🍖 BBQ for 100
How much BBQ for 100 people?
For 100 people, plan 33 lbs of cooked BBQ when it's served with two or three sides, or 50 lbs if the meat is the main event. Smoking burns off about half the raw weight, so that means buying roughly67 lbs of raw bone-in pork butt — about 9 butts.
Raw meat to buy for 100 people
Each row assumes that meat is the only one you serve. Serving several? Split the quantities between them — the total appetite in the room doesn't change.
| Meat | With sides | As the main | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐖 Pulled porkBone-in pork butt / shoulder | 67 lbs | 100 lbs | ≈ 9 pork butts |
| 🐄 BrisketWhole untrimmed packer | 67 lbs | 100 lbs | ≈ 5 packers |
| 🍖 Pork ribsSt. Louis–cut spare ribs | 67 lbs | 100 lbs | ≈ 23 racks |
| 🍗 ChickenBone-in thighs & quarters | 61 lbs | 91 lbs | ≈ 152 pieces |
| 🌭 Smoked sausageLinks, hot or mild | 38 lbs | 57 lbs | ≈ 152 links |
| 🦃 Smoked turkey breastBoneless or bone-in breast | 49 lbs | 74 lbs | ≈ 7 breasts |
Buns
150
1.5 sandwiches per adult
Sides
50 lbs
Two dishes, ~4 oz each per person
BBQ sauce
6
Pints, at ~1 oz per person
Meat cost
$133–$233
Pulled pork at US retail
Catering scale, whether or not you're a caterer
A hundred people need about 33 lbs of cooked meat, which is roughly 67 lbs of raw pork butt — eight or nine butts, or the equivalent of a small hog. This is unambiguously catering-scale, and no amount of clever scheduling makes a backyard kettle do it.
The realistic paths are a rented trailer smoker for the day, a two-day cook-and-reheat, or ordering cooked meat by the pound from a BBQ restaurant and doing your own sides. That last option is worth pricing properly: at 33 lbs of cooked meat you are often within $100 of what the raw ingredients plus fuel would cost you, and you get your weekend back.
Serving is now its own job. Run two lines rather than one, staff each with a server on the meat, and plan roughly one chafing dish per 40 guests to keep everything above 140°F. Two lines move a hundred people in about twenty-five minutes; one line takes over an hour and the food at the back is cold.
Different meat mix, kids in the count, or a hungrier crowd?Run your exact numbers in the BBQ calculator →
BBQ for 100 people: FAQ
How many pounds of BBQ for 100 people?
For 100 people you need about 33 lbs of cooked BBQ when it's served with two or three sides, or 50 lbs if the meat is the main event. Because smoking loses roughly half the raw weight, that means buying about 67 lbs of raw bone-in pork butt — around 9 butts.
How much pulled pork for 100 people?
Plan 33 lbs of cooked pulled pork for 100 guests as part of a spread. Pork butt yields about 50%, so buy roughly 67 lbs raw. Bone-in butts run around 8 lbs each, so that's 9 of them.
How much BBQ should I order for 100 people from a restaurant?
Order 33 lbs for 100 people with sides, or 50 lbs if BBQ is the whole meal. Restaurants sell by cooked weight, so don't double it — the pitmaster has already absorbed the smoking loss.
How many buns and sides for 100 people?
Figure 150 buns for 100 adults at 1.5 sandwiches each, about 50 lbs of sides across two dishes, and 6 pints of BBQ sauce at roughly 1 oz per person.
More free tools