forks

 

[Minnesota!]

OP - I believe you are in the Twin Cities, if I am remembering your user name correctly?

There is a place on Minnehaha and White Bear Ave in St Paul - Big Steer Meet. They do fantastic things there. We always get our shredded/sliced beef from there. It might be more money, but everything comes done for you. I would contact them and see what they say.

A quick veg tray, a fruit salad, chips, and some mac-n-cheese and you are good to go.

 

[piccolopat]

WOW! I can't imagine throwing a party for 250 people. OP, I know you were considering cooking for your party, but unless you have a ton of time and a lot of people helping you, you might consider catering the affair or even reducing the number of people invited. My folks used to throw an annual backyard party for the extended family and we'd have about 120 people. It was a lot of work even though most of us brought something. It was always hard to find time to visit with everyone that came. I know graduation is a milestone event. Have you talked to your son about the invite list to see if this is something he wants?

 

[LynnTH]

OP here. I know 250 is a lot. But I come from a pretty big family. So, half of those are family. The other half is friends/neighbors/work/DS Friends etc. Can't believe how quick it adds up. I also counted everyone in all the families, which I know not all will make it and there are a few out of town people that won't be there. So, probably looking at less than 200 total. We had over 100 for the kids Confirmation Party and that was only family. I think at this point I will go with premade stuff - either from Sam's Club (would be about $200) or may call Big Steer Meat that another poster recommended. I know a lot of the people will also be going to other parties that day, one of which is our neighbor 2 doors down. Boys are in school together and we have all the same friends and neighbors so all of them will be going to both. But, I agree that making it on our own would be way too much work...

 

[JR522]

So, DS is graduating this year and trying to get a head start with planning the party. He wants pulled pork for the party. I just made a list of people who will be invited and we are over 250. I know they won't all come but will probably still need pulled pork for about 200 (better to have too much). I am going to assume 2 per person adults and 1 per person kids. So, probably need enough to make about 300 sandwiches.

Does anyone have any EASY recipes to do this. Will be using Electric Roasting Pans so need a recipe for that. And will 3 electric pans be enough.

Not sure what else we will be serving. But the easier the better. Thinking beans in crockpots and probably chips and vegis. And desserts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pulled or chopped pork is definitely one of the least expensive ways to feed a crowd. I've easily fed 50 people before with 2 boston butts chopped. I would try cooking a single butt first and going through the process once to see how well you like it. I wouldn't cook it indoors because you won't get the good smoke flavor and bark on the outside that makes it so delicious. I use a Holland grill with Pecan wood in a metal box for smoke and it turns out fantastic. I use a rub, smoke it until it gets to about 165 degrees and then wrap it in tin foil. I like to get it up to about 195 before I take it off and put it in a cooler. It can stay in the cooler and retain the heat for a couple of hours. When ready, pull it out, unwrap it, pull the bone out, and then chop or pull it apart. I suspect you will want anywhere from 6 to 8 butts to feed that many people. I would start with chopping or pulling 2 butts first, in 2 separate pans. Chop or pull another butt whenever the first pan is empty. That way, it stays fresh and you could freeze any leftover butts to be used at a later date. I hope this helps. I'm sure that others will have some great ideas too.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

I guess I'm the odd person out. lol I would cook the pork myself and do it all the time. I do it in 2 roasters. I can fit 2 10-15 lb shoulders in one roaster a time. I marinate it with olive oil and a dry rub over that. (onion powder, garlic powder, minced onion, all purpose seasoning, Adobo, pepper, and brown sugar). Then place it in the fridge over night. The next day place them in the roasters and pour root beer soda over it, (only enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I cook them until I can easily pull the bone away. Usually 18 hours. Remember a roaster takes longer than a crockpot because of the air escaping. I shred as soon as it's ready, Add a small amount of BBQ sauce just for flavor. I also add some of the juices from the roaster into each freezer bag to keep the pork moist. I then freeze it until a day or 2 before I plan on using it.
Mind you the pulled pork is never the main dish at our gatherings. I use the smaller dinner rolls from Costco's. Less waist. As others have said, hot dogs, mac and cheese, Cole slaw, baked bean, corn on the cob, potato, and mac salads. You might want to consider adding in a ziti with sauce, easy and inexpensive.
Do as much as you can in advance, you will appreciate it the day of.
When my DD graduated we had 180 people in my back yard. We did all the cooking ourselves. Plus it was my 2 week post op from Rotator Cuff surgery. I did as much as I could post op. It was a huge help.
Have fun!!

 

[Judique]

I guess I'm the odd person out. lol I would cook the pork myself and do it all the time. I do it in 2 roasters. I can fit 2 10-15 lb shoulders in one roaster a time. I marinate it with olive oil and a dry rub over that. (onion powder, garlic powder, minced onion, all purpose seasoning, Adobo, pepper, and brown sugar). Then place it in the fridge over night. The next day place them in the roasters and pour root beer soda over it, (only enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I cook them until I can easily pull the bone away. Usually 18 hours. Remember a roaster takes longer than a crockpot because of the air escaping. I shred as soon as it's ready, Add a small amount of BBQ sauce just for flavor. I also add some of the juices from the roaster into each freezer bag to keep the pork moist. I then freeze it until a day or 2 before I plan on using it.
Mind you the pulled pork is never the main dish at our gatherings. I use the smaller dinner rolls from Costco's. Less waist. As others have said, hot dogs, mac and cheese, Cole slaw, baked bean, corn on the cob, potato, and mac salads. You might want to consider adding in a ziti with sauce, easy and inexpensive.
Do as much as you can in advance, you will appreciate it the day of.
When my DD graduated we had 180 people in my back yard. We did all the cooking ourselves. Plus it was my 2 week post op from Rotator Cuff surgery. I did as much as I could post op. It was a huge help.
Have fun!!

This sounds like an amazing amount of work! But I'm sure the results are delicious.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

At this point I'm thinking Little Caesars sounds good. $5 pizzas. Can't beat that!! Just kidding.good idea to check with a local BBQ place. Will also see how much the pork is at Sams or Costco.

Will have to think about the coleslaw too. I don't like the stuff and it's hard for me to make something I don't like. Maybe find a plac for that. Don't like beans either but figured I could get the big cans at Sams and just keep in crock pots. Looking for easy stuff.

Cooking for 200 people is A LOT of work lol! Do you have a Dickey's BBQ Pit near you? We had them do pulled pork for a family party - very reasonable, they came at the time we asked, set it up - all hot, fresh, & ready to eat!