Cooking
How much meat per person for a BBQ?
Meat, bread and charcoal needed for your barbecue based on adults, kids and appetite level.
Quick answer
The eternal barbecue question — how much meat? — has a boring, reliable answer, and it depends on what else is on the table.
Raw meat to buy
3.8 kg (8.4 lb)
- Per adult
- 400 g (14.1 oz)
- Bread
- 1 kg (2.1 lb)
- Charcoal
- ~4 kg (8.8 lb)
Figures are raw weight — meat loses 20-25% on the grill. A good mix: a third sausages and wings (cheap, everyone eats them), a third ribs or pork, a third burgers or steak. Kids count as half an adult. Charcoal estimate is ~1 kg per kg of meat with a classic kettle; a chimney starter lights it in 15 minutes with no fluid taste.
How it works
| Situation | Raw meat per adult |
|---|---|
| Salads and bread do the heavy lifting | 300 g |
| Normal mixed grill with sides | 400 g |
| Meat-first, hungry crowd | 500 g |
| Children under 12 | half an adult |
Those are raw weights, and that matters: meat loses 20–25% of its weight on the grill, so the 400 g you buy arrives on the plate as roughly 300 g. If you are planning from portions you remember from a restaurant, those were cooked portions — add a third before you shop.
Recommended raw portions (guideline): Adults — light sides 300 g, standard mixed grill 400 g, hungry / few sides 500 g. Children under 12 — about half an adult (150 / 200 / 250 g). Teens — often closer to a full adult. For 10 adults + 4 kids at standard: (10 × 400) + (4 × 200) = 4.8 kg raw. Enter guests above and the calculator scales meat, bread and charcoal together.
Ribs vs steaks: spare ribs / baby backs are sold bone-in — budget 450–550 g raw per adult if ribs are the main event (bones weigh a lot; cook low-and-slow to ~90 °C for tenderness). Steaks / tagliata go further: 250–350 g raw per adult when sliced to share, or one steak each if plated whole. Mix both with sausages so early finger food is ready while ribs finish. Composition rule that never fails: one third sausages/wings, one third ribs or shoulder, one third burgers or steaks to slice. Pair with a meat thermometer — and size charcoal with the BBQ charcoal calculator.
The number above is raw weight, and the grill takes a share of it. Most grilled meat loses a quarter to a third of its weight to the fire, so 400 g raw arrives on the plate as something under 300 g — which is exactly the gap between "I bought plenty" and running out at eight o'clock. If you are planning from portions you know from a restaurant, those are cooked portions: add a third before you shop. The other limit is not in the shopping at all: a normal kettle cooks a certain area at a time, and twenty guests means several rounds, so plan the order of what goes on rather than the total.
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Frequently asked questions
How much meat for 10 adults at a BBQ?+
About 4 kg raw for a normal barbecue with sides — for example 1.3 kg of sausages, 1.3 kg of ribs, 1.4 kg of burgers or steak. Add 1 kg of bread and roughly 4 kg of charcoal. With big eaters or few sides, go to 5 kg; leftovers grill fine the next day, running out mid-party doesn’t.
How much meat for kids vs adults?+
Under 12: count each child as half an adult (about 200 g raw at the standard 400 g adult portion). Teens often eat a full adult share. Always buy a little extra — kids' leftovers are easier than empty plates.
Ribs or steaks — which needs more meat?+
Ribs need more raw weight per person (bones + long cook shrink). Steaks stretch further when sliced to share. A mixed grill (sausages + ribs + a few steaks) balances cost and cook time better than all-ribs or all-steak.
What internal temperatures should grilled meat reach?+
The numbers worth memorizing: chicken 74 °C always; sausages and burgers 71 °C (ground meat must cook through); pork ribs are safe at 63 °C but only get tender at 90 °C+ after hours of low heat; beef steak is rare at 50-52 °C, medium at 57-60 °C. Measure at the thickest point, away from bone, and rest the meat 5 minutes before cutting.
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