Half a pound a head. Everything else is detail.
The rule we size by
Every roast on this site is sized at half a pound per serving — that's how our small, medium and large are worked out, whether it's a brisket, a silver tip, a lamb shoulder or a rolled veal breast. Order for the number of people at the table and the size takes care of itself.
When to go up
Add a third if it's a lunch crowd rather than a dinner one, if there are teenage boys at the table, or if you want it to come back on Sunday. A roast is the one thing nobody minds having too much of.
Chicken counts the same way
A whole bird works out to the same half pound a head — about half the raw weight comes back as meat once the bones are out. A four-pound broiler covers four, a five-pound bird covers five, and a capon stretches further than either.
- Cut in eighths — two pieces a person, so one bird covers four.
- Cut in quarters — one piece a person for a lighter meal, two for a hungry table.
- Cutlets and scallopini — one large or two thin per person.
Chops and burgers
First-cut lamb chops are small — count two or three a person. Shoulder chops are big enough to count one. Veal chops, one each. Burgers and ground beef, a quarter to a third of a pound per patty.
Cholent is its own arithmetic
Cholent carries beans, barley and potatoes as well as meat, so it needs less meat than a roast does — about a third of a pound of raw flanken or cholent meat per person. Three pounds comfortably feeds ten.
For a crowd
- A 9x13 — twelve as a side dish alongside other things, eight to ten if it's the main event, and further than that if it's one taste among many.
- Salads and dips — two to three tablespoons a person when they're part of a spread rather than the meal.
- Sushi platters — 36, 48 or 60 pieces; count six to eight pieces a person.
- Coldcuts — a quarter pound builds a generous sandwich.