Weighing meat before or after??

lecollis
lecollis Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok guys, I have a question about weighing raw meat, do you do it before or after you cook you meat? I made a really great recipe the other day with chicken, I put 4 breast in the pan that were over 3 pounds uncooked. I figured that I could cut them up to make the 6 portions that I needed to arrive at per the recipe. When they were fully cooked I ended up barely having 6 oz of chicken for 5 people and minus one portion. My calories didn't add up as I was unsure how to re-calculate the calorie count. I want to make and do this right, but how do I get the calorie counts right when I sometimes have overly large breasts that need to be cut. Help!!

Replies

  • HardRockCamaro
    HardRockCamaro Posts: 147
    My understanding is that meat weights are always before cooking.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    I always search for raw weight and use that.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    If you're using the database entries, there are calculations for both raw and cooked, so I'd just pick one and go with that. (Look for the ones that haven't been added by other users). I tend to use the raw values if I'm cooking, as it's easier, but if someone else has made it, I weigh it once cooked and use the cooked values (or estimate).
  • TheNEWMonicaB
    TheNEWMonicaB Posts: 129 Member
    Bumping this as I have always wondered the same thing. I assume that it is raw and that is what I normally do, as the label will not know what the weight will be after cooking. The nutritional info on the package for ground turkey, pork chops, etc... does give a weight and calorie info, but does not normally specify if that is raw or cooked weight.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    I always use the 'cooked, dry heat' options for meat in the database and go by those numbers. I add in cooking fats separately.
  • HardRockCamaro
    HardRockCamaro Posts: 147
    In terms of what you were left with...

    I have noticed that cheap chicken breasts "shrink" more when I cook them vs the good stuff.

    I read that in the UK at least (and we're normally pretty good on food laws) they can inject the breasts with water I think it was which plumps them up and makes them heavier. In cooking this obviously disappears. Some of the higher end supermarkets don't do this, and local butchers definitely do not.
  • almostgoodbye99
    almostgoodbye99 Posts: 60 Member
    Good question...thanks for asking. I don't think I have ever really thought about it before...
  • MidwestAngel
    MidwestAngel Posts: 1,897 Member
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  • gspea
    gspea Posts: 412 Member
    I was told by my dietitian - weigh after...
  • mattagascar
    mattagascar Posts: 708 Member
    I think it is only fair to weigh my meat before
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    I almost always weigh before. But within the next few days, I'm going to make a chuck roast in the crock pot. It will be easier to weigh it after cooking.
  • nancywho
    nancywho Posts: 18
    You want the weight of the meat as you are going to eat it, so after you cook it. There is fat and water that cooks out of it that you are not going to be eating.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,342 Member
    I always weigh before cooking, because the time you cook it and level of "doneness" changes the weight of the meat without changing the nutritional composition.

    A 300g raw steak, for example, can differe by up to 100g in cooked weight depending whether it is bleu, rare, medium, well etc. Nothing has changed but the moisture level, all the other stuff is still there, but the cooked weight varies greatly.

    Raw is much more accurate. I only use the cooked option in the data base if I haven't cooked it and couldn't weigh it before it was cooked.
  • fallonrhea
    fallonrhea Posts: 388 Member
    As far as my understanding goes, the labels on food packaging are for raw meat. Therefore, you should weigh beforehand.

    I usually weigh the whole package, cook the package, weigh again. I then divide the weight of the cooked meat by the weight of the raw meat and multiply that number by the amount of meat that I logged.

    For example, say I have a pound of chicken. I cook it and it comes out to weigh 0.8 lbs (which it usually does, haha). If I logged half a pound of chicken for dinner, I'll weigh out 0.4 lbs of my now cooked chicken and eat that.

    I used to weigh my meat after and it was really messing up my macronutrients. I was getting way more protein than carbs so I started to smell ammonia all the time - not fun (won't be a problem at all unless you're trying to eat lower carb).
  • almostgoodbye99
    almostgoodbye99 Posts: 60 Member
    As far as my understanding goes, the labels on food packaging are for raw meat. Therefore, you should weigh beforehand.

    I usually weigh the whole package, cook the package, weigh again. I then divide the weight of the cooked meat by the weight of the raw meat and multiply that number by the amount of meat that I logged.

    For example, say I have a pound of chicken. I cook it and it comes out to weigh 0.8 lbs (which it usually does, haha). If I logged half a pound of chicken for dinner, I'll weigh out 0.4 lbs of my now cooked chicken and eat that.

