Measuring meat

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Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,131 Member
    So I purchased a food scale and after the first meal with it, I am surprised! I had one pound of hamburger divided into four patties for the grill. In theory, each is 4 oz. but when they came off the grill, they were each 2.5-2.6 ounces each! I had been underestimating my amount of protein by 40%. This digital scale was purchased off of Amazon and had good reviews - a great $15 investment.
    Mostly water and some fat is lost in the cooking process, not protein.
  • rosiereally2
    rosiereally2 Posts: 539 Member
    I clicked on this in hopes that men would start discussing measuring meat.

    Same. I am disappoint.
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
    Must...not...make....suggestive....joke....
  • Misiaxcore
    Misiaxcore Posts: 659 Member
    I really don't understand weighing meat before cooking. It not like I am eating all that fat that dropped off my meat while grilling. It always confuses me why I would count calories for stuff I don't actually eat. Are the calories for most foods measured before cooking? Not trying to hijack this thread but was hoping for some more information to add to the posters question.
    If you eat something raw, weigh it uncooked and enter it as uncooked.

    If you eat something cooked, weigh it cooked and enter it as cooked.

    Most everything has entries for both in the database.

    Food labels of a food, bacon for example, give you the raw info, but if you cook it and don't eat the fat left in the pan, it really changes quite dramatically. Search the database for "Pork - Cured, bacon, cooked, broiled, pan-fried or roasted" and in the dropdown menu, compare the nutrition info between 1 raw slice and 1 cooked slice.


    ^THIS.

    I too was a little confused by this, but then I realized some bacon packages have the info for "raw" and info for "cooked" and it makes 100s of calories of a difference.

    I weigh all meats after they're cooked and record that. Why count weight you're not actually eating ?
  • freshvl
    freshvl Posts: 422 Member
    Doesn't anyone use a tape measure?
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    I really don't understand weighing meat before cooking. It not like I am eating all that fat that dropped off my meat while grilling. It always confuses me why I would count calories for stuff I don't actually eat. Are the calories for most foods measured before cooking? Not trying to hijack this thread but was hoping for some more information to add to the posters question.


    Are you cooking to the same level of dryness all the time? I really doubt it. Raw is consistent.

    Also - if you go by the raw weight you will at worst be overestimating, since you lose the fat drippings. If you go by the cooked weight you are at the mercy of the differential between the level of dryness of your cooked meat and that used to get the calories for foods in the system.
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    I clicked on this in hopes that men would start discussing measuring meat.

    Me too. There was not ONE "use a ruler!" comment. /disappoint

    DOn't you count the curve? You would need to use a tape measure.
  • Fit147
    Fit147 Posts: 209 Member
    I measure mine while using a snicker bar as the unit of measurement.

    I hope you are not using the trick-or-treat snack size?
  • Fit147
    Fit147 Posts: 209 Member
    So I purchased a food scale and after the first meal with it, I am surprised! I had one pound of hamburger divided into four patties for the grill. In theory, each is 4 oz. but when they came off the grill, they were each 2.5-2.6 ounces each! I had been underestimating my amount of protein by 40%. This digital scale was purchased off of Amazon and had good reviews - a great $15 investment.

    I am the OP on this topic and hadn't returned til today to check out responses. I agree with posters pointing out that you are not licking the renderings from the bottom of the grill, so why count those calories if you don't have to? I was using the 88 % lean cooked Costco ground beef entry in the database at the only known weight I had...the uncooked weight. Yes, I was erring on the side of caution but I would rather overstate than understate the amount of calories I have eaten. I was shocked to see how much I had overestimated. I knew there would be some shrinkage but now I wonder if the Costco butcher had his thumb on the scale or something....

    The other thing I learned is to choose my wording for topic titles more carefully. ;)
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    You should always weigh meat raw.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I measure mine while using a snicker bar as the unit of measurement.

    Hopefully king size and not the one bite fun size.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I have a kitchen scale and do try to weigh most meats. More for curiosity anymore as I don't get to caught up in being exact.
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    So I purchased a food scale and after the first meal with it, I am surprised! I had one pound of hamburger divided into four patties for the grill. In theory, each is 4 oz. but when they came off the grill, they were each 2.5-2.6 ounces each! I had been underestimating my amount of protein by 40%. This digital scale was purchased off of Amazon and had good reviews - a great $15 investment.

    I am the OP on this topic and hadn't returned til today to check out responses. I agree with posters pointing out that you are not licking the renderings from the bottom of the grill, so why count those calories if you don't have to? I was using the 88 % lean cooked Costco ground beef entry in the database at the only known weight I had...the uncooked weight. Yes, I was erring on the side of caution but I would rather overstate than understate the amount of calories I have eaten. I was shocked to see how much I had overestimated. I knew there would be some shrinkage but now I wonder if the Costco butcher had his thumb on the scale or something....

    The other thing I learned is to choose my wording for topic titles more carefully. ;)

    If you were legitimately "shocked" by how much you overestimated then you must've made a math error somewhere
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    measuring tape was the first thing that came to mind when i read the topic >.>

    i always weigh it first because theres no way of really knowing exactly how much fat/moisture cooked out etc.
    though on the bacon topic, i dont think ive ever seen the raw values on the packs i buy - just cooked. though i do regularly use the bacon drippings for other things like cooking veggies and such, so the raw entry gets used often by me :D
  • Fit147
    Fit147 Posts: 209 Member
    Yeah you idiot, that must be it.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    That difference is the water it was cooked in. The calories on the pack are for 'dry'. Weigh it before you cook it.
  • LeanerBeef
    LeanerBeef Posts: 1,432 Member
    I have no idea what this is about but I always measure my meat starting at the base of the undercarriage and never after swimming.
  • Keto_T
    Keto_T Posts: 673 Member
    I clicked on this in hopes that men would start discussing measuring meat.

    Me too. There was not ONE "use a ruler!" comment. /disappoint

    Wow, my mind didn't even go there...I must not be feeling well. lol! :wink:

    That's the ONLY reason I clicked on it.

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