How Much Brisket for 10 People?

Ten people is the size most first briskets get cooked for, and it's the size that trips people up in the opposite direction from what you'd expect — not too little, too much. Ten adults eating brisket as the main event need about 5 pounds on the table, which means roughly 10 pounds raw. That is already packer territory, and the smallest whole packers your butcher stocks will likely run 12 pounds. Buy it anyway. The overshoot is two or three pounds of cooked brisket, and brisket is the rare leftover that genuinely improves on day two.

The math, worked out

Every number on this page comes from the same two steps. Here it is longhand for 10 adults eating brisket as the main dish:

1. 1. Cooked brisket needed
   10 adults × 0.5 lb = 5 lbs cooked
2. 2. Raw weight to buy (about 50% is lost to trimming and cooking)
   5 lbs × 2 = 10 lbs raw

Want leftovers? Add 15 percent and buy 11.5 lbs instead — that's about 3 extra meals once the party's over.

10 people, by how you're serving

Serving style moves this number more than anything except sides. Here's all three, with and without a full spread of side dishes:

If some of your 10 are kids

Kids eat about a quarter pound of cooked brisket each, half what a plated adult puts away, and they fill up on sides and rolls faster than you expect. Swapping four adults for four kids in a group of 10 takes roughly 2 lbs off your raw weight. Worth doing properly rather than guessing —put your real split into the calculator.