Help me figure out how much lunch meat to buy?

[Lamb]

I'm having a party for my dad and we'll be having sandwiches on 5 inch sub rolls. How much sliced lunch meat should I buy to feed 9 people? Some people put 1 slice on the roll and others will put 3 slices. I'm thinking a pound and a half of each: ham, salami, turkey.

 

[tango]

We often buy extra turkey and freeze it. Not sure how well ham or salami would freeze.

It's hard to know what to suggest without knowing how heartily your guests eat. If one person puts 3 slices on a roll and eats one roll that's a much smaller impact than if 8 people put 3 slices on a roll and eat three rolls.

If four and a half pounds isn't enough meat to feed nine people you're saying each person is eating, on average, half a pound of lunch meat on top of whatever else you're putting out. That seems like a lot of meat.

 

[Lamb]

We often buy extra turkey and freeze it. Not sure how well ham or salami would freeze.

It's hard to know what to suggest without knowing how heartily your guests eat. If one person puts 3 slices on a roll and eats one roll that's a much smaller impact than if 8 people put 3 slices on a roll and eat three rolls.

If four and a half pounds isn't enough meat to feed nine people you're saying each person is eating, on average, half a pound of lunch meat on top of whatever else you're putting out. That seems like a lot of meat.

I have no idea how hungry people will be, I'm just looking for a basic guide.

 

[tango]

I have no idea how hungry people will be, I'm just looking for a basic guide.

The eternal problem - buy too little food and your guests leave hungry, buy too much and you're stuck eating it for a week after the event.

Do you have a feel for whether the people coming tend to be hearty eaters? If so bump it up a bit. Half a pound of lunch meat per person, plus whatever else you're serving, seems like it should be more than enough. There does come a point where you have to say that the focus is on the gathering even if there are a couple of people who are prone to seriously pig out given the chance.

If there's enough food for everyone to eat reasonably well without constantly worrying whether they are taking too much I'd say you'll be fine. If you have a 600lb relative who can't have a 17th sandwich because you ran out of meat then so be it. If you have people who didn't get a single sandwich because you ran out of meat that's a problem. Somewhere in the middle is the happy medium, which will partly be based on how much you want to spend on the meat and how you personally balance the desire to make sure everyone has enough with the desire to not be stuck eating bologna sandwiches for the rest of the year.

 

[Lamb]

The eternal problem - buy too little food and your guests leave hungry, buy too much and you're stuck eating it for a week after the event.

Do you have a feel for whether the people coming tend to be hearty eaters? If so bump it up a bit. Half a pound of lunch meat per person, plus whatever else you're serving, seems like it should be more than enough. There does come a point where you have to say that the focus is on the gathering even if there are a couple of people who are prone to seriously pig out given the chance.

If there's enough food for everyone to eat reasonably well without constantly worrying whether they are taking too much I'd say you'll be fine. If you have a 600lb relative who can't have a 17th sandwich because you ran out of meat then so be it. If you have people who didn't get a single sandwich because you ran out of meat that's a problem. Somewhere in the middle is the happy medium, which will partly be based on how much you want to spend on the meat and how you personally balance the desire to make sure everyone has enough with the desire to not be stuck eating bologna sandwiches for the rest of the year.

I don't mind having leftovers for a few days