When serving it as a starter the standard portion of smoked salmon is 2 ounces each person. For a main meal consider up to 5 to 6 ounces for every guest. At bagel-bars or brunch plates the amount drops also, around 3 ounces for one guest, which is enough for 1,5 to 2 bagel-halves.

In buffet setups, where the smoked salmon shares with other protein foods, 3,5 to 4 ounces each person is usually needed.

How Much Smoked Salmon Per Person

On a board or platter, 2 to 2,5 ounces each person commonly is the ideal, because the salmon competes with cheeses, dried meats, crackers and those little extras. Even so, if the smoked salmon is the only protein on the table that amount should increase to around 3,5 ounces for every guest.

Pre-cut cold smoked salmon, that lox-style. Has almost 95 to 100% usable amount, so here almost does not exist waste. Whole smoked salmon with skin yet on it gives roughly 92 to 95% edible meat after removal of the skin, belly and tail.

Most whole smoked atlantic salmon weigh between 2,5 to 4 pounds, which matches to around 2,3 to 3,8 pounds of truly sliceable meat.

For 5 guests at starter level that does 10 ounces or only 0,63 pounds. For 10 guests, it becomes 1,25 pounds. For a main meal with 15 guests, where the smoked salmon is the main element?

That requires 5,63 pounds. Buffet for 25 guests requires to plan for around 6,25 pounds. For big events with 50 people 12,5 pounds is needed for buffet service or 18,75 pounds if it is the main dish.

For 100 guests, starter portions require 12,5 pounds, while main meal service reaches 37,5 pounds.

Caterers commonly use 3 ounces each person for passed starters with smoked salmon, plus 10 to 15% extra for safety. Restaurants for smoked salmon as main dish usually prepare 5 to 6 ounces on the plate, although some good places favour a more modest 4-ounce portion with sides.

Folks with big appetites commonly eat more than average. Rather, light eaters eat roughly less, so that same serving sinks a bit. Children under 12 years usually take only a fraction of a full adult portion, so a kid-friendly starter amount is around 1 to 1,25 ounces.

When the guest list mixes adults and children, the average exits to around 85% of full adult serving.

A typical portion of cold smoked salmon stores around 117 calories, 18,3 grams of protein, 4,3 grams of fat (including 0,7 grams packed and 1,5 grams of omega-3), and no carbohydrate. The sodium content deserves attention, it reaches around 660 milligrams for a standard part, which is more than 28% of the everyday recommendation of 2 300 mg. A full 6-ounce main portion delivers about 234 calories together with 36,6 grams of protein.

Warm smoked salmon has a denser, flaky texture than the cold kind, and the calorie amount becomes a bit higher, around 133 for a standard serving, because of less water during the smoking. Because of that density, warm smoked portions can weigh around 10% less, but yet feel just as big as cold. Breaking it down, one ounce of smoked salmon gives roughly 5,2 grams of protein and 33 calories.

At stores the most common packages are 3 ounces, 4 ounces, 8 ounces and 1 pound. Big batches for storage weigh usually around 2 pounds. For big events with whole smoked parts, every one measures around 3 pounds, so a buffet for 50 folks needs roughly 4 to 5 pieces.

When the guests pass 75, pre-cut smoked salmon becomes practical, available in 5-pound vacuum-sealed packages.

Small pancakes are another option, each of them holds only 0,3 to 0,5 ounces of salmon, so a guest that takes 4 to 6 of them, ends with 1,2 to 3 ounces total.