How Much Meat to Order for a Family

Allow around 200 to 250 g of boneless meat per adult for a main meal, and 300 to 400 g per adult for bone-in cuts.

That single figure covers most situations, but it shifts depending on the cut, whether you are serving it as the centre of the plate, and how much of the weight is bone or fat you will not eat.

This guide gives you the numbers per cut, the group maths, and the adjustments that stop you under-ordering.

How Much Meat Per Person as a Rule of Thumb

For a standard main meal, plan on 200 to 250 g of boneless meat per adult, 300 to 400 g if the cut is bone-in, and roughly half those figures for young children.

Two things move these numbers more than anything else: how substantial your sides are, and whether the meat is the event. A steak night with a simple salad needs the upper end. A curry with rice and vegetables needs the lower end.

Portion Guide by Cut

Different cuts need different allowances, because bone, fat and shrinkage vary enormously between them. This is the table most portion guides leave out.

If you are unsure which cut suits the meal in the first place, our guide to every beef primal cut matches cuts to cooking methods.

Raw Weight vs Cooked Weight

Meat loses roughly 25 per cent of its weight during cooking, and considerably more for long-cooked cuts, so always order by raw weight. This is the most common reason people end up short.

A 250 g raw steak lands on the plate at roughly 185 to 200 g. A brisket can lose 40 to 50 per cent of its raw weight across a long cook, which is why the allowance for it looks so large in the table above.

If a recipe or a guest count is given in cooked weight, add about a third to get the raw weight you need to buy. Order to the raw figure and you will not be caught out.

How Much Meat for a Group

For a straightforward answer: 1 kg of boneless meat feeds four adults, 2 kg feeds eight, and 500 g feeds two. Scale from there, adding a margin for bigger appetites.

Is 200 g enough for one person? For a standard meal with sides, yes. For a steak-focused dinner, most adults will want 250 to 300 g. Is 1 kg enough for five people? It is tight. Plan on 1.25 kg for five adults unless the sides are substantial.

Adjusting for BBQs, Kids and Big Eaters

Barbecues need more meat per head than a plated dinner, because people graze and go back for seconds. Add roughly 25 per cent to your standard figure for a barbecue.

A few practical adjustments worth making. Mixed proteins mean you can reduce each individual allowance, since guests take some of each. Long events need more than short ones. Children eat about half an adult portion, but teenagers frequently eat more than adults, so count them accordingly.

Leftovers are worth planning for rather than accidentally creating. Adding 20 per cent gives you a genuine second meal. Adding 5 per cent just gives you an awkward amount to store.

Working Out a Bulk Order

Turn your weekly portions into an order size by multiplying the per-person figure by household size, meals per week, then the number of weeks you want to cover.

A family of four eating beef three times a week at 250 g per adult and 125 g per child needs roughly 2.25 kg a week. Over three months that is about 27 kg, which is comfortably a full carton of one or two cuts with room for variety.

Buying at that scale is where the per kilogram savings appear, since cartons price lower than single pieces. Check your freezer capacity first, and see our guide on storing cryovac meat for how long each format holds. If you are weighing up a much larger commitment, our guide to choosing the right cuts is worth reading first, because ordering the wrong cut in volume is an expensive mistake.

Order the Right Amount

Work on 200 to 250 g of boneless meat per adult, adjust up for bone-in cuts and barbecues, and always order by raw weight. Get the portions right and the order size follows.

Browse our Australian beef by the cut, graded, cryovac sealed and delivered Australia-wide.