Oil absorption in food

cooperbladon

I’m new to the concept of macro tracking...
As part of my weekly meal prep I generally cook about 30 or so chicken tenderloins on my outdoor griddle using EVOO. I’m curious how much of that oil is absorbed into each piece of chicken..I think guesstimating is skewing my calorie/fat/cholesterol #’s....thanks for any input!!

kbushe3221

Good question I would also like to know

mmapags

Oil may sit on the surface of the chicken but chicken doesn't absorb oil. Measure the amount of oil you start with and the amount you finish with. It's not precise because some will evaporate off. Don't get hung up on the details. If it is throwing your fat off and you are not comfortable, cook them a different way. Grill them or oven roast them.

cmriverside

Most oil is going to cook off on an outdoor griddle. You mean over fire, right? I wouldn't think there would be enough left to worry about.

cmriverside

Oh. I looked at the picture.

Still, I wouldn't worry about it.

Or, make a recipe in the Recipe builder and account for it that way. Surely you aren't using that much oil...and spread out over all those pieces.

bmeadows380

I had kind of wondered this myself at times. I usually just count the whole serving of oil if I use it in a recipe, though I know not all of it is getting into my food. Then again, usually I just use cooking spray and don't bother counting it at all.

NovusDies

EVOO has a fairly low smoke point so it is generally not ideal for grilling. I would save my money and use something cheaper.

While you are cooking the chicken is releasing water from inside. This is a natural barrier for oil absorption. As @mmapags says some may stick to the outside but unless it is breaded it should be minimal.

Maxxitt

I agree that it's minimal. Do you measure the oil you put on the griddle? If so, divide by 30 ... you'll get to minimal that way, too