End of summer, handled
The Labor Day cookout, fed properly.
Burger and hot dog math for 12 to 40 people, the summer ice rule everyone underestimates, and the grill logistics that keep you out of the weeds.
Labor Day is a gathering day — treat it like one
It doesn’t get the fireworks, but Labor Day does the same work as the Fourth: family travels in, the grill comes on, and the afternoon runs long. Same math applies to any big cookout — Memorial Day, the Fourth, a birthday in the backyard.
The cookout, by headcount
| What | Per adult | For 12 | For 24 | For 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground beef (⅓-lb patties, 80/20) | 1¼ | 5 lb (15 patties) | 10 lb (30 patties) | 17 lb (50 patties) |
| Hot dogs | 1¼ | 15 | 30 | 50 |
| Buns (burger + dog, total) | 2½ | 30 | 60 | 100 |
| Cheese slices | 1¼ | 15 | 30 | 50 |
| Each cold side (slaw, potato salad, beans) | 4 oz | 3 lb | 6 lb | 10 lb |
| Corn on the cob | 1 ear | 12 | 24 | 40 |
| Watermelon | 1 lb | 1 large | 2 | 3 |
| Chips | 3 oz | 3 party bags | 5 | 8 |
| Ice (it’s hot out — note the bump) | 2 lb | 24 lb | 48 lb | 80 lb |
| Drinks (non-alcoholic) | 3 | 36 | 72 | 120 |
Serving both burgers and dogs? That’s the table above — 1¼ of each per adult. Most people eat two things total; the extra quarter on each side is there because you cannot know the split in advance, and running out of one pile while the other sits full is the actual failure. If burgers are your only main, 1½ patties per adult — which is exactly the half-pound-of-meat-per-adult figure we publish everywhere else. Every number above is the honest need, not a guess at your store’s pack size — patties, dogs, buns and cheese all come packaged differently by brand (buns run 6 or 8 to a pack, dogs 8 or 10, pre-made patties anywhere from 4 to 40), so there’s no single count we could round to that would be right for everyone. Round up to whatever pack you’re actually buying. Kids: about half of everything, and all of the watermelon.
Grill logistics nobody warns you about
- A 22-inch kettle fits about 8 patties a round. Feeding 24 means three-plus rounds — start 40 minutes before you want to eat, and serve in waves instead of holding everything.
- Dogs are your buffer. They cook in minutes and hold well; run burgers first, dogs while the burgers rest.
- Everything cold gets made the day before. Slaw, potato salad, beans, cut fruit. Cookout morning is for the cooler run and the grill, nothing else.
- Two coolers, always: one for drinks (opened constantly), one for raw food staying cold (opened twice). One shared cooler is how mayo salads get warm.
- Shade the food table. Cold sides get two hours out, one hour if it’s pushing 90°F — after that, replenish from the cooler in small batches instead of leaving the whole bowl out.
Quick answers
How many burgers for 24 people?
About 30 patties — 10 lb of 80/20 — alongside hot dogs. Burgers-only, make it 36 patties (12 lb).
How much ice for a summer cookout?
Two pounds per person — a third more than the 1.5 lb indoor rate, because heat melts ice fast. Half for drinks, half for keeping food cold. For 24 people that’s 48 lb, and it will all go.
What should guests bring?
Cookouts are natural potlucks: you run the grill, guests cover sides and dessert. A signup link beats the group text — that’s exactly what potluck mode does.
Grilling for a crowd this Labor Day?
Dinner Caddy scales the whole cookout to your headcount — grill list, sides, cooler math — and writes the prep plan back from eating time. Free, no account.
Build this plan in Dinner Caddy →or start from scratch