Question QUESTION: How many pounds of raw meat(bottom round or sirloin tip)should I buy to feed 100 people after cooking?
ANSWER: Katy:
First you have to know what size serving you what to provide which depends on what you know about your customers. Do they like their steak cooked well, medium, medium rare or rare? Teh esired doneness will impact how big the serving looks at the table. A well done cooks a lot more moisture from a steak than medium rare, resulting in a lot more loss, probably 50 percent.
8oz or half a pound is a normal serving. Men like a bit more, women a bit less. I always try to take into account what else is being served. Like in other things, perception is everything.
If your attendees are paying for the meal, they want to feel they are getting their money's worth. If there are ample side dishes, then an 8-10 oz steak is fine. Allowing for about 30% loss on cooking if cooking medium, that gives them a 6 - 7 oz steak. If this is a strictly meat, potatoe and salad type meal, you better go with a larger cut, 12 -14 oz, again, you need to know your crowd. 16 oz or one lb steaks are a bit much for most people.
If you know your group, and they are big eaters I would go to 12-14 oz steaks especially if there are not many side dishes making the steak the centerpeice of the meal.
For 100 people at 8 oz per person that is 50 lbs of steak
For 100 people at 10 oz per person that is 63 lbs of steak.
For 100 people at 12 oz per person it would be 75 lbs of steak.
For 100 people at 14 oz per person it would be 88 lbs of steak.
If you are ordering the meat in bulk you might have to stipulate that you want it cut into 10, 12, or 14 oz steaks. Else you will have to do it yourself. You could of course just eyeball it and cut 16 oz (1 lb steaks in half) resulting in 8 oz steaks. Also take into account the increased cooking time of the larger steaks, which might require more cooking surface e.g. more grills to get the meal out in an acceptable amount of time.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: This is for pot roast, not steaks. I am feeding a group at church, all you care to eat.I am asking what ratio of raw to cooked meat you would use.
Thanks
Answer For pot roasts cooked at a lower temperature (braising temp in a crock pot) the loss will be minimized at around 10-15% depending on how long you cook it. So if you want 90lbs of cooked meat you will need around 100-105 lbs of meat to start. As I said before, you need to have an average estimate of how much will be consumed per person. Taking into account how much the men, women and children will eat and the number of each you estimate will attend. That will give you the total cooked meat you need, then increase that amount by 10-15%.
