Do you log meat by weight on package or after cooking?

GatorDeb1
GatorDeb1 Posts: 245 Member
I bought some meat and in the package it said .86 lbs and after I cooked it it was 7.5 oz. Which one do I log? Do they really sell meat packages that is almost half its weight in water?

Replies

  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,363 Member
    edited June 2021
    If cooking individual pieces of meat where I can keep track of which one's mine, I usually use raw weight, because that is what the label is providing information for.

    Exceptions include bacon, which gives nutrition for cooked weight and states so.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    While it's better to log by raw weight because then it doesn't matter how "done" you cook your meat (the more done, the more water is lost), the most important thing is to be sure you're using an entry that reflects how you weighed it. If you weigh it raw, be sure you're using an entry for raw meat. If you weigh it cooked, be sure you're using an entry for cooked meat.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    It is almost always better to log cooked weight because what you cooked is what you eat. You just have to be sure your calorie reference is for the cooked version.
  • ehju0901
    ehju0901 Posts: 350 Member
    I typically just use the weight that is stated on the package (raw).
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. If I'm cooking it pretty much as is (because marinating and other prep typically only adds a negligible amount of calories), I will use the cooked weight.

    I could probably do all raw weights if I was cooking individual portions just for myself, but that's almost never the case, plus I often don't remove bones until after cooking. Labels don't help because most of my meat doesn't come with any. I use the USDA database entries in MFP and say that's good enough for my purposes.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    GatorDeb1 wrote: »
    I bought some meat and in the package it said .86 lbs and after I cooked it it was 7.5 oz. Which one do I log? Do they really sell meat packages that is almost half its weight in water?

    In addition to cooked meat always weighing less than raw meat, the package weight may have been incorrect. I never use the package weight - depending on factors including if it is just me eating it or not, I'll weigh it out of the package and use a raw entry, or weigh it cooked and use a cooked entry.

    All entries for meat that MFP pulled from the USDA database will specify raw or cooked.

    Unfortunately, the green check marks in the MFP database are used for both USER-created entries and ADMIN-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.

    To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

    The USDA changed the platform for their database in 2019. I use the “SR Legacy” tab - that seems to be what MFP used to pull in entries.

    Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was USER entered.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,334 Member
    Sometimes the package is inaccurate, sometimes there’s a lot of water that drains out. I weigh it myself, once removed and drained.

    I do not weight cooked meat. Depending on your method of cooking, there can be a considerable difference in net weight.

    Meat simmered in a crockpot is going to ultimately be different than something that was grilled or stir fried. My well done steak is going to weigh less than my husband’s medium rare, simply because the longer, more drying cooking period eliminates more water weight.

    If I have an oops moment and forget to weigh, my personal rule of thumb is cooked is 60% of raw weight. So six ounces cooked is roughly ten uncooked.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    edited June 2021
    Sometimes the package is inaccurate, sometimes there’s a lot of water that drains out. I weigh it myself, once removed and drained.

    I do not weight cooked meat. Depending on your method of cooking, there can be a considerable difference in net weight.

    Meat simmered in a crockpot is going to ultimately be different than something that was grilled or stir fried. My well done steak is going to weigh less than my husband’s medium rare, simply because the longer, more drying cooking period eliminates more water weight.

    If I have an oops moment and forget to weigh, my personal rule of thumb is cooked is 60% of raw weight. So six ounces cooked is roughly ten uncooked.

    Tell your husband I said he is right and you are wrong on the proper way to cook steak ;)
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    I do boh depends on the meat
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. . . ..

    When I make chili I brown the ground meat and then pour off the fat. Every recipe I have says that. Since the fat being poured off logs at 9 calories per gram or 135 calories per tablespoon, it works out better to weigh what you actually eat, i.e. the cooked ground beef.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. . . ..

    When I make chili I brown the ground meat and then pour off the fat. Every recipe I have says that. Since the fat being poured off logs at 9 calories per gram or 135 calories per tablespoon, it works out better to weigh what you actually eat, i.e. the cooked ground beef.

