How much food for 20 people at a BBQ?

Twenty people in the backyard is a cookout you can run yourself: one smoker or grill, three sides made the day before, and a cooler of drinks. The meat is the only part that needs real math, because it is bought raw and served cooked.

The cookout for twenty

Sandwiches set the portion: Iowa State Extension plans 3 to 4 oz of meat per sandwich, so with 10% extra twenty people need about 5½ lb of cooked pulled pork, brisket or chicken — and 22 buns. Three classic sides at 4 oz each come to about 5½ lb apiece: a big bowl of potato salad, one of coleslaw and a pan of baked beans. Add rolls and dessert and the total is around 28 lb, or about 1¼ lb per guest — sandwiches keep it lighter than a plated dinner.

• Raw meat: 5½ lb of pulled pork needs about 10½ lb of bone-in pork shoulder, using the USDA Food Buying Guide’s 0.52 yield — one or two shoulders.
• Burgers instead? At 1½ each, about 33 burgers and 8¼ lb of ground beef.
• Sides: Iowa State puts potato salad for 50 at 12½ to 15 lb; for 20, about 5 to 6 lb — the calculator’s figure.
• Big eaters: hungry teenagers or a long afternoon? Set the appetite to big eaters, or add a fourth side.

Keeping a backyard buffet safe

Outdoor food warms fast. Above 90 °F, perishable food should come inside or back on ice after 1 hour, not 2. Keep potato salad and slaw in a bowl set into a bigger bowl of ice, keep the meat in a covered pan on the cool side of the grill, and put out smaller batches. A cooler for drinks and a separate one for food stops the food cooler being opened every two minutes.

For a bigger cookout, how many hamburgers for 50 people and how many hot dogs for 50 people do the counting. Plates and napkins: how many plates for 50 people, scaled down.