How many pounds of pork roast with 15-percent shrinkage should be purchased to serve 600 portions weighing three ounces each?

Answer 1

If you need 600 three-ounce servings, you need 1800 ounces of cooked meat. Divide that by 16 ounces per pound to get 112.5 pounds. But that's the amount you'll have after a 15-percent reduction in weight. In other words, what you're left with after cooking is 85 percent of what you popped in the oven. So divide 112.5 by 0.85 to get 132.35 pounds. That's one big butt!