End of summer, handled
The Labor Day cookout, fed properly.
Burger and hot dog math for 15 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 15 | For 25 | For 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burger patties (⅓ lb, 80/20) | 1½ | 8 lb | 13 lb | 20 lb |
| Hot dogs | 1½ | 23 | 38 | 60 |
| Buns (burger + dog, total) | 3 | 45 | 75 | 120 |
| Cheese slices | 1½ | 23 | 38 | 60 |
| Each cold side (slaw, potato salad, beans) | 4 oz | 4 lb | 6¼ lb | 10 lb |
| Corn on the cob | 1 ear | 15 | 25 | 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 | 30 lb | 50 lb | 80 lb |
| Drinks (non-alcoholic) | 3 | 45 | 75 | 120 |
Both burgers AND dogs? That’s the table above — people take one of each, not one or the other. If you’re serving only burgers, bump patties to 2 per adult. Kids: one dog, half a burger, all of the watermelon.
Grill logistics nobody warns you about
- A 22-inch kettle fits about 8 patties a round. Feeding 25 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 25 people?
About 38 patties — 13 lb of 80/20 — alongside hot dogs. Burgers-only, make it 50 patties (17 lb).
How much ice for a summer cookout?
Two pounds per person — double the indoor rule. Half for drinks, half for keeping food cold. For 25 people that’s 50 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.
Plan my party free →