How much BBQ meat per person?
The standard rule is ½ lb (225 g) of cooked meat per adult when BBQ is the main dish. Because most cuts lose 25–40% of their weight during smoking, you'll need to buy meaningfully more raw meat than the finished plate weight.
Raw-to-cooked yield by cut
- Brisket: 50% yield — buy 1 lb raw per person
- Pulled pork (shoulder): 65% yield — buy 12 oz raw per person
- Pork ribs: 3 bones per person on baby back, 2 on St. Louis
- Chicken (bone-in): 75% yield — buy 12 oz raw per person
- Sausage links: 2 per person (roughly ½ lb)
BBQ meat quantity by group size
- 10 people: ~5 lb cooked meat (7–10 lb raw)
- 25 people: ~12.5 lb cooked (17–25 lb raw)
- 50 people: ~25 lb cooked (35–50 lb raw)
- 100 people: ~50 lb cooked (70–100 lb raw)
Adjust for your crowd
Hungry crowds and sports events: add 25%. Kids: count each child as 60% of an adult. If BBQ is a side (e.g., burgers and hot dogs are the main), drop to ⅓ lb cooked per person.
Get exact quantities
Use the BBQ Meat Calculator for raw and cooked weights tailored to your guests.
Open BBQ calculator