Hosting a steak meal can be tricky. You want the food to taste great, stay within budget, and satisfy all guests. The biggest challenge is determining how much steak to buy and cook. My guide will help you get the proportions just right so everyone leaves happy.
When deciding how much steak to serve per person, a safe rule of thumb is to plan for half a pound (about 8 ounces or 227 grams) of meat per guest. However, remember that this amount may vary depending on the specific situation. To better plan the appropriate amount of steak per person, consider the following tips:
Are You Planning a Meal For a Special Occasion?
The type of event you are hosting is important. Will it be a casual family dinner, a birthday party, a casual barbecue, or a large formal event? As a general rule, less formal events require less food per person. In the case of steak, you may need to prepare less for a casual event than a formal one.
At What Time Are You Planning to Serve the Steaks?
Time of day can also be a very important factor. Serving steak for lunch will require fewer steaks than for dinner.
Who Will Be Joining You for The Meal?
Everyone has different appetites, so it’s important to consider your guests’ eating habits when planning a meal. If your guests are not big meat-eaters, making a large quantity of steaks may be wasteful. In this case, I recommend scaling down the food you prepare to avoid leftovers.
What Type of Steak Are You Planning to Make?
It’s essential to know the specific type of steak you’re cooking, as different cuts cook differently. For example, ribeye steaks reduce the size significantly during cooking, resulting in less meat than you started with. Therefore, the amount of ribeye steak needed per person may differ from the amount of flank steak per person. Make sure you know how the steak cooks so you can plan accordingly.
How Will You Be Serving the Steak?
Are you planning to serve each guest a whole steak or slice it up beforehand? Your decision may depend on the type of steak you choose. Slicing the steak into smaller pieces offers more flexibility. For instance, guests with different appetites can take as much or as little as they like. Additionally, if you or a guest prefers certain parts of the steak over others, you can easily avoid leaving any unwanted portions on your plate.
Another consideration here is whether or not you intend to offer other choices. For instance, you may be planning to prepare a different type of meat as an alternative to steak. You should also consider the kind of side dishes you plan to serve with the steak. If you’re planning to offer a variety of options, you may need to purchase less steak.
Are You Comfortable With Leftovers?
Having leftovers is better than running out of steak during dinner. For this reason, I recommend rounding up the number of steaks you purchase to ensure that you have enough and to give yourself some peace of mind.
After all, leftover steak can be used to make many other delicious dishes the next day and can be successfully stored in the refrigerator or even frozen for later use. For inspiration, check out my list of 10 Leftover Steak Recipes for creative, tasty ideas that make the most of every bite.