Planning a whole dinner party can sometimes feel like a giant logic puzzle: if we serve this dessert, then we'll do that appetizer, but if that person comes, then we won't serve that, and on and on! Deciding out how much meat to buy per person is all part of the game. How do you figure it out?
We usually work backwards by looking at what else we're serving, how the meat is going to be used, and what kind of appetites we think our guests will have.
If the meat is the main feature, as in steak or pork chops 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).
If the meat is going into something, like a pasta ragout or a curry, we'll estimate 1/4 to 1/3 pound (4-6 ounces) per person.
There's usually a little more wiggle room in terms of number of servings with a large roast than there is with individually cut steaks or chicken breasts. If we're really unsure about how much people will eat, we stay away from dishes with those individual cuts and go for a recipe that gives us more leeway for portioning.
How do you figure out how much meat you'll need per person?
Related: Kitchen Shortcut: How to Thaw Meat Quickly
(Originally published March 31, 2012)
(Image: Flickr member The Bitten Word licensed under Creative Commons)
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Is there a recipe for the dish in the picture? This looks so good!!
I'd like to second the request for the recipe in the picture. Yum!
The recipe is soy-glazed flank steak from Bitten Word!
Soy-Glazed Flank Steak
I usually make too much, figuring it's better to have leftovers than to run out.
I never allot more than a half-pound of meat per person. I just don't think anyone needs to eat more than that in one sitting.
I usually try to make dishes that incorporate meat, and then estimate about 1/8- to 1/4-pound per serving.
I want my guests to have enough food, but I don't want anyone to leave feeling ill because they ate too much. That doesn't lead to good memories.
According to my friends (five of us who used to cook and eat together regularly) they would all always ask for enough for six hungry people at the butchers (usually about 3lbs of meat or so) and that would be perfect for the 5 of us who definitely appreciated good food, and good meat in particular.
3/4 lb per person?! That's a LOT of meat, and well above what's considered an appropriate serving size. For special events in extremely meat-loving groups of people, maybe, but I wouldn't recommend that for a regular dinner party for friends who eat healthily.
I have a lot of vegetarians among my friends and family, so I don't ever serve meat without a lot of other things on the table. I start at 1/2 lb per person for some of my more carnivorous guests, and less for the other meat-eaters in the crowd. When I did the standard 1/2-lb-per-guest rule with the Thanksgiving turkey, I had half a turkey left over!
Does this same 3/4lb rule apply when serving fish as the main feature?
I like 6 - 8oz maximum, for a serving or meat or fish.
12oz sounds like a lot but things like pork chops or bone-in cuts of steak can tip the scales but not actually have 12oz of edible parts.
I just picked up a baby lamb for Easter dinner. Whole animals present another piece of the puzzle because of the bones, trim, etc.
I think the "turkey rule" is good for most whole beasts, about 1# of raw weight for each person, give or take.
My observations from a dinner party or banquet perspective are that people will eat less meat than is usually anticipated. I think this because of the nature of the service. If there are many other accompaniments, as in a buffet, many people will load up on sides and then take a few slices of meat.
Compare this to a restaurant where portions of meat can average out at 8 oz. (1/2 pound) to 10 or 12 oz. Fine dining portions are from 5-6 oz. and maybe even smaller if diners are expected to order multiple courses. It's hard to believe that the recommended serving size for red meat is the size of a deck of cards!
For parties it's also nice to offer a pre-portioned meat item like lamb shanks, osso bucco or short ribs that have been cubed because you can count one per person. If doing steaks, flat irons portioned at about 5-6 ounces are a nice size. Same with fish--5-6 oz. That's my preference.
I had a disastrous taco fiesta party once when I didn't make enough meat to go around. I don't know how to judge it so now I fix way more than necessary when hosting a fiesta. The biggest problem with the disastrous one, was the first person to make their plate up was a HUGE eater and took half the meat!!!
i think the 1/2 to 3/4 of a lb rule applies to UNCOOKED meat... which obviously becomes much less when cooked, especially when it comes to fattier meats like hams, steaks etc. Calm down portion size police.
my husband sells at farmers' markets for a grass-fed ranch. He always recommends 1/2 per person and recently we had a small party with tri-tip and several side dishes as well as cheese and veggies etc as finger foods and were able to apply that. We barely had leftovers - of meat anyway.
I struggle with this. personally, I'd like to serve what I think is an 'appropriate' and healthy portion of good quality meat, which happens to be much less than some people eat, and certainly much less than what you'd get at many restaurants. but... I don't want to come off as stingy. I feel like hosts are often expected to really put on a show and provide a full-on feast and that people often attend dinner parties with the intent to stuff themselves in a celebratory manner, eating much more than they normally would. would it really look bad too follow the "deck of cards" sized portion of meat per person?
I would be embarrassed to serve a deck of cards worth of meat at a dinner party, no matter how healthy it is. I'm not my friends' dietitian! I find it better to go a bit overboard and just make something I'm happy to freeze/store and eat later. You don't have to put on a decadent feast or anything, but I definitely believe a smart host tries to have two plates worth of extra food just in case of surprises. (someone brings an old friend, someone drops their plate, etc)
When I was a frat house chef, I bought 12-16oz of meat per frattie and they complained about not getting enough meat. But those were 20yo males, still in possession of that bottomless-pit metabolism. I can't imagine serving that much meat to adults. For cuts of meat that don't lose a lot of weight in cooking (steak) 12oz is a lot. I'm a Southern girl who married into a meat-and-potatoes-loving German family, and I don't think even they would eat a 12oz steak and side dishes without groaning.
A meal at a party shouldn't be a challenge to digest. Even if you were just doing meat and two veg, you should leave your guests room for a little coffee or something. I usually like to have conversation after dinner and I think a meat coma isn't exactly conducive to that.
@ROXIGIRL - You may have made too little meat, but your real problem was a rude guest! Even someone who likes to eat a lot should have the courtesy to look around at how many people there are and take an appropriate amount of food. Unless there are only two people at a party, it would never be polite to take half of something.
In Ohio, when serving dinner, buffet style, for around 200 (ages 5-90) we usually use 60 lbs of meat in either a soup or casserole. If serving a boneless chicken breast, sausage link or beef patty, a 4-6 oz portion seems to suit most guests. The kids may pass on the meat (taking PB&J instead) and the hearty eaters will take 2 portions.
There are 5 of us at home (3 big eaters, 2 not so big), so I've gotten used to cooking for this number. I know that I'll need 1 large chicken (1.8kg) or 2 smaller ones (1.2 kg), a whole leg of lamb, a whole shoulder of lamb, or a 1.5kg strip of belly pork per meal. So if I'm cooking for 8-10. I'll double the amount I normally cook, for 12-15 people, I treble the amount.
@BLUE-EYES, you are so on point with the observance of the rude guest. He was a friend of a friend and always had poor social skills. I hadn't thought about him in a long time and can actually look back at that time and find it funny now!
My rule of thumb is 6 oz for almost all meat situations.
I plan on about 6 oz. per person, but I try to always use it in something, as opposed to serving A Steak or A Chop. Which is why my dinner parties are so often Taco Nights!