Low-and-slow cookout

Buy enough pork shoulder before the smoker starts.

Translate finished portions into raw purchase weight while accounting for trimming, rendered fat, cooking loss, and seconds.

Read the pulled pork planning guide

Your gathering

Plan raw and cooked weight

Yield is the percentage of raw weight left as finished, edible pulled pork.

Why raw weight is much higher

Pork shoulder loses weight from the bone, trimmed fat, rendered fat, moisture, and bark trimming.

  • Cooked portions are finished edible meat, not raw package weight.
  • The default 50% yield means 10 pounds raw becomes about 5 pounds finished.
  • Buns receive the same selected buffer as the meat portions.