An event food calculator determines how many pounds of protein, sides, appetizers, and desserts to buy for DIY catering. It works from the weight you actually pay for at the counter, accounting for the 25-60% lost to trimming, bone, and cooking shrinkage on the way to the serving tray, so you buy enough raw weight to serve the correct cooked portions.
Calculate exactly how much raw meat to buy for your event. We account for cooking shrinkage (yield loss) so you don't end up short on food. All calculations happen instantly in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.
Event Details
Protein Selection
Select the meats you plan to serve. Target ounces per person will be split evenly across selected proteins. Each yield below is edible cooked meat as a share of the weight you buy, so it already has the trim and the bone taken out of it.
Sides & Extras
Standard catering rules: ~4 oz per side per person, 4-6 appetizer pieces, and 1-2 dessert portions.
Raw Shopping List
Shrinkage Waterfall
Visualize the weight lost to trimming, bones, and cooking shrinkage.
Catering Efficiency Gear
When cooking for 50+ people, guessing when the meat is done will ruin the event. You absolutely must use a multi-probe wireless meat thermometer to monitor internal temperatures without constantly opening the smoker or oven. For serving, the USDA FSIS hot-holding minimum is 140°F, which is the number a row of stainless steel chafing dish sets exists to hold on a long buffet line. Check the food with the thermometer, not the burner.
How to Calculate Meat Portions for a Party
The biggest mistake DIY caterers make is forgetting about yield loss. A standard dinner portion requires about 7 ounces of cooked meat per adult. However, if you buy 7 ounces of raw brisket per person, you will run out of food. Measured against the weight you pay for at the counter, a whole packer brisket yields about 50% after trimming and the long smoke. Bone-in pork shoulder yields about 55%. Bone-in pork ribs yield only about 40% edible meat, once bone and cooking loss are both subtracted. Boneless chicken yields about 75%, the one cut here with no bone or fat cap to subtract. CaterMath works backward from the required cooked portions to tell you exactly how many pounds of raw meat you need to buy at the grocery store, eliminating the stress of under-catering your wedding or backyard BBQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pounds of meat per person for a BBQ?
Plan for 1/3 to 1/2 pound of cooked meat per adult when protein is the main course with sides. Buy more raw weight than that, because the weight you pay for at the counter includes trim, bone and the moisture that cooks off. As purchased, whole packer brisket yields about 50%, bone-in pork shoulder yields about 55%, bone-in pork ribs yield about 40% edible meat once bone and cooking loss are subtracted, and boneless chicken yields about 75%. For 50 guests at 1/2 pound of cooked brisket each, buy about 50 pounds raw, which is roughly 1 pound of untrimmed packer per person.
How much food do you need per person for a buffet?
A full dinner buffet needs approximately 1.5 pounds of total food per person: 6-8 oz protein, 4-6 oz starch/grain, 3-4 oz vegetables, 2-3 oz salad, and 2-3 oz dessert. For appetizer-only events, plan 8-12 pieces per person over 2-3 hours. Increase quantities by 15% if there are no other food options.
What is cooking shrinkage and why does it matter for catering?
Cooking shrinkage is the weight a cut loses to trimming, bone, evaporated moisture and rendered fat between the checkout scale and the serving tray. A 10-pound whole packer brisket yields only about 5 pounds of sliceable meat after trimming and smoking. Ignoring shrinkage is the #1 reason DIY caterers run out of protein. Always calculate raw purchase weight from desired cooked serving weight.