How Much BBQ Per Person: Catering and Bulk To-Go Guide

Q: How many sides do I need?

Our sides come by the pint, quart, half pan, and full pan: Quart: serves 4 to 8 Half pan: serves 15 to 20 Full pan: serves 50 to 60 Choose from Burnt-End Baked Beans, Mac and Cheese, Collard Greens, Green Beans, Nana's Creamy Coleslaw, and Potato Salad. French fries, fried in pure beef tallow, come by the half pan and full pan.

Q: What about desserts, drinks, and bread?

Banana pudding and seasonal cobbler: a half pan serves 10 to 12, and a full pan serves 30 to 35. Whole pecan pie and whole bourbon chocolate pecan pie: 8 servings per pie, with 24 hours notice. Sweet tea, unsweet tea, and lemonade: sold by the gallon. One gallon serves 8 to 10. Bread: Texas Toast by the whole loaf, slider rolls by the dozen, and hamburger buns by the 8-count. Sauce: every one of our house-made sauces comes by the pint and quart. Here is our barbecue sauce guide.

Q: How much notice do you need?

Whole slow-smoked meats: 24 hours notice. Whole chicken: 24 hours notice. Whole pies: 24 hours notice. Pulled chicken by the pound: 48 hours notice, with a light Sweet Red sauce.

October 21, 2026 – Haywood Smokehouse

Haywood Smokehouse tray of slow-smoked sliced brisket, chopped pork, and St. Louis style ribs with baked beans, fries, and Texas Toast.

You said yes to feeding everybody. Now the guest list keeps growing, and you are staring at a menu doing math in your head. Order too little, and somebody walks away from the table hungry. Order too much, and you paid for food nobody ate. Either way, it is your name on the event.

Joe Beasley built Haywood Smokehouse around a simple idea: take the best of every barbecue region and do it right, all under one roof. Feeding a crowd is part of that, at all three of our locations. Since launching our online To-Go and catering ordering this year, our customers love it, because they can order 24/7, right online.

Here is how to figure out how much to order, whether you are feeding a family of eight or a crowd of a hundred.

How much BBQ per person should I order?

Plan on 8 ounces of meat per person for a plate. For a hefty sandwich, plan 6 to 8 ounces per sandwich, depending on your crowd. One pound of our slow-smoked meat is about two 8-ounce servings.

For 20 people eating plates, that is about 10 pounds of meat. For 20 hefty sandwiches, plan 7 and a half to 10 pounds.

By the pound, choose from chopped pork, sliced brisket, hickory smoked sausage, sliced turkey breast, and pulled chicken.

How many people does a whole brisket feed?

A whole slow-smoked brisket is about 7 pounds. Plan 8 ounces per person for plates. Read more about how we cook it in our award-winning Texas brisket story.

How many people does a Boston butt, also called a pork shoulder, feed?

A whole slow-smoked Boston butt, also called a pork shoulder, is about 5 pounds. It yields about 10 eight-ounce platters. Here is how we make our Carolina chopped pork.

How many people does a whole turkey breast feed?

A whole slow-smoked turkey breast is about 4 pounds and feeds 8 to 12 people. Here is how we brine and cook our slow-smoked turkey breast.

How much hickory smoked sausage should I order?

Our hickory smoked sausage is sold by the quarter pound, half pound, and full pound. Plan the same as any of our slow-smoked meats: 8 ounces per person for a plate, or 6 to 8 ounces for a hefty sandwich. It is also one of the meats you can choose on a combo platter.

How many ribs per person?

As the main meat, plan 3 to 6 ribs per person. With one other meat, plan 2 to 3. A half slab is 6 ribs, and a full slab is 12. Our ribs are St. Louis style, dry-rubbed and slow-smoked.

How many sides do I need?

Our sides come by the pint, quart, half pan, and full pan:

Quart: serves 4 to 8
Half pan: serves 15 to 20
Full pan: serves 50 to 60

Choose from Burnt-End Baked Beans, Mac and Cheese, Collard Greens, Green Beans, Nana's Creamy Coleslaw, and Potato Salad. French fries, fried in pure beef tallow, come by the half pan and full pan.

What about desserts, drinks, and bread?

Banana pudding and seasonal cobbler: a half pan serves 10 to 12, and a full pan serves 30 to 35.
Whole pecan pie and whole bourbon chocolate pecan pie: 8 servings per pie, with 24 hours notice.
Sweet tea, unsweet tea, and lemonade: sold by the gallon. One gallon serves 8 to 10.
Bread: Texas Toast by the whole loaf, slider rolls by the dozen, and hamburger buns by the 8-count.
Sauce: every one of our house-made sauces comes by the pint and quart. Here is our barbecue sauce guide.

How do I order BBQ for a crowd?

There are two ways, and both are online at all three locations.

Order To-Go. Our bulk takeout is right on the To-Go menu: meat by the pound, whole slow-smoked meats, ribs, sides by the pan, desserts, drinks by the gallon, and sauce. Anyone can order bulk from the To-Go menu, and even a 100-person order can be placed there.

Order from our catering menu. Browse our catering menu and place your order online for pickup.

Planning a special event for 20 or more and want to talk it through? Request a call back through our contact page.

How much notice do you need?

Whole slow-smoked meats: 24 hours notice.
Whole chicken: 24 hours notice.
Whole pies: 24 hours notice.
Pulled chicken by the pound: 48 hours notice, with a light Sweet Red sauce.

Can I order the same day?

Sometimes. Whole meats, bulk orders over 5 pounds, and half and full pans may be possible the same day. Call your pickup location during business hours to confirm.

One more thing. Our holiday menu is almost here, and Thanksgiving sells out every year. The people who plan ahead get their order in. The people who wait end up calling around. Know your numbers now, and you will be ready the day it drops.

Order from your closest location

Waynesville: 828-456-7275
Dillsboro: 828-631-9797
Franklin: 828-369-6666

Menu items may vary by location.

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