Burgers per pound of beef
The count depends entirely on the patty size you form — and the raw number is not the cooked number. Here is the full table, then the shrink math.
The table (raw weight, pre-cook)
| Patty size (raw) | Burgers per pound | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 2 oz | 8 | Sliders |
| 3 oz | 5 (with a little over) | Small sliders / kids |
| 4 oz (¼ lb) | 4 | Standard diner burger |
| 5 oz | 3 (with leftover) | Pub burger |
| 6 oz | 2⅔ — realistically 2, generous | Big pub burger |
| 8 oz (½ lb) | 2 | Half-pounder |
| 10 oz | 1, with trim | Challenge-size |
A pound is 16 ounces. Divide 16 by your raw patty weight in ounces and round down — you cannot form a partial patty from the remainder, but you can fold it into the last burger.
The shrink: raw vs cooked
Beef loses roughly a quarter of its weight cooking off fat and moisture, so a 4-oz raw patty serves about 3 oz cooked. Plan per person by raw weight — a half pound of raw beef per person is the standard burger-night allowance, which is two 4-oz patties or one generous 8-oz patty.
What the pack sizes yield
- 1 lb pack: four standard ¼-lb burgers.
- 1.25 lb pack: five 4-oz patties — the exact pack-to-patty match.
- 2 lb pack: eight ¼-lb burgers, or four half-pounders.
- 3 lb pack: a dozen standard burgers — the usual cookout quantity.
- 5 lb pack: twenty 4-oz burgers, or thirty 2-oz sliders.
Do it for your exact crowd
This table is the fixed arithmetic. The burger batch calculator does the rest of the job: your headcount, your patty size, your fat blend, and the pack sizes actually sold at your store — it works out exactly what to buy and what each burger costs. For the timing side, see the burger grill times chart.