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How many chicken quarters and spare rib slabs should I cook for 50 people?

I'm smoking for a party this weekend. There will be 50 people. I was going to do nothing but chicken quarters. Now I want to do pork spare ribs as well. I do not know how to adjust for quantity. I do not want to cook much more then I need. I figure some people will eat chicken, some ribs and some may split it. How many of each should I cook? Rib slabs and chicken quarters. I'd like a number, not the total pounds if possible. Or both.

Public Comments

1. When catering for a large group of people, you should plan on serving about 6 oz of protein per person. My guess is that the pork ribs are going to be more popular than the chicken. I would say that a safe number for the pork would be about 39 portions of 6 oz pork ribs, which is just over 14 pounds of pork ribs. That will provide about 3/4 of your guests with ribs. The rest of your guest will want chicken, so about 5 pounds of chicken should cover that. Put in safety factor of a pound or so. 16 -17 pounds of ribs and 7-8 pounds of chicken will feed everyone. And, it'll be enough for the people who want to come back for seconds. Don't forget, there will be other food, too. People who eat at parties typically don't eat more than a pound of food per person. When I have to figure out how much food to buy for a catered party, this is the number I go by. I add all the weight of the total amount of food. If I have enough food for 1 - 1.5 pounds per person, I know that I won't run out and I won't have a lot left over. Sorry about about the total pounds. Meat is sold by the pound, so its easier to figure it out that way. Single pieces of meat vary in weight, so figuring the amount by number isn't very accurate.
2. For 50 people I would go for 1# per person and a little extra just in case, so about 30 pounds of each.
3. If you know anything at all about cooking, you've heard of a "baker's dozen" which usually applies to baked goods. Meaning, always bake one extra beyond a dozen for the chef or baker (yourself) to test out the finished product you're serving to be sure of its taste. At other times, the extra is to serve as a back-up should any hit the floor during plating. But it's a great philosophy for any large-group cooking as well. Just cut up 13 chickens in quarters (cut in + or criss-cross fashion) and you'll have 52 good size portions. For the ribs, each slab comes with approximately 10-12 servings (if you serve one bone rib per person). So, 4 slabs would do just fine. Now, if you do the math on 52 chicken servings and 40 rib strips, you can determine to either cut both totals to two-thirds with the quantity of each at 8 chickens rendering 32 chicken servings and 2 slabs of ribs rendering 20 strips (or more) for a total of 52 servings of meat. I'd go with the latter to save money. It's far better to offer more of the safer dish (the chicken) and less of the not-as-safe pork dish. If we're talkin' certain ethnic families and friends who are way fond of the pork ribs, then I suggest you go with my original breakdown of 13 and 4. Either way, they'll eat it all, especially if drinks are involved. Haha. So, don't sweat the small stuff of having any left over. I'm sure you'll be asked for "doggy bags" if it's good. Have a great time!
4. there are other things to consider will there be side dishes served as well? who are you serving? men, children, women? I would cook 20-30 pieces of chicken(so maybe 7 breasts, 7 thighs, and 7 legs, etc). and 20-30 servings of ribs. (I would say 4 rib bones is a nice size for one person). better to have a little extra then run out :)