How Many Ribs Per Person? Amount Explained - Barbecue FAQ

How Many Adults? Appetite Level Type of Rib Packages of Ribs to Buy

Notes on calculator:

A “Big Appetite” is someone that can eat a whole rack of ribs on their own.

A “Normal” Appetite:

• Baby Back Ribs: 1/2 rack per person.
• Spare Ribs: 3 or 4 ribs per person.
• Beef back ribs: 1/2 rack per person.
• Beef Short Plate Ribs: 1/2 rib per person.

Appetizers are roughly 1/4 of a rack or a few ribs per person and assumes that other meats and sides are being offered.

How Many Ribs are in a Rack of Ribs?

A full rack of pork ribs will have between 10-13 ribs.

A full rack of beef ribs can vary – often it’s 3-4 for short ribs and 7-9 for back ribs.

The Types of Ribs that are Typically Offered at a Barbecue

Often it’s either:

• Pork Baby Back Ribs
• Pork Spare Ribs
• Dino Short Ribs
• Beef Back Ribs

When most people hear that “ribs” are on the menu though, they’ll almost always assume it’s pork.

Baby Back Ribs

These ribs are loin meat.

They’re smaller, leaner, more tender, and more expensive than spare ribs.

Preparation is usually as simple as taking them out of the package and removing the membrane.

Spare Ribs

These ribs are belly meat (like pork bacon); They’re meatier and have more flavor than baby back ribs.

Due to their larger size, a typical serving size is 3 or 4 ribs.

Spare ribs often require more trimming – especially if you’re not a fan of the “rib tips” which contain cartilage.

What About Beef Ribs?

Beef ribs aren’t super common at Backyard BBQs but can definitely be offered.

Beef Back Ribs

These ribs are essentially ribeye steak on a bone.

They’re the meat that remains after removing prime rib and ribeye steaks from the cow.

Often these are sold with the rack cut in half and 2 portions are vacuum sealed.

So if you’re buying these and you see 2 in a pack, they were cut in half.

If you need 4, buy 2 packages.

They’re often called “finger ribs” and are usually offered as an appetizer.

Beef Short Plate Ribs

You’ll either find 3 bone dino ribs or 4 bone chuck short ribs.

Since these ribs are very rich, even big eaters will have a hard time eating a whole rack, let alone a whole rib.

These ribs are also VERY expensive – a whole rack can run $50-100 easily.

I’d personally only offer this as an appetizer to a group of people.

How to Serve Less Ribs?

Offer cheap sides and smaller plates.

Good sides include:

• Baked beans
• Mac & cheese
• Coleslaw
• Cornbread
• Corn on the cob
• Potato salad
• Pasta salads

People will instinctively fill up their plates as much as possible; The saying “Your eyes were bigger than your stomach” applies here.

Meaning, buy smaller plates.

If you’re catering an event, always place your protein/ribs towards the end of the line. This way, they’ll be forced to look at the delicious sides before they even consider the ribs.