How much boneless meat per person?

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.

How much bone-in meat per person?

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.

How much edible cooked meat do I get from the raw weight?

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.

How do I calculate meat for a whole chicken or turkey?

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.

Should I buy extra for leftovers?

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.

Meat Per Person Calculator — Free Online Tool

How We Calculate This

This calculator uses standard UK portion sizes for raw meat, then applies an edible cooked-yield factor to estimate the cooked serving weight. The raw weight allowance accounts for bone, fat rendering, and moisture loss during cooking.

Raw Weight per Person

Boneless joints: 175g (150-200g range)
Bone-in joints: 300g (250-350g range)
Steaks / chops: 225g
Mince / diced: 150g
Whole chicken / turkey: 450g total bird weight

Edible Cooked Yield

The cooked figure is the raw weight multiplied by an edible-yield factor — the proportion of the raw weight you can actually serve once cooking loss (and, for bone-in cuts and whole birds, the inedible bone and skin) is removed:

Boneless: ~75% retained (≈25% cooking loss)
Steaks / chops: ~80% retained
Mince / diced: ~70% retained after draining
Bone-in: ~65% edible yield (bone waste + cooking loss combined)
Whole bird: ~45% is edible cooked meat off the carcass

Food Safety

Weight is only half the job — cook meat to a safe temperature. The UK Food Standards Agency advises that poultry (chicken and turkey), pork, and all minced or rolled/reformed meats reach 75°C in the centre (or 70°C held for 2 minutes). Whole, intact beef and lamb joints can be served pink (rare ~52°C up to well-done ~71°C core) because any bacteria are on the surface only. Always check with a meat thermometer and rest the joint before carving.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are based on standard ratios and conversions. Results may vary with specific ingredients, equipment, and conditions.