For the last four weeks the eternal question around our house has been….how many meatballs do I make? Each time one of our kiddos graduate, they get a HUGE say in choosing the menu. I sometimes suggest. I sometimes give options but in the end, the kids choose most of the menu. Karl chose meatballs.
He didn’t choose the mock ham meatballs I make. He didn’t choose the BBQ meatballs I make. He chose the White Gravy Meatballs.
But the question remains….how many? Earlier in the week, I made a batch. Each batch uses three pounds of hamburger and a batch makes about 50 meatballs. That part of the figuring is easy….the hard part….how many meatballs do I make per person keeping in mind these things.
1. Some people have more than one party to go to and won’t eat.
2. Last time we had a graduation, I had people say, we are eating here because we know you are a great cook.
3. Hubby’s family and my family both live a distance away and will be eating a supper amount of food.
4. I have a full menu of other food as well…homemade buns, green bean casserole, baked potatoes, carrots and dip, two salads and homemade cake.
5. Lots of high school kids come to the party and they typically don’t eat a lot….or they do eat a lot. It depends on the day.
6. We are expecting about 150 people…more are invited but we are working the guess-ti-mate of 150.
7. 3 pounds of hamburger made 50 meatballs.
So any guesses on how many I need? Leave a comment and let me know. I’ll come up with a prize for whoever guess the closest to how many I needed.
I’ll let you know the results of the whole meatball catering mess I got myself into on Tuesday…I’ll give you the recipe then too.
600 meatballs. Now, how about the recipes for those mock ham, BBQ and white gravy meatballs? I’m drooling all over my keyboard right now.
And you make your own buns!!??? Someone needs to throw YOU a party!
550 meatballs!
750 meatballs. that’s a lot of meatballs!
Since you will be having other food I’d say about 4 per person. That would be a good guess since some may have more, some less.
I’m in the planning stages for a graduation party too!!
I would guess 500. 3 per person on average, with some more and some less.
Jeanie guess 750 which was MY guess so I will go with 751…granny only eats one meatball!! :o)
Have fun!!
P
I am going to guess about 3 meatballs per person for a total of 450. Would love to see your recipes.
I would guess you need 780 meatballs. That’s a whole lot of meatballs!
I’d say… 650 meatballs. Yowza.
I’d guess about 700 to 750. That’s 4 0r 5 apiece with all the other food. More is better than not enough and you can alway freeze the leftover meatballs for future use. Good luck and have fun at the party! Congratulations to the graduate, too!
Average 4 per person with some extra for those big appetites – uhh, maybe 675.
Other foods will served.Hmmm, other meat??? My guess would be -450. Yes, 450, final answer.
Considering there is alot of other food being offered, most people will not take more than 3 meatballs so I’d go with 9 batches…to make 450. No one will go hungry and then they can have extra dessert! I’d probably just round up the meat from 27 to 30 pounds and however you make with that amount is the number you get. 509?
I am guessing that the others are way low in their estimates. I am gonna say about 8 per person. I am always in the mind frame of “it is better to have too much than too little” Also – they sound like they are smaller in size because to get 50 per three pounds of meat is like not very big in size either. so 8 x 150 = 1200.
Hmm, I’ll say 3- 4 per person, so to make my guess a little different than the others I ‘ll go with 525. Our family likes to remind my MIL of the time she “lost” some meatballs in the spaghetti sauce. She knew how many she made and when she was dipping them out to put on the table a couple were missing. She said the mix was kind of ‘soft’ so she guesses they disintigrated. We like to tease her about sampling them, but knowing her that probably didn’t happen. Anyway, hope your batches are pretty consistent and you don’t lose too many before they get to the table.
I would guess 450-500. Each meatball is about one ounce and 3 ounces of meat equals a serving… that would give you 450 meatballs with another 50 for extra. Good luck.
I think you need 450 meatballs.
Food for a graduation party is always a challenge! Been There, done that! I’d probably do around 800 because there is always those high school boys that show up and can eat you out of house and home not to mention the family members that will only eat at your house. Have a great party! We are having a small version next weekend as our youngest graduates with her Masters in PT.!
500 “ameataballsas ” ;}
I was thinking four per person, so that makes 600, but if it is a party and you have other items, then I would say 2, which makes it 300, so my guess is 400 to have extra, just in case;)
Debbie
Debbie
My guess is about 550 meatballs! Boy, are your fingers going to be tired! Delegate meatball rolling — seriously!
I would guess 4-5 per person (which is about 1 burger), so 600-750 total. That’s a lot of meatballs! Good luck, and congrats to Karl!
I’m thinking 6 per person so 900 meatballs!! WHOA! Glad it’s you and not me!! HAHA
I’m going with 500 meatballs, although it seems like a lot of meatballs…if they’re delicious (which I’m guessing they are) it may not be enough! You can always make extra and freeze them.
i’d say about a quarter pound of meat per person, so that would roughly be 4 per person, so go with 600 meatballs. invest in a scoop before you start!
Given that this is a rural community and guys are usually pretty good meat-eaters, I’m guessing an ave of 6/person=900. But I’d make 1.5 times that because the cooked meatballs will freeze good. Hint: spread the meat in the bottom of a 9×13 pan and cut into small squares. Separate the squares, giving a slight squish as you do – the meatballs aren’t perfectly round but it sure goes faster!!!
Guess it depends in part on the size of the meatballs. Some people make them tiny…bite size and some make them huge! If they’re fairly good size, more than one bite to eat them, I guess 450, an average of 3 per person. If they’re bite size, I’d think about about 5 per person for a total of 750! Whew…glad I’m not the one making them! Good luck!
I’m going with 800, mainly because most of the others aren’t. ;) That’s just over 5 per person.
my guesstimate is 825 just to be different.
I’m guessing 437. I like odd numbers, can’t you tell? No matter what, your meatballs sound like a big hit!
My guess would be 460, I know your batches are 50 meat balls but you could stretch some, so to be different 460 would be it.
Thanks sharing the enjoyment of the celebration
Marge
Depending on the size of them, I’d say 4-5 each. My guess would be 740 because no-one has said that number!
I would have to say about 340. Some people do not like meat balls of any kind. I am not included in that group. Hope the party is a great one and the best party of all the post grad. ones.
I am thinking that if they eat like my husbands family then about
1128 meatballs. I hope you rested your hands after making that many.
too late for my brain to do any serious math, but will guess 627 just to be different.. hope you had a great graduation celebration
I am thinking @ 5 per person, so I will say: 775. And whew!!! :-)