How much ground beef should I cook to make sloppy joes for 150 - 200?

Cocktail size I would assume is probably a two-bite size?

You would probaby serve 1oz. on each bun.

You will need to include the sauce in this portion size.

It's probably 2/3 meat to 1/3 sauce. You need to allow for each person to have 2 to 3 cocktail sandwiches.

that's basically 3oz. of sloppy joe sauce per person.

20 pounds of meat should be plenty if you are using the ratio above....if you use half sauce and half meat then you can reduce the meat to 15 pounds.

How much would you use for 4? If, for instance, you were making quarter pounders, you'd get 4 to a lb. of ground beef. So 200 would mean 50 pounds. You're obviously not making them quarter pound, but you can't just have "sloppy joes" for a group like that either. Some might not eat beef, or might not like sloppy joes. Maybe 20-25 pounds, and some hot dogs, or make a big batch of English muffin pizzas. You can make a big tray of them to put in the oven at once. Or order pizza's delivered. A big pizza party might be fun too.

It's hard to judge... you don't say the age of the graduates. It would be one amount for elementary school, middle school, etc. Depends on the age. I'm guessing it's a young group because I don't think HS kids would really go for the manwich thing.

4/lb on regular buns. Will depend on the fat content in the meat too. 80% fat free will be the cheapest, but it will also cook down to the least amount.

If your cocktail size buns are like a White Castle slider bun... maybe 8-10 per lb, figure 8 to be safe.

I'd do a trial run with 1lb of hamburger and the cocktail size buns.

I don't know the size of cocktail size buns, but it's usually around 1/4 lb. of meat if you are using ground beef --- per person.

You might go to www.allrecipes.com they have a converter to enlarge recipe amounts.

1/4 lb per sandwich - so, to be safe, 200 * .25 = 50 lbs

or, for smaller sandwiches (1/8lb) = 200 * .125 = 25 lbs

50 lbs. = 1/4 lb per person.

I'd say 4 per pound.

i'd say 50-60 lbs

boy, that's not easy. can't you talk her into something else? anyway being italian, i would make enough to feed a army. i would do 20lbs.