BBQ Meat Per Person Calculator

For an average adult, plan about 1/2 pound of raw meat per person when you serve sides, or about 3/4 pound when meat is the whole meal. Those raw amounts work out to roughly 1/3 to 1/2 pound of cooked meat on each plate once shrinkage is counted. Children are figured at half an adult portion.

Meat loses weight as it cooks, because fat and moisture render out. A typical grilled cut keeps about two thirds of its raw weight, so you buy more raw meat than ends up on the plate. The calculator divides the cooked portion you want by the cooking yield to get the raw amount to purchase.

Pulled pork and brisket lose close to half their weight during a long cook, so their yield is about 50%. That means you should buy roughly double the cooked weight you want to serve. Pick the pulled pork or brisket option and the calculator applies that heavier shrinkage for you.

Yes. When you put out salads, bread, corn, and beans, guests fill up on them and eat less meat, usually about a third less. Turning sides off treats the meat as the entire meal and raises the per-person amount. Toggle the sides option to compare both totals.

Each child counts as half an adult portion, since most kids eat noticeably less. For appetite, choose light, average, or hearty to scale every adult portion up or down. The buy range shows the spread from a light-eating crowd to a hearty one, so you can plan a safe amount with a little buffer.