How Many People Will My Whole Hog Feed?

One of the more frequent questions I get asked is how many people will a X pound pig feed? So to continue our discussion from yesterday I will share with you “swine equation” for calculating yield.

Most important tip is HEAD OFF. It’s a waste of money and you’ll occasionally freak out a guest. Not worth it.

The equation breaks down into two divisions – Normal people & Gluttons.

Normal = X pounds of pig * 1.2 = # of people fed

Gluttons = X pounds of pig * 0.8 = # of people fed

For normal people a 1/3lb sandwich is pretty big. Add behind that your slaws and hush puppies, mac & cheese, beer etc. It’s a nap inducing meal.

For the mega eating gluttons you can give them a monster half pound sandwich. Now think about this for a second. The double quarter pounder at McDonald’s is a retarded amount of food. And that weight is PRE-COOKED. We are talking about already cooked ½ pound of meat here.

In any pig picking you’ll have your bird eaters and your mega eaters so if you calculate the 2 equations you’ll be somewhere in the middle.

So let’s say you had a 100lb pig. That will feed 120 normal people or 80 mega eaters. It’s not likely you’ll find 80 mega eaters.

My tips for making sure you have enough for all especially if you’re a worry wart like me that you’ll run out.

• Pre-chop and sauce and have people serve themselves. Us BBQ people are overly generous by nature, you’ll be surprised how small portions will look. They’re not really “small”, they’re “reasonable”. Whole hog guys tend to go overboard, I know I do.
• Slaw ON the sandwich. This is proper Carolina BBQ. The slaw is not a side salad; it is an intricate part of the whole hog BBQ experience. Plus it makes the sandwich look bigger.
• Have lots of sides and dessert. Not only will people enjoy the variety, you won’t have to worry if your hog is big enough. Plus what makes for a better pig picking than home-made pie?