Savory and smoky, pulled pork if cooked perfectly has a melt-in-the-mouth texture. No wonder, it is so versatile, that it is used in several dishes all over the world. It is not just tasty but loaded with essential minerals and vitamins. Do you know that just 3 ounces of this can meet 1/3 of your daily nutritional requirement of vitamin B6, niacin, thiamin, and selenium? Not just that it is also rich in zinc, magnesium iron, and potassium. But that does not mean you can have it in abundance. Let us have a look at how much pulled pork per person is recommended and good for health.
Imagine you have a party or guests coming at home. You plan to include pulled pork in the menu. How do you determine how much pork you will need? How much pork will be enough for an adult or a child?
This is extremely important so that you can prevent wastage and save yourself from the embarrassment of running out of food.
Pulled Pork Calculator
So, for the convenience of pork lovers, there is a way to calculate how much pulled pork per person is enough.
The pulled pork calculator is based on two principles:
- One should plan for 1/3 pounds of pork per person. This means a pound of pork is enough to feed three people.
- Raw pork has more weight than cooked pork. Cooked pork can be as much as 50% lower in weight than pulled pork.
So, when we consider the above two principles, the pulled pork calculator uses a formula
(No. of guests x (1/3)) x 2 = Quantity of Raw Pork to purchase
Though this pulled pork calculator can accurately determine how many pounds of pulled pork per person, you can plan, and there are some factors that you have to keep in mind.
Are There Kids in Your Guests List?
If there are children in your guest lists, you may have to change your estimates. Children may not eat like adults. Thus, if you have children, you can prepare ½ and 2/3 of what you would do normally per head for kids.
To make it a bit simple, in the pulled pork calculator, you can multiply the number of guests by 0.25. This will help in determining the quantity of pork you need.
Consider the Kind of Event
What kind of event it is? Is it a sit-down meal or a stand-up social party? It is known that sit-down meals require more food. Perhaps, when we have meals as we are standing up, we tend to consume a little less.
When is the Event
If you are planning to serve pulled pork and thinking of estimating how much meat per person, consider the time of the day as well. Pulled pork serving size does play a critical role when you are estimating the quantity you will need. People consume a bit less for lunch than dinner. Perhaps, if it is a dinner menu, you may have to order a little more than what you calculate.
Type of Dish
You can have pulled pork in many ways and your meat requirement per person varies as per the dish you choose. For example, if you are serving pork sandwiches you will not need the same quantity as you need when you serve it as a side dish. Thus, when you are thinking about how many pulled pork sandwiches per pound, you have to calculate differently. One pound of pulled pork will make double the quantity of sandwiches and can serve more people, than when you serve it as a side dish.
So, how do you calculate how many pulled pork sandwiches per pound? If we consider a rough estimate, buns or sandwiches hold around 5 ounces of pork. Thus, you can adjust the calculations as per the servings.
Suppose you have a guest list of 30 people and you are estimating how much pork to purchase. So, how do you determine how much pulled pork for 30 people you need to order? As mentioned earlier, this depends on the event and the menu.
For instance, if you plan to serve them a feast of hot dogs and burgers. In such a menu plan, you will not need loads of pulled pork. People will love to try out a variety of burgers. So, if pulled pork is just a part of a bigger feast, you can pull back a little. You can reduce the quantity of pulled pork by 1/3.
How Many Pounds of Meat per Person if It’s a Party
It is natural to be anxious when you are planning for feeding a big crowd. It might be your housewarming party, a birthday party, or just a Christmas Celebration. You plan to serve pulled pork dishes, but you are confused with questions like – 1 lb pulled pork feeds how many or how many pounds of bbq per person?
This calculation can be quite baffling even with a pulled pork calculator. You want your estimates to be correct to avoid not just embarrassment but also wastage.
The challenges are usually many. For instance, there will be people who will not have any control over their portion size while there will be others who will eat very little. There might be some guests who will go back for the 2nd or the 3rd helping.
If it is a backyard party and it has pork as the main dish, you can increase the quantity a little bit more. You can make it half a pound per guest.
Besides this, the side dishes also have an impact on meat consumption. So, when you are calculating how many pounds of pulled pork per person, consider the side dishes you are serving.If you have dishes like baked beans, potato cream salad, macaroni, and cheese, or cheesy dumplings, they will certainly fill up your guests faster. If you have lighter sides like watermelon slices and broccoli salad, they are not just as filling.
Now that you can easily determine the quantity of pork you will need, go ahead and plan your fun times with friends.
