🍖 BBQ for 20
How much BBQ for 20 people?
For 20 people, plan 6.7 lbs of cooked BBQ when it's served with two or three sides, or 10 lbs if the meat is the main event. Smoking burns off about half the raw weight, so that means buying roughly13 lbs of raw bone-in pork butt — about 2 butts.
Raw meat to buy for 20 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 | 13 lbs | 20 lbs | ≈ 2 pork butts |
| 🐄 BrisketWhole untrimmed packer | 13 lbs | 20 lbs | ≈ 1 packer |
| 🍖 Pork ribsSt. Louis–cut spare ribs | 13 lbs | 20 lbs | ≈ 5 racks |
| 🍗 ChickenBone-in thighs & quarters | 12 lbs | 18 lbs | ≈ 31 pieces |
| 🌭 Smoked sausageLinks, hot or mild | 7.6 lbs | 11 lbs | ≈ 31 links |
| 🦃 Smoked turkey breastBoneless or bone-in breast | 9.8 lbs | 15 lbs | ≈ 2 breasts |
Buns
30
1.5 sandwiches per adult
Sides
10 lbs
Two dishes, ~4 oz each per person
BBQ sauce
1
Pints, at ~1 oz per person
Meat cost
$27–$47
Pulled pork at US retail
The number a whole packer brisket was made for
Twenty is the first headcount where the cuts line up cleanly with the crowd. One whole packer brisket — 14 lbs untrimmed, about 7 lbs sliced — feeds twenty adults as part of a spread almost exactly. Two pork butts do the same job for roughly half the money.
This is also the last size that fits comfortably on a single 22-inch kettle or a small offset in one load. No staggering, no holding, no second cook. Get it on at 6am and you're eating by mid-afternoon with a two-hour rest built in.
If you want two meats, pair one butt with a couple of racks of ribs rather than splitting the brisket. Ribs come off hours earlier, so they cover the gap while the slow cut finishes.
Different meat mix, kids in the count, or a hungrier crowd?Run your exact numbers in the BBQ calculator →
BBQ for 20 people: FAQ
How many pounds of BBQ for 20 people?
For 20 people you need about 6.7 lbs of cooked BBQ when it's served with two or three sides, or 10 lbs if the meat is the main event. Because smoking loses roughly half the raw weight, that means buying about 13 lbs of raw bone-in pork butt — around 2 butts.
How much pulled pork for 20 people?
Plan 6.7 lbs of cooked pulled pork for 20 guests as part of a spread. Pork butt yields about 50%, so buy roughly 13 lbs raw. Bone-in butts run around 8 lbs each, so that's 2 of them.
How much BBQ should I order for 20 people from a restaurant?
Order 6.7 lbs for 20 people with sides, or 10 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 20 people?
Figure 30 buns for 20 adults at 1.5 sandwiches each, about 10 lbs of sides across two dishes, and 1 pints of BBQ sauce at roughly 1 oz per person.
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