How much pulled pork per person?

Quick answer: plan on 6 oz of cooked pulled pork per adult for sandwiches (8 oz for a plated serving). A pork butt loses about 45% of its weight while cooking, so buy roughly 1 lb of raw pork butt per person when pulled pork is served plated as the only main, or about ⅔ lb raw per person for sandwiches.

Why the raw weight is so much higher

You serve cooked weight but you buy raw weight, and a pork butt shrinks hard: fat renders out and moisture evaporates until only about 55% of the raw weight is left as pullable meat. So the math for any crowd is: guests × cooked ounces ÷ 16 ÷ 0.55 = raw pounds to buy.

Raw pounds to buy, by crowd size

Guests	Cooked pork needed	Raw to buy (only main, sandwiches)	Raw to buy (with a 2nd main)
10	3¾ lb	7 lb	5 lb
20	7½ lb	14 lb	10 lb
30	11¼ lb	21 lb	14 lb
40	15 lb	27 lb	19 lb
50	18¾ lb	34 lb	24 lb
75	28 lb	51 lb	36 lb
100	37½ lb	68 lb	48 lb

The "2nd main" column is not a typo: when burgers, ribs, or chicken share the menu, guests take smaller portions of each, so each main drops to about 70%. Planning two full-portion mains is the classic way to end up with 15 lb of leftover pork.

Adjusting the number

• Kids: count each child as half an adult.
• Big eaters or a pork-loving crowd: add 20%.
• You want leftovers (pulled pork freezes beautifully): add 20%.
• Lots of hearty sides: you can shave 10–15% — beans and mac & cheese fill plates too.
• Buying: bone-in butts typically run 7–10 lb each. Two 8-lb butts beat one 16-lb monster for even cooking and bark.

Worked example

25 adults, pulled pork sandwiches, burgers also on the menu, normal appetites: 25 × 6 oz = 150 oz cooked ≈ 9.4 lb; with the second main at 70%, that's about 6.6 lb cooked; ÷ 0.55 = 12 lb raw — two medium butts. Add the burgers, sides, drinks, and ice, and you have the full shop. That's exactly what the planner does for the whole menu at once:

Plan the whole menu — free planner

Common questions

How many sandwiches does a pound of pulled pork make? At 6 oz of cooked meat per sandwich and 55% yield, one raw pound makes about 1½ sandwiches; a 10-lb raw butt makes roughly 14–15 sandwiches.

Boneless or bone-in? Bone-in butts are usually cheaper per pound and the bone is a small share of the weight; the 55% yield figure already assumes a typical bone-in butt.

How long does it keep? Refrigerated leftovers keep 3–4 days; frozen pulled pork keeps 3–4 months and reheats well — a good reason to use the leftovers bump instead of cutting it close.