How many people does one pound of meat (turkey or ham) feed? I'm trying to buy meat for a party.?

Question

I'm trying to plan for a large party and need to know how much meat to buy. We're getting sliced turkey and ham. How many people does a pound serve typically? (There will be rolls if someone wants to make a little sandwich, and there will also be many side dishes.)

Answer 1

Depends on how hungry the people are. Generally speaking and if you are using tea rolls for the sandwiches I would guess you'd get about 8-10 tea rolls sandwiches out of about a pound but how many sandwiches will eat person eat? I would guess 2 so I would say about 4-5 people per pound. But you have to remember some people may put extra meat on theirs.

Answer 2

A serving of meat is generally accepted to be 4 oz. Since there are 16 oz per pound, each pound will serve 4 people. HOWEVER, you have to keep in mind that if this is a buffet situation, most people don't know what a serving of meat looks like and will take more than 4 oz.

If you'll be plating the food yourself, make sure it's weighed out properly or that you use the proper size serving utensil. The key here will be portion control unless you want to over buy just to cover yourself. Since you won't be doing this party daily, budget probably isn't as much of a concern for you as it would be for me. You may just want to over-buy your sliced meats by a bit.

~Morg~

Answer 3

I'd say buy about 5 or 6 pounds of both because people tend to go back for extra meat in some like to take stuff home so get about 5 or 6 just to be on the safe side.

Answer 4

One pound of meat can serve 4 to 6 as a main course with many side dishes.

Answer 5

Believe it or not, but buffets and party service is an art and a science.

4 oz of each meat per person is plenty. This is probably 2-3 slices.

Things to consider when planning how much to feed:
Date and time, is it the first meal or the last meal for the majority?
Length of party, all day or a few hours?
Who is there, dainty girls or burly men? Dainty men, burly girls?

The rule for hors d'oeurves: 5-8 or 8-12 items per person, per hour depending on the above information. This is how the pros do it.

Answer 6

According to Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook, page 295. "In deciding the amount of meat to buy for your family, allow 1/4 lb. (boneless) to 1/2 lb. (bone in) per person per meal." In other words, four to eight ounces of meat per person. 1/4 lb. is 4 ounces, 1/2 lb. is eight ounces. One pound equals 16 ounces. Therefore one lb. of sliced turkey or ham will likely serve four people. If you are having other dishes, it's likely that one pound of meat (lb.) will serve 4-6 people. I have figured on 6 people per pound and have had plenty of food.

Answer 7

The commercial caterers uses 4 oz servings for calculations and they would normally advice for 1 1/2 servings per person in group situations like yours.
But If I'm entertaining guests at home, I usually lay out at least 3/4 lbs per person. And if the group is more like me, (200lbs die hard male carnivore), 1 lbs each won't leave you with much scrape for the next days lunch.

Answer 8

Having worked in the catering service for several years the rule of thumb we used was 1/2lb per person. This was because you will have some who eat very little and some who eat alot and some who will want to take some home. We followed this rule and invariably wound up with just a couple slices left over.

Answer 9

About 1/4 lb - 1/2 lb per person should be fine. Better to have more and get leftovers then run out or make people feel they are running low.

Answer 10

i guess two people a pound serves