How much BBQ meat per person
Plan 1/3 to 1/2 lb of cooked meat per adult with sides. You buy raw weight, and it shrinks a lot.
Cooked meat per adult
With a normal spread of beans, slaw, potato salad and bread, a good rule is 1/3 lb of cooked, ready-to-eat meat per adult (the planner's default). Go 1/4 lb for light eaters, 0.4 lb for a generous spread or 1/2 lb for a hungry crowd; the planner also takes a custom amount. If sides are thin, multiply by about 1.5. Count kids as half. Add 10% for a little leftover or 25% if you want plenty.
Cooked meat served to the whole party, before leftovers:
| Appetite | 10 adults | 25 adults | 50 adults | 100 adults |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light eaters | 2.5 lb | 6.5 lb | 12.5 lb | 25 lb |
| Normal | 3.5 lb | 8.5 lb | 17 lb | 33.5 lb |
| Generous | 4 lb | 10 lb | 20 lb | 40 lb |
| Hungry crowd | 5 lb | 12.5 lb | 25 lb | 50 lb |
Raw requirement before package rounding
Raw weight is bigger than cooked weight. Fat renders, moisture cooks out, and bone and trim get left behind. The planner uses these yields, which are rough averages: brisket loses about half its weight, and sausage loses little.
Unrounded-package raw requirement, before leftovers. Use the planner for whole cuts/racks to buy. These tables round requirements up to the next half pound. The planner defaults include 10% leftovers; these tables do not. If the entire menu were that one meat, a normal-appetite crowd with sides needs:
| Meat | 10 adults | 25 adults | 50 adults | 100 adults |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisket (50% yield) | 7 lb | 17 lb | 33.5 lb | 67 lb |
| Pork butt (57% yield) | 6 lb | 15 lb | 29.5 lb | 58.5 lb |
| Spare ribs (45% yield) | 7.5 lb | 19 lb | 37.5 lb | 74.5 lb |
| Baby backs (50% yield) | 7 lb | 17 lb | 33.5 lb | 67 lb |
| Whole chicken (65% yield) | 5.5 lb | 13 lb | 26 lb | 51.5 lb |
| Sausage (87% yield) | 4 lb | 10 lb | 19.5 lb | 38.5 lb |
For ribs, buy by the rack: spare ribs run about 3 1/4 lb, and baby backs about 2 1/2 lb. A whole packer brisket is usually 12 to 16 lb, and a bone-in pork butt 8 to 10 lb. Whole chickens and turkey breasts vary, so round up to whole pieces.
Serving more than one meat
When you offer two or three meats, the total pounds per person stays about the same, because guests take a little of each. Split the cooked total between the meats instead of adding up full portions of each. A common split is 60% brisket and 40% pork, or add ribs or sausage as a "taste of everything" extra.
Buying tips
- Round up. You can always hold leftovers. You can't stretch a short pan of brisket.
- Whole cuts beat several small ones. A 14 lb packer plus an 8 lb butt is easier to cook and hold than a bunch of little pieces.
- Check what you can fit. Your cooker's grate size caps how much you can cook at once. Pick your cooker in the planner to see tips for it.
- Raw weights are estimates. Trim, bone and fat vary from cut to cut, so treat the numbers as a plan, not a promise.