How Much Roast Beef Do I Need to Feed 25 People?

Planning a meal for a group of 25? One of the most important questions to consider is the quantity of roast beef required to ensure everyone is satisfied. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you make the right decision.

General Guidelines for Roast Beef

For a standard meal, it is recommended to allocate about 1/2 pound (8 ounces) of cooked roast beef per person. Given that you're planning to feed 25 people, here's how to calculate the necessary amount:

Standard Portion

25 people x 0.5 pounds/person 12.5 pounds of cooked roast beef. This amount should be sufficient for a standard meal, but it’s always better to have some leftovers than to run out.

Generous Portion

For those with larger appetites or if the roast beef is the main dish with minimal side dishes, consider aiming for 3/4 pound per person. This calculation would look like this:

25 people x 0.75 pounds/person 18.75 pounds of cooked roast beef.

Additional Factors to Consider

When determining the amount of roast beef needed, it's crucial to consider any additional ingredients or sides. If you plan to serve other substantial side dishes, you can slightly reduce the portion size of the roast beef. For instance, instead of 1/2 pound per person, you can opt for 3/4 of a pound for more substantial servings.

Historical and Current Recommendations

In the past, a common rule of thumb was to use 4 ounces (1/2 pound) of cooked beef per serving, which equates to 1 pound of raw beef for 4 people. However, current recommendations advise a more moderate amount of 3 ounces per meal due to health concerns about beef consumption. This means, for 25 people, you might need to factor in a 30% loss, even for items like chicken breasts which can also have up to 30% loss. Brisket, after cooking and trimming, might lose up to 65% of its weight.

Practical Tips for Planning

Given these recommendations, a practical approach is to aim for 1/2 pound of cooked beef per person as a starting point. This is a generous amount to avoid running out, but you can always use the leftovers for another day. Based on this portion, 25 people would require:

12.5 pounds of cooked roast beef for a standard portion 18.75 pounds of cooked roast beef for generous portions

Another practical method is to calculate the needed raw beef based on a 75% shrinkage factor. If you take 12.5 pounds of cooked beef and account for a 75% shrinkage, you would need:

12.5 pounds / 0.75 approximately 16.7 pounds of raw beef.

Finally, for tender and reasonably priced beef, a baron cut is recommended as it offers a good balance between tenderness and affordability.