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BBQ Food Per Person

How much meat, sides, drinks, and condiments for a cookout.

Total cooked protein
8.0 lb
0.40 lb per person

Pick one or two proteins (cooked weight)

Burgers (¼ lb): 32
Hot dogs: 48
Chicken thighs: 24
Brisket raw lb: 16
Pulled pork raw lb: 16
Ribs (full racks): 6

Sides and drinks

Buns: 25
Side dish total (lb): 8.0
Drinks (cans/bottles): 60
Ice (lbs): 30
Condiment jars: 3
Napkins: 80

Pulled pork and brisket lose roughly 50 percent in cooking. Plan raw weight at 2× cooked. Order one extra rack of ribs over what the math says. People always eat more ribs than you expect.

About

Enter number of people, crowd type, and how long the cookout runs. The tool returns total cooked meat in pounds, breakdowns by protein (burgers, ribs, pulled pork), buns, sides, drinks, ice, and napkins.

How to use

  1. Enter the headcount.
  2. Pick crowd type.
  3. Set cookout duration.

FAQ

Cooked or raw weight?+

The headline number is cooked weight. Pulled pork and brisket lose roughly 50 percent in cooking. Buy 2 lb raw for 1 lb cooked.