BBQ Portion Calculator: How Much Meat per Person
Enter your guests and how long the barbecue lasts to get the meat by type, sides, drinks, ice and charcoal, or check how many people the meat you have will feed
Your Barbecue
The four percentages are scaled to add up to 100%
Each child counts as half an adult. Weights are raw, as bought, and bone-in cuts need a little more.
These are planning values, not an official standard. Round up to the pack sizes you can buy and keep a little in reserve.
How to use this tool
- Choose whether you want to plan the shopping or see how many people your meat feeds.
- Enter the adults, the children and the duration in hours, then pick the appetite and the meat mix. With custom percentages, type your own split.
- Read the list, round up to the packs you can buy, then press Copy Result.
Worked example
10 adults and 4 children for 4 hours at a normal appetite make 12 adult portions, so 11.9 lb (5.4 kg) of meat at 1 lb (450 g) each. With the classic mix that is 5.95 lb (2.7 kg) of beef, 2.38 lb (1.08 kg) of pork, 1.79 lb (810 g) of chicken and 1.79 lb (810 g) of sausage. Add 24 pieces of bread, 3.17 lb (1.44 kg) of rice or potatoes, 2.65 lb (1.2 kg) of salad, 6.7 gal (25.2 L) of drinks, 27.8 lb (12.6 kg) of ice and 11.9 lb (5.4 kg) of charcoal. In the other mode, 10 lb (4.5 kg) of meat feeds 10 adults, or 20 children, over 4 hours at a normal appetite.
Methodology
The tool counts every child as half an adult, which gives the adult portions. Each adult gets 250 g (about 9 oz) of raw meat plus 50 g (about 1.8 oz) for every hour of the barbecue (counted up to 8 hours), multiplied by an appetite factor of 0.8, 1 or 1.2. The total is then split by your meat mix. Check with the defaults: 10 adults and 4 children make 12 adult portions, 4 hours give 1 lb (450 g) per adult, and 12 × 1 lb (450 g) is 11.9 lb (5.4 kg) of meat.
Meat for three typical gatherings
Three sizes of barbecue at a normal appetite, all worked out with the same formulas as the tool. Use them as a quick check of your own plan.
The meat per adult rises from 14 oz (400 g) at 3 hours to 1.32 lb (600 g) at 7 hours, because guests keep eating as long as the fire is on, while children count as half. The all-day party needs about 7.5 times the meat of the family lunch, not only because of the larger guest list but also because of the extra hours. Enter your own numbers above to see where your barbecue sits.
Gear for the Grill
An instant-read thermometer, a stainless steel utensil set and a chimney starter for lighting the charcoal
Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer Digital, Cooking, Food, Grill, 1-2 Second Ultra-Fast Response Time, Bright Backlit Display, Waterproof (IP67), Pre-Calibrated & Ready to Use
Digital instant-read thermometer, listed with a 1-2 second response time, a backlit display, an IP67 waterproof rating and pre-calibration. Handy for checking the cuts you planned on the grill.
Alpha Grillers Grill Tools Set, BBQ & Grilling Accessories Outdoor Utensils, Heavy-Duty Stainless Steel Spatula, Fork, Brush & Tongs, Great BBQ Gift for Men
Heavy-duty stainless steel grill set with a spatula, a fork, a brush and tongs, listed as outdoor utensils for barbecue and grilling. Check the listing for the exact contents and the case.
Kingsford Compact Charcoal Chimney Starter for Grills and BBQs, Quick-Light Zinc Steel Starter with Heat Shield and Stay-Cool Handle, No Assembly, Fits Compact Grills and Travel
Compact zinc steel chimney starter for lighting charcoal, listed with a heat shield, a stay-cool handle and no assembly. Compare its capacity in the listing with the charcoal estimate above.
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Frequently asked questions
How much meat per person do I need for a barbecue? ▼
As a starting point this tool uses 250 g of raw meat plus 50 g for every hour per adult: 14 oz (400 g) for 3 hours, 1 lb (450 g) for 4 hours and 1.21 lb (550 g) for 6 hours at a normal appetite. Children count as half an adult. Treat it as a planning value, since appetite and the amount of side dishes change it.
Is the weight raw or cooked? ▼
Raw, as you buy it. Meat loses part of its weight when it is cooked, and bone-in cuts such as ribs or chicken legs carry bone that nobody eats, so buy a little more for those.
How is the meat split between beef, pork, chicken and sausage? ▼
By the mix you pick. Classic is 50% beef, 20% pork, 15% chicken and 15% sausage, beef-heavy is 70/10/10/10 and chicken-forward is 30/20/35/15. With custom percentages you can enter any split, and the four values are scaled to add up to 100%.
How much charcoal do I need? ▼
The tool uses a common rule of thumb of 1 kg of charcoal per kg of meat, which is 11.9 lb (5.4 kg) for the default example. It is only a starting point: wind, a large grill, a cold day and long cuts such as ribs raise it, so keep an extra bag.
Does it split the drinks into beer, soft drinks and water? ▼
No. It plans one total for all drinks, 6.7 gal (25.2 L) for the default example, with ice at half a kilo per liter. How you divide it between water, soft drinks and beer is up to your group. Make sure there is plenty of water and non-alcoholic choices for everyone, children and drivers included.
Can I switch between kilograms and pounds? ▼
Yes. The Units selector switches between metric (kg, g, liters) and US (lb, oz, gallons, 12 fl oz cans). The English page starts in US units and the other languages in metric. The result is the same quantity in both, converted with 1 kg = 2.2046 lb, 1 US gallon = 3.785 L and a 355 ml can.
Is anything I enter uploaded? ▼
No. The calculation runs in your browser, so the numbers you type stay on your device and nothing is saved. If you reload or close the page, the fields return to their defaults.