How much taco meat?

[Winter Biscuit]

The other thread about how much lunch meat reminded me that I need to figure out how much taco meat I should cook up!

My DD's 2nd birthday is this Saturday. We're having 22 people over for a birthday party, and we decided to do a taco bar. People will have the option of making a taco salad or a "regular" taco (with soft or crunchy shell). Now I need to figure out how much taco meat to cook up to ensure I have enough for 22 people. Are there any general guidelines?

[cr8zyforaf]

OK - this is awful but when I make DH and I tacos - we can usually eat a pound of meat...we are pigs, I know. I would say 10-15 pounds of meat...does that seem high? I know DH can eat 1/2 pound of taco meat for dinner. Now, are you serving other items - beans, chips/dip, rice....then I would say on the lower end of 10-15 pounds.

I just asked the girl that sits behind me and she said the same about her and her husband - she makes a pound of taco meat for the two of them.

[Winter Biscuit]

OK - this is awful but when I make DH and I tacos - we can usually eat a pound of meat...we are pigs, I know. I would say 10-15 pounds of meat...does that seem high? I know DH can eat 1/2 pound of taco meat for dinner. Now, are you serving other items - beans, chips/dip, rice....then I would say on the lower end of 10-15 pounds.

I just asked the girl that sits behind me and she said the same about her and her husband - she makes a pound of taco meat for the two of them.

We cook up 1 pound for me, DH and DD too, but we always have leftovers. Hmm. 10-15 pounds sounds like a lot of cooking :eek: :D I'm almost tempted to pay the $7/person fee to have a local restaurant bring their taco bar to my house...

Or maybe I'll make 2-3 "tacosagnas" - it's a layered dish like lasagna, only with taco ingredients. Hmm. Something to think about.

[Jazz]

We're on the other end of the spectrum -- I usually get around 1/2 pound for the two of us, and that's sometimes too much! We just like all the other stuff (cheese, guac, sour cream, tomatoes ...) and are not big meat eaters in general.

For dinner, I think a good rule of thumb is 1/2 lb per person -- if it's lunch, you can certainly get away with less (especially if there'll be other filling food -- rice and beans?).

BUT -- $7/per person sounds like a great price, especially if it frees you up to concentrate on the fun party stuff!

[jimmysgirl424]

I also make a pound of meat for DH and I. I just make a small taco salad with mainly lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa; along with a small portion of meat. DH, who LOVES tacos, usually eats between 8 and 10 tacos himself in one sitting!! :eek:

[Hello Kitty]

Yep another one who uses a pound (sometimes it's a little short - 14 oz or so) of ground beef for two. :o

We're kind of protein nuts, though, so we don't go through very many shells, cheese, etc... You can always freeze it if you end up with too much.

[emmjay]

We use between 3/4 and 1 lb for the two of us and make a bunch of veggies to go with it.

Now I want tacos for dinner! :D

[ManteoChik]

I use a lot of meat for tacos too....lol. I usually do about 1 1/2 pounds and have shells leftover. :eek: I guess its because other than cheese and lettuce we don't put anything else on ours (kinda picky) so we need more meat filling. I think it's better to have leftovers than not enough, ya know? You gotta think about those like me (lol) who don't put "stuff" on their tacos, or the men who usually like to overstuff. hehe.

[gayle]

I would figure a lb for every 3 people, plus a little extra. 7 lbs should do it nicely, especially if you are serving other things as well as tacos.

[Asha]

i frequently used to make tacos for my entire family as a child. i used 1 pound for a family of five, so i would say that if you have 5 pounds of meat that would be plenty for a taco bar. keep in mind many people aren't big carnivores, so they won't all pile on the meat. i would offer lots of other things to fill the tacos: refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, guac., salsa, onions, etc. you def do not need 15 pounds of meat!!!