    I used to weigh my meat after and it was really messing up my macronutrients. I was getting way more protein than carbs so I started to smell ammonia all the time - not fun (won't be a problem at all unless you're trying to eat lower carb).

    I have no clue what any of this means... :(
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    I measure the raw and never the cooked weight. Feels like cheating if I measure the cooked weight.
  • chunkydunk714
    chunkydunk714 Posts: 784 Member
    That being said...how about potatoes? I weighed it before and the portion sizes are completely different after cooking. So i was trying to research online but couldnt really find anything.

    p.s. thanks for posting because i was wondering the same thing too :)
  • MUSTLOSENOW55
    MUSTLOSENOW55 Posts: 181
    i would measure it raw...but now i just buy frozen pre-portioned chicken by weight watchers. makes my life easier. each patty or breast is 4 oz so i dont have to weigh anything
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    After, and I look it up that way (example - roast chicken thigh), too. I'm cooking for a family and don't know which piece of meat I'll end up with at mealtime.

    I guess I could weigh it and cook it separately, but why?
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
    There are options for raw and cooked in the database, but the raw entries will be much more accurate than the cooked ones. If it just says sirloin steak, 4oz, that means 4oz of raw sirloin steak. It will clearly say somewhere in the description if the measurement is for cooked (baked, boiled, fried, etc.).
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    Ok guys, I have a question about weighing raw meat, do you do it before or after you cook you meat? I made a really great recipe the other day with chicken, I put 4 breast in the pan that were over 3 pounds uncooked. I figured that I could cut them up to make the 6 portions that I needed to arrive at per the recipe. When they were fully cooked I ended up barely having 6 oz of chicken for 5 people and minus one portion. My calories didn't add up as I was unsure how to re-calculate the calorie count. I want to make and do this right, but how do I get the calorie counts right when I sometimes have overly large breasts that need to be cut. Help!!

    The Nutrition Facts Label on the back of foods is determined by their UNCOOKED weight.

    However, if you record your calories by comparing your foods to calorie chart of COOKED foods, then cooked is accurate measurement.

    It just depends if you're comparing to the back of the label or not.
  • mfoster1019
    mfoster1019 Posts: 152 Member
    I weigh it before cooking, in its raw form since that is what the nutritional labels are based off of.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I always use raw. I think using the cooked entries in the database is a little more hit-or-miss.
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
    I always use raw. I think using the cooked entries in the database is a little more hit-or-miss.

    It is because not everyone cooks meat to the same level. 4oz of raw chicken baked to 3oz of juicy perfection is still going to have the same nutrition as if it was baked to 2oz of overcooked chicken jerky, but entering in the cooked weights will yield very different results.

    Cup measurements are pretty worthless too. I always go by grams if I can, ounces if I can't, then spoon measurements from there. I know someone who would use cup measurements, pack it in as much as she possibly could, and exclaim, "It's still a cup!" when told that's not how it really works (a loosely packed cup will obviously have way fewer calories than one that was tightly packed).
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
    As far as my understanding goes, the labels on food packaging are for raw meat. Therefore, you should weigh beforehand.

    I usually weigh the whole package, cook the package, weigh again. I then divide the weight of the cooked meat by the weight of the raw meat and multiply that number by the amount of meat that I logged.

    For example, say I have a pound of chicken. I cook it and it comes out to weigh 0.8 lbs (which it usually does, haha). If I logged half a pound of chicken for dinner, I'll weigh out 0.4 lbs of my now cooked chicken and eat that.

    I used to weigh my meat after and it was really messing up my macronutrients. I was getting way more protein than carbs so I started to smell ammonia all the time - not fun (won't be a problem at all unless you're trying to eat lower carb).
    ^This^ in regards to the weighing

    The most accurate is raw but many of us cook for our family. Most of us don't evenly divide the servings of the meat,fish,or poultry. I have had to add to "My Foods" in MFP cooked meat calories. One of the most information is on the USDA web site. The attached link is the list of foods. If you can't find the meat in the cooked form on MFP just go to the USDA link and create an entry and share it.

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Just pick a method and stick with it. Consistency will be the real winner. (For the record I weigh all my meat cooked and have been doing for so long that it is my baseline now)
  • lecollis
    lecollis Posts: 2 Member
    Yes this was the reason for my question as I cook for a family of five. I lost the calorie count when it came time to dish it up because I wasn't sure how much chicken I was supposed to eat as the pounds of chicken was for 4 breasts of chicken and I somehow had to break it up and still get them right. Very confusing!

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