How much brisket for 50 people?

For 50 guests, order about 33.1 lb of raw packer brisket, which serves about 16.6 lb. That is roughly 3 full trays.

How much brisket for 100 people?

For 100 guests, order about 66.3 lb of raw packer brisket, which serves about 33.1 lb. That is roughly 6 full trays.

Catering portion guide

How much brisket per person?

In short

Plan on 1/3 lb (about 5.3 oz) of cooked brisket per person as a main. Because brisket loses about half its weight to trimming and rendering, buy roughly 2/3 lb of raw packer brisket per person, so 50 guests needs about 17 lb cooked from about 34 lb raw.

Buy more brisket than you serve

A whole packer brisket loses roughly half its weight between trimming the fat cap and rendering during a long cook. Buying twice the cooked weight you intend to serve is the standard planning figure.

Planning factor: 2x. For every 1 lb you want to serve, order about 2 lb of raw packer brisket.

How much brisket for 10 to 100 people

Order is what to buy as raw packer brisket. Serves is what reaches the plate after trim and cooking.

Brisket quantities by guest count, showing purchase weight and served weight
Guests	Order	Serves	Trays
6	4 lb	2 lb	1 half tray
8	5.3 lb	2.7 lb	1 half tray
10	6.6 lb	3.3 lb	1 full tray
12	8 lb	4 lb	1 full tray
15	9.9 lb	5 lb	1 full tray
20	13.3 lb	6.6 lb	1 full + 1 half trays
25	16.6 lb	8.3 lb	1 full + 1 half trays
30	19.9 lb	9.9 lb	2 full trays
40	26.5 lb	13.3 lb	2 full + 1 half trays
50	33.1 lb	16.6 lb	3 full trays
60	39.8 lb	19.9 lb	3 full + 1 half trays
75	49.7 lb	24.8 lb	4 full + 1 half trays
100	66.3 lb	33.1 lb	6 full trays

These are standard food-service planning figures, not fixed constants. Real yield moves with cut, trim level, cooking method, and how long the food is held. Weigh your own results once and adjust the factor to your kitchen.

Things that change the number

Serving it alongside a second meat, pulled pork for example, drops each meat to about 1/4 lb cooked per person.
Point cut renders more than flat cut, so a point-heavy order loses slightly more weight.
Sandwiches run leaner than plated portions, roughly 4 oz of cooked meat per sandwich.

Common questions

How much brisket per person?: Plan on 1/3 lb (about 5.3 oz) of cooked brisket per person as a main. Because brisket loses about half its weight to trimming and rendering, buy roughly 2/3 lb of raw packer brisket per person, so 50 guests needs about 17 lb cooked from about 34 lb raw.
How much brisket for 50 people?: For 50 guests, order about 33.1 lb of raw packer brisket, which serves about 16.6 lb. That is roughly 3 full trays.
How much brisket for 100 people?: For 100 guests, order about 66.3 lb of raw packer brisket, which serves about 33.1 lb. That is roughly 6 full trays.

Working out a whole menu, not one dish?

The catering food calculator takes your actual dish list and guest count and returns quantities, tray counts, and a cost range for the whole event.

Open the catering food calculator