Hi,
I have made this twice with pork shoulders/butt I have had on hand. Both were in the 3-4 pound range.
The time spent cooking it, which was at least four to six hours for these small pieces. I plan to go for an eight pound or more pork butt next time. This is like ham, where you find yourself picking at it later. You can freeze the leftovers to incorporate into future dishes.
For the Mardi Gras program yesterday, I slow cooked the pork on Friday until it was done. On Saturday, I reheated the pork at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes. My pan was already pretty dry, I added some water and tented the pork to avoid drying it out. I pulled it out, adjusted heat to 500 degrees, rubbed the brown sugar and blasted for 10 minutes or more.
As for serving, I thought this response related to
BBQ pulled pork sandwiches: "Most folks figure 1/4 to 1/3 pound of cooked meat. I lean towards that 1/3 pound since I like a generous sandwich . So, for 30 people at 1/3 lb per serving is 10 lbs of cooked meat. A 50% yield is pretty typical for pork butts, so that means 20 lbs of raw weight. Unless you can find big butts, I would cook three 8 pounders and have leftovers."
I would go on the generous, because this pork dish really resonates with people. When you read this lump of meat was served at the end of a filling meal, yet people dug in with a hungry zest. You may find whatever you serve, it may not be enough.
Regards,