HostAnyway

BBQ Cookout

You bought the grill.Bring on the heat.

Tell us who’s coming and what’s on the grill. You get the raw weight to buy, the cooked weight you’ll actually serve, plus buns, sides, and ice — printable, by aisle.

What’s on the grill?

Pick as many as you like — we keep the total meat flat and split it across them.

Sides

Here’s what to buy.

Handhelds
8 burgers
8 hot dogs
Ice
1 bag1 large (75–100 qt) cooler for food + a separate cooler just for drinks

Full drink & ice math is its own tool.

The shopping list, by aisle

Meat & seafood

  • Ground beef (for ~8 patties)2 lbShop →
  • Hot dogs (1 × 10-pack)1 packShop →≈ 8 dogs

Bakery

Pantry & snacks

  • Sides (potato salad, slaw, beans, etc.)4 lbacross 3–4 options
  • Ketchup (20 oz)1 bottle
  • Mustard1 bottle
  • Relish1 bottle
  • BBQ sauce (1 qt)1 bottleShop →
  • Chips (party-size bags)1 bag

Beverages

  • Bagged ice (16 lb)1 bag1 large (75–100 qt) cooler for food + a separate cooler just for drinks

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The stuff that makes it easier

The one to buy firstInstant-read meat thermometerShop at Amazon →Set it and walk awayLeave-in wireless thermometerShop at Amazon →Everything in one tripGrill caddy for tools & condimentsShop at Amazon →Keeps it warmDisposable chafing / serving traysShop at Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Host Anyway earns from qualifying purchases. Links may be affiliate links — it costs you nothing. How this works.

Now plan the rest →

Charcuterie board Drinks & ice Backyard games S’mores bar

The math, in case you wondered.

We start at half a pound of cooked meat per adult (kids count as half), then adjust for appetite, sides, how long you’re out there, and whether the drinks are flowing. Pick more than one protein and the total stays flat — we just split it across them. That’s the rule every pitmaster uses; a mixed platter is one plate’s worth of meat, divided.

Then we convert cooked back to raw, because that’s what you buy. Yields: brisket ~52%, pulled pork ~60%, ribs ~70%, chicken 65–75%, steak ~80%. Smoked cuts get a 10% safety buffer on top. Steak and chicken are shown as a count (how many steaks, breasts, or pieces) since that’s how you buy them. Burgers, dogs, and brats are counted by the patty and link, and they share the plate with everything else — so offering brisket and burgers splits the appetite between them instead of feeding everyone twice.

Sides run half a pound per adult across 3–4 options; condiments, chips, and a rough ice estimate round it out. The full drink & ice math — with hot-day adjustments — lives in our Drinks & Ice tool.

Stuff people ask.

How much meat should I buy per person for a cookout?
Plan on about half a pound of cooked meat per adult, half that for kids under 12. The catch: you buy raw, and meat shrinks on the grill — so the raw number you actually buy is higher. We do that conversion for you and split the total across however many proteins you pick. Two proteins buys the same total meat as one, just divided.
Why is the raw weight so much higher than what I'll serve?
Because meat loses water and fat as it cooks — and smoked meats lose the most. Brisket yields only about 52%, pulled pork about 60%, ribs about 70%. So 26 lb of raw brisket becomes roughly 14 lb on the plate. Thin calculators tell you to buy the cooked number and people come up short. We add a 10% safety buffer on smoked cuts on top of that.
How many burgers, hot dogs, and brats should I buy?
If it’s the whole meal: about 1.5 burgers per adult if burgers are the only handheld, or 2 hot dogs if dogs are the only one. Offer more than one — say burgers and dogs — and people split, so it’s about 1 of each (roughly 2 handhelds a head; kids get half). Brats and sausages are counted the same way, by the link (4–6 oz each), not weighed by the pound — you buy them in packs. Buns and dogs never come in matching pack sizes, so we compute each pack separately and add a 10% bun buffer. And if you also put out a smoked protein like brisket, we split the plate so you’re not buying a full burger AND a half-pound of brisket per person.
What about vegetarian guests?
Tell us how many and we pull their share out of the meat math by headcount (no vague percentages), then add veggie patties or plant dogs — one per veg guest plus a few extra — along with grilled vegetables and corn that everyone grazes. Nobody’s stuck with a sad bun.
How much ice do I actually need?
Rule of thumb: about 1.5 lb of ice per person, more in real heat. Pack the cooler 2-to-1 ice to drinks, plan roughly one cooler per 12–15 people, and keep a separate cooler just for drinks. This gives a quick estimate — for the full hot-day math, use our Drinks & Ice tool.
Can I print or save the list?
Yes. Tap Email me the list for a printable PDF grouped by store aisle — free, no account. Or tap Save / copy my plan to get a link that reopens your exact cookout; text it to yourself or whoever’s shopping.

Doing the whole spread? Build a charcuterie board too.