Weighing meat before or after??

Options
2»

Replies

  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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!

Categories