    I rarely pour off the fat (we buy grassfed beef and it is typically very lean.) Any fat that is left is used to cook peppers and onions. :)
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. . . ..

    When I make chili I brown the ground meat and then pour off the fat. Every recipe I have says that. Since the fat being poured off logs at 9 calories per gram or 135 calories per tablespoon, it works out better to weigh what you actually eat, i.e. the cooked ground beef.

    I rarely pour off the fat (we buy grassfed beef and it is typically very lean.) Any fat that is left is used to cook peppers and onions. :)

    To me, grass fed has a nasty taste. And, of course the flavor is in the fat which is retained in the cooked meat after rendering it out. I messed around with this for years with a cookbook with many of the top 100 Southwestern chili recipes. The leaner the meat the less beef flavor you get. And you don't have to retain the fat to get it. Of course, you can make it any old way you want, but the thought that a person reading your post would take some Walmart ground beef and not drain it is pretty disgusting. A pound of generic ground beef might have 1000 calories of fat in it. My meat place makes a nice mix of ground brisket, ribeye and sirloin which has a great flavor but a lot of fat. So, I pour ir off.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    edited June 2021
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. . . ..

    When I make chili I brown the ground meat and then pour off the fat. Every recipe I have says that. Since the fat being poured off logs at 9 calories per gram or 135 calories per tablespoon, it works out better to weigh what you actually eat, i.e. the cooked ground beef.

    I rarely pour off the fat (we buy grassfed beef and it is typically very lean.) Any fat that is left is used to cook peppers and onions. :)

    To me, grass fed has a nasty taste. And, of course the flavor is in the fat which is retained in the cooked meat after rendering it out. I messed around with this for years with a cookbook with many of the top 100 Southwestern chili recipes. The leaner the meat the less beef flavor you get. And you don't have to retain the fat to get it. Of course, you can make it any old way you want, but the thought that a person reading your post would take some Walmart ground beef and not drain it is pretty disgusting. A pound of generic ground beef might have 1000 calories of fat in it. My meat place makes a nice mix of ground brisket, ribeye and sirloin which has a great flavor but a lot of fat. So, I pour ir off.

    Sure, the fat content matters and I hadn't considered that, since I've been buying my meat this way for a while so it's just what I'm used to. In my case, I have a hard time eating regular ground beef from the store anymore because to me at least it tastes like corn.

    I don't think the meat I eat is nasty, in fact I quite enjoy it, but to each his own, I guess.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    If I'm putting it in a recipe (e.g. ground beef for chili), I use the raw weight in the recipe builder. . . ..

    When I make chili I brown the ground meat and then pour off the fat. Every recipe I have says that. Since the fat being poured off logs at 9 calories per gram or 135 calories per tablespoon, it works out better to weigh what you actually eat, i.e. the cooked ground beef.

    I rarely pour off the fat (we buy grassfed beef and it is typically very lean.) Any fat that is left is used to cook peppers and onions. :)

    To me, grass fed has a nasty taste. And, of course the flavor is in the fat which is retained in the cooked meat after rendering it out. I messed around with this for years with a cookbook with many of the top 100 Southwestern chili recipes. The leaner the meat the less beef flavor you get. And you don't have to retain the fat to get it. Of course, you can make it any old way you want, but the thought that a person reading your post would take some Walmart ground beef and not drain it is pretty disgusting. A pound of generic ground beef might have 1000 calories of fat in it. My meat place makes a nice mix of ground brisket, ribeye and sirloin which has a great flavor but a lot of fat. So, I pour ir off.

    Sure, the fat content matters and I hadn't considered that, since I've been buying my meat this way for a while so it's just what I'm used to. In my case, I have a hard time eating regular ground beef from the store anymore because to me at least it tastes like corn.

    I don't think the meat I eat is nasty, in fact I quite enjoy it, but to each his own, I guess.

    I'd probably like it if I gave it a chance. But, it is so different than what I am used to and it does have a lot of new flavor notes. Maybe "nasty" is not the best word for it. Its more like having a lamb burger. The first time I had one, I thought the same thing. Now I love them. Try ground lamb chili, but you have to double the amount of Cumin you use.