BBQ Calculator

Calculate how much meat, drinks, charcoal and sides to buy for a Brazilian churrasco — by number of guests and duration.

How to use

  1. Enter the number of guests and how long the churrasco will last.
  2. Pick the crowd profile — it changes the per-person amounts for meat and beer.
  3. Read the shopping list: meat, sausage, bread, beer, soft drinks, water, charcoal, ice, vinaigrette and farofa.

About this tool

The one question every Brazilian who announces a churrasco needs answered: how much of everything to buy. The standard rule of thumb is 400 grams of meat per person for a mixed crowd, going up to 500 for a group of men and down to 300 for families with children. Add sausage at about 100 grams per person, bread at one and a half rolls each, and beer at three cans for a four-hour gathering. These are averages from decades of informal consensus and published churrasqueiro guides.

The estimates scale with duration: a two-hour churrasco needs less than half of what a six-hour one does, because people eat most of the meat in the first two hours and then slow down. The profile selector adjusts the ratios: a group of men drinks more beer and eats more meat, while a family crowd needs more soft drinks and less charcoal.

Do not follow the list blindly. If you know your guests are light eaters or heavy drinkers, adjust. The tool exists to save you from the supermarket arithmetic, not to replace the knowledge of the person standing at the grill. Everything runs in your browser.

The formula

Meat per person: 400 g (mixed), 500 g (men), 300 g (family). Beer: 3 cans (mixed), 4 (men), 2 (family). All scaled linearly by (hours / 4).

Frequently asked questions

Is 400 grams per person enough?

For a mixed group, yes — it is the standard rule of thumb. If your guests are big eaters or the churrasco is longer than four hours, go up to 500 g.

What cuts should I buy?

The tool calculates total weight, not specific cuts. A common split is about 60% beef (picanha, maminha, alcatra) and 40% sausage, chicken hearts and pork ribs.

How much charcoal per person?

About 500 g per person for a four-hour churrasco. That is enough to keep the grill at temperature through the main cooking period.

Does my data leave my browser?

No. The calculation runs in JavaScript on your device.

What if I have vegetarian guests?

Reduce the meat proportionally and add vegetables — grilled provolone, peppers, zucchini, corn. The tool does not calculate those, but the side quantities (bread, salad, farofa) are already per person.

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