How Much Meat Does a Family Need?

Start with Your Real Eating Pattern

Estimate the number of meat-centered meals your household cooks each week, the average number of dinners, and the uncooked portion used per person. Include leftovers, guests, restaurant meals, holidays, and weeks when plans change.

A Simple Planning Formula

Multiply average uncooked pounds used per meal by meat meals per week and by the number of weeks you want to stock. For example, a household using 1.5 pounds at four meals per week would use about 24 pounds in four weeks.

In our personal 2 person household, we eat roughly 1/2 pound of meat at each meal.  (We also follow the carnivore diet and generally eat more meat at one sitting than the average person).  So we plan for 1 lb. of meat per day for ourselves, roughly 365 lbs. of meat per year, enough to fill a 15 cubic foot freezer with a little spill over into a smaller freezer.  One of our hogs yields roughly 100 lbs. of finished cuts and we really, really like our pork, so we easily go through 3 hogs per year just between the two of us.

Adjust for Bones, Fat and Cooking Loss

Bone-in cuts, rendered fat, trimming, moisture loss, and leftovers change edible yield. Ground meat and boneless cuts are easier to estimate than whole poultry, ribs, or bone-in roasts.

Match the Cut Mix to Your Kitchen

A bulk package is valuable only if the household will cook the included roasts, chops, ground meat, sausage, bones, and specialty cuts. Review the cut list rather than estimating from total pounds alone.  The beauty of reserving a half or whole animal side for your personal freezer is you get to tailor the cuts around what your family prefers to eat.

Check Freezer Capacity

Leave space for airflow and other food. Use our freezer-space guide, compare bundles, or learn how hog shares work.