One man, 4 hours
- Input
- 1 homem; 4 h
- Expected output
- 450 g
All meats and cheese.
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how much meat per person for a brazilian barbecue
Enter men, women, children and hours: the calculator shows total meat, weight per person and the split by cut. The values are common practice, not a standard.
All meats and cheese.
The 350 g rule.
Up to 10 years old.
360 g per person.
125% of the base.
75% of the base.
Plus 25%.
Common practice is 400 to 500 g per adult over 4 hours. The tool uses 450 g per man, 350 g per woman and 200 g per child, counting all meats and cheese. For 4 men, 4 women and 2 children that is 3.6 kg, or 3.96 kg with a 10% margin.
Nearly: the rule uses 200 g, a bit under half of the 450 g for a man but a bit over half of the 350 g for a woman. Teenagers who eat like adults should be counted as a man or a woman.
No need. A thousand grams per person is more than double the 450 g rule and leaves a lot over. A 10% to 20% margin on the math covers most surprises, and the big eater adjustment covers the rest.
Because guests fill up on rice, farofa, vinagrete and garlic bread and eat less meat. The 10% reduction applies to plentiful sides. At a barbecue with no other dishes, meat becomes the meal and consumption rises 25%.
Each adds 30% of the average adult portion.
They leave the meat count and get 150 g of coalho cheese.
Planned surplus on meat, sides and drinks.
Rule of thumb: 1 kg of charcoal for each 1 kg of meat.
Relative weights: the total is rescaled to 100%. Set a cut to zero to drop it from the list.
Order on the grill
Shopping list
Example values from 2026-10, estimated by the author to fill the screen. They are not quotes: replace them with your butcher and store prices. They are saved on this device.
There is no official standard for meat per person. The tool uses common practice from public guides: 450 g for a man, 350 g for a woman and 200 g for a child at a 4-hour barbecue, adding up all meats and cheese. Duration changes the amount by 12.5% per hour against 4 hours (2 hours = 75%, 6 hours = 125%, capped at 150%). Meat as the only dish needs 25% more, and plenty of sides 10% less. Meat is split by the mix weights (classic: 40% beef, 20% sausage, 15% chicken, 15% pork, 10% cheese). Ribs and chicken have bone, so the weight you buy is higher than the edible weight (ribs 1.4 times, chicken 1.25 times). Charcoal is 1 kg per kg of meat, coarse salt 40 g per kg, beer 250 ml per drinker per hour, soda 130 ml and water 75 ml per person per hour, and 1 kg of ice per person in hot weather. These are practical rules, not standards: adjust them to your group.
References checked on 2026-10-18.