# how much food for 500 people?



## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

If you were cooking Brisket, Ribs and Chicken for 500 people (say kids, woman and men equally present) how much of each type of meat would you prepare if you were cooking them in equal amounts? going to be cooking for 500 this weekend and just want to get some other thoughts.

Thanks


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## sotexhookset (Jun 4, 2011)

Gonna have go with a ****load. Hope this helps.


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## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

sotexhookset said:


> Gonna have go with a ****load. Hope this helps.


Haha!!! well, i got a chuckle out of that response, but not sure it helps with my question.


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## Hooksetter13 (Aug 22, 2012)

I have between 100-120 family members at my Christmas or 4th of July and I preprare 1/2 pound of meat per person. The kids may not eat that much but their are some that eat more.


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## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

If the meat is the main feature with only a few side dishes, we usually go for about 3/4 pound (12 ounces) per person. If the side dishes are more substantial, we'll drop that down to 1/2 or even 1/3 pound (5-8 ounces).


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

yep, 1/2 lb per person is what we use. You can drop that a little if you get weenies for the kids. You will be amazed how many will eat that over BBQ, It might make a little difference if serving 500 people.


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

Lagniappe2008 said:


> If you were cooking Brisket, Ribs and Chicken for 500 people (say kids, woman and men equally present) how much of each type of meat would you prepare if you were cooking them in equal amounts? going to be cooking for 500 this weekend and just want to get some other thoughts.
> 
> Thanks


6 briskets, 24 slabs of ribs, & 20 whole chickens


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## stxhunter23 (May 22, 2009)

I did some cooking for roughly 300 people and we cooked 25 briskets and 75 chicken half's and all the chicken was gone and had 4 briskets left over. The briskets ranged in size from 8-10lbs. Hope this helps.


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## wildbill (Aug 11, 2005)

When cooking just brisket we usually plan on 1 pound uncooked per person and 1 rack of ribs will typically feed 4 people if just serving ribs. For that many people I would recommend doing chicken legs, thighs or quarters. 

When you are planning on cooking several different meats and sides obviously the amount of each can be reduced when compared to cooking just 1 main dish.

For what you are describing I would plan on about 300 pounds of brisket, 30 racks of ribs and about 300 pieces of chicken. 

Like you said, you will some eat more than planned and some eat less. Plus, not everyone will eat all 3 meats.


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

I would figure 1/4 to 1/3# (cooked weight) brisket, 1/3# for ribs and 1/8th of a chicken per person.


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## trout250 (Aug 24, 2005)

never cooked ribs for that many, but we usually figure a pound of uncooked brisket per person, last anniversary dinner that we cooked for at church we cooked 56 briskets, 75 links of ssausage and 75 fryers.had beans, potatoe slalad, bread and other condiments to go along with them.

good luck


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## capfab (May 21, 2010)

1/3 to 1/2 pound of meat per person if sides are served.


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

If you don't have a very large pit and a couple of days to get rolling on that quantity of meat and sides, you may be better off calling a caterer or a couple if BBQ teams. By the time you invest in meat, sides and supplies the expenses won't be that much different and you won't have time to enjoy the party. 
On a gathering of 500 people the price per plate goes down significantly.

Good Luck


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## od (Mar 20, 2009)

*Serving Formula*

The average formula for beef is 1/4 per person. You will be serving children less and ladies a bit more and the guys ( bigger ones like myself)every bit of that and maybe a bit more if they ask for it. It comes out the same cause the ladies and kids will set it off. On the ribs I would do at least one but really depending on size or more upon request.
A three meat plate is alot when you add all your sides plus condiments. 
On potatoe salad, slaw etc, you can use a scoop. Like an ice cream scoop and get it from the restruant supply, it will be a wise investment and their not that much. They have different serving sized ones which go by color code. Each color is a different amount. Once you scoop out your side scrape the scoop on the edge of the bowl, pan or whatever you have it in to serve ONLY a round scoop. NOT a scoop with a bunch over the top or it. If using a commerical potatoe salad like from Sam's Club, get one pound out of the container and see how many scoope you get from that one pound X/s 500 and that will be your formula for that. Beans you can use a serving spoon, no problem. 500 is alot of people unless it's a fundraiser or banquet.Good luck.


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## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

so we coooked it already and here is how it came out. by the way, this wasn't for me, it was for my neighbor and his church. We ended up cooking 140lbs of brisket (12), 30 racks of ribs and 45lbs of chicken. All i did was cook the briskets, but had to have them done by noon so I pulled an all nighter. Was just the right amount of food he said. Thanks for all the feedback.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

i have cooked for hundreds several times

a few hard rules,

slaw and beans and bread are cheap, have plenty.

never let people serve themselves, esp. the meat, if short on food

people will never remember if you had too much food , only too little

position the table with the sides,eating utensils and bread up front, meat last

might try to google something like this
http://www.freewebs.com/susquehannab...Calculator.xls


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