Meat Per Person Calculator

For boneless joints and fillets, allow 150-200g of raw meat per person. We use 175g as the standard, which gives a generous cooked portion of about 130g after cooking shrinkage. For lighter eaters or where there are multiple courses, 150g raw is sufficient.

For bone-in joints (like leg of lamb, rib of beef, or pork shoulder), allow 250-350g of raw weight per person. The bone adds weight but no edible meat. We use 300g as the standard, accounting for bone weight and cooking loss.

Boneless cuts retain about 75% of their raw weight as edible cooked meat (roughly 25% is lost to moisture and fat rendering). Steaks and chops retain about 80%, and mince about 70% after cooking and draining. For bone-in joints the calculator uses a 65% edible yield: this is the cooked, off-the-bone meat you can serve, combining the inedible bone and the cooking loss in a single factor — so it is lower than a butcher’s pure cooking-loss figure (around 25-35%), which excludes the bone. A whole bird yields about 45% edible meat off the carcass. These are averages and vary with cooking method, temperature and the specific cut.

For a whole bird, allow approximately 450g of total bird weight per person. A whole chicken yields roughly 45% edible meat (the rest is bone, skin, and waste). So a 1.8kg chicken serves about 4 people, and a 5kg turkey serves about 10-12.

If you want leftovers for sandwiches or another meal, add 25-50% to the calculated amount. For a Sunday roast where leftover cold cuts are expected, buying a joint 30% larger than needed for the meal is a good approach.