Cooking Yield Calculator
Plan how much raw meat to buy for your cooked portions, or weigh a batch before and after cooking to get your own cooking yield. Built on USDA cooking yields for 48 cuts of beef, pork, poultry, lamb and veal.
Your numbers
USDA average 69% (range 65–76%, samples: 20).
Results
- Cooking loss
- 31.0%
- Total cooked weight
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- Raw weight to buy
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- Cost per cooked lb
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- Cost per portion
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- Total raw cost
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Cooking yield formulas
- Cooking yield %: cooked weight ÷ raw weight × 100
- Cooking loss (shrinkage) %: (raw − cooked) ÷ raw × 100, or 100 − cooking yield
- Raw weight to buy: cooked weight needed ÷ cooking yield (as a decimal)
- Cost per cooked pound: raw price per pound ÷ cooking yield (as a decimal)
- Total yield of a trimmed, cooked item: trim yield × cooking yield
Cooking yield is cooked weight divided by raw weight, times 100. Meat and poultry lose water and fat as they cook, so most cuts land between about 60% and 85%; the rest of the raw weight is cooking loss, also called shrinkage. Rice, pasta and grains go the other way and gain weight.
How to calculate cooking yield
- Weigh it raw. Weigh the trimmed, ready-to-cook product right before it goes in.
- Cook as usual. Use your normal method, temperature and doneness, then rest the meat the way you serve it.
- Weigh it cooked. Weigh what you would portion: without the pan juices, and before slicing waste if you trim after cooking.
- Divide. Cooking yield % = cooked weight ÷ raw weight × 100. Repeat with two or three batches and use the average.
- Plan with it. Divide each cooked portion by the yield to get the raw weight to buy, and divide the raw price by the yield to get the cost per cooked pound.
Worked examples
Braised brisket for 40: You serve 5 oz cooked portions: 40 × 5 oz = 12.5 lb cooked. At USDA's 69% yield for braised brisket flat, buy 12.5 ÷ 0.69 = 18.1 lb raw. At $6.50/lb raw that is $117.75, or $9.42 per cooked pound and $2.94 a portion.
Prime rib by the portion: USDA puts a bone-in rib eye roast at 76.9% cooking yield. An 8 oz cooked portion needs 8 ÷ 0.769 = 10.4 oz raw, so 30 guests need about 19.5 lb of raw roast.
Measuring your own: 10 lb of raw chicken thighs roast down to 6.8 lb: a 68% cooking yield and 32% loss, right next to USDA's 69% average for roasted thighs.
How much does meat shrink when cooked?
USDA averages for common cuts (cooked weight as a share of raw weight):
- Grilled steaks: 68–86% yield, so they lose about 14–32% of their raw weight (outside skirt at the low end, bone-in rib eye at the top).
- Roasts: 76–84% yield for rib eye, tri-tip, eye of round and bottom round roasts.
- Braised cuts: 66–75% yield for brisket flat, chuck pot roast, boneless short ribs and back ribs.
- Ground beef: 62–77% yield depending on fat content and method: high-fat crumbles lose the most, lean pan-broiled patties the least.
- Chicken: 66–78% yield, from deep-fried floured wings to whole roasted birds.
- Pork: 67–85% yield, from ground pork crumbles to grilled boneless blade chops.
- Bacon: about 32% yield when baked, so it loses roughly two-thirds of its weight.
Raw weight to buy per cooked portion
Raw ounces needed for a 4, 6 or 8 oz cooked portion, using USDA average yields. Weigh your own batches if your trim, size or doneness differs.
| Cut | Cooking yield | Raw for 4 oz cooked | Raw for 6 oz cooked | Raw for 8 oz cooked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisket, flat half, braised | 69% | 5.8 oz | 8.7 oz | 11.6 oz |
| Rib eye (prime rib) roast, bone-in, roasted | 76.9% | 5.2 oz | 7.8 oz | 10.4 oz |
| Rib eye steak, boneless, grilled | 83.6% | 4.8 oz | 7.2 oz | 9.6 oz |
| Tenderloin steak (filet), broiled or grilled | 80% | 5.0 oz | 7.5 oz | 10.0 oz |
| Top sirloin steak, broiled or grilled | 80% | 5.0 oz | 7.5 oz | 10.0 oz |
| Ground beef, 12–22% fat, patty, broiled or grilled | 69% | 5.8 oz | 8.7 oz | 11.6 oz |
| Pork tenderloin, roasted | 77% | 5.2 oz | 7.8 oz | 10.4 oz |
| Shoulder, arm picnic, braised | 74% | 5.4 oz | 8.1 oz | 10.8 oz |
| Whole chicken, with skin, roasted | 78% | 5.1 oz | 7.7 oz | 10.3 oz |
| Chicken thigh, with skin, roasted | 69% | 5.8 oz | 8.7 oz | 11.6 oz |
USDA cooking yields for meat and poultry
Average cooking yield measured by USDA for common retail cuts, with the range across samples and the number of samples. Yields for bone-in cuts include the bone. Treat them as a starting point: trim, size, temperature and doneness all move the number.
| Cut | Method | Cooking yield | Range | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisket, flat half | Braised | 69% | 65–76% | 20 |
| Chuck shoulder pot roast, boneless | Braised | 66.3% | 54.6–80.9% | 71 |
| Short ribs, boneless | Braised | 66.1% | 44.9–97.3% | 30 |
| Beef back ribs, bone-in | Braised | 75.3% | 65.2–82.2% | 36 |
| Rib eye (prime rib) roast, bone-in | Roasted | 76.9% | 71.8–83.5% | 35 |
| Rib eye roast, boneless | Roasted | 75.8% | 65.7–84.9% | 36 |
| Rib eye steak, boneless | Grilled | 83.6% | 74.6–91.9% | 36 |
| Rib eye steak, bone-in | Grilled | 85.7% | 77.7–90.3% | 36 |
| Tenderloin steak (filet) | Broiled or grilled | 80% | 71–86% | 19 |
| Top sirloin steak | Broiled or grilled | 80% | 69–87% | 20 |
| Tri-tip roast | Roasted | 84% | 77–89% | 20 |
| Flank steak | Broiled or grilled | 81% | 74–89% | 20 |
| Skirt steak, inside | Grilled | 72.9% | 64.3–84.9% | 72 |
| Skirt steak, outside | Grilled | 68.2% | 58.6–79.3% | 72 |
| Eye of round roast | Roasted | 81% | 75–83% | 20 |
| Bottom round roast | Roasted | 84% | 76–88% | 20 |
| Chuck eye steak, boneless | Grilled | 80.2% | 61.8–94.9% | 70 |
| Ground beef, under 12% fat, patty | Broiled or grilled | 73% | 72.8–74.7% | 4 |
| Ground beef, 12–22% fat, patty | Broiled or grilled | 69% | 64–72.4% | 4 |
| Ground beef, over 22% fat, patty | Broiled or grilled | 63% | 55.3–69.4% | 4 |
| Ground beef, under 12% fat, patty | Pan-broiled | 77% | 76.4–78.3% | 4 |
| Ground beef, 12–22% fat, patty | Pan-broiled | 73% | 70.8–76% | 4 |
| Ground beef, over 22% fat, patty | Pan-broiled | 69% | 67.5–72.2% | 4 |
| Ground beef, 12–22% fat, crumbles | Pan-fried | 67% | 63.7–71.6% | 4 |
| Ground beef, over 22% fat, crumbles | Pan-fried | 62% | 60.3–63.9% | 4 |
| Beef steaks, all cuts (average) | Mixed methods | 76% | 66.5–87.6% | 553 |
| Beef, boneless braised cuts (average) | Braised | 67% | 55.7–84.2% | 361 |
| Cut | Method | Cooking yield | Range | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pork tenderloin | Roasted | 77% | 74–84% | 12 |
| Center loin roast, bone-in | Roasted | 77% | 63–88% | 12 |
| Top loin chops, boneless | Pan-fried | 77% | 60–85% | 12 |
| Blade chops, boneless | Broiled or grilled | 85% | 78–90% | 12 |
| Shoulder, arm picnic | Braised | 74% | 70–78% | 12 |
| Spareribs | Roasted | 76% | 68–79% | 12 |
| Back ribs, bone-in | Roasted | 82% | 74–90% | 12 |
| Ground pork, 10–27% fat, crumbles | Pan-browned | 67% | 62–75% | 4 |
| Bacon | Roasted | 32% | 30.5–32.6% | 3 |
| Cured ham, boneless | Roasted | 94% | 91.2–95.5% | 9 |
| Cut | Method | Cooking yield | Range | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole chicken, with skin | Roasted | 78% | 68–84% | 1975 |
| Whole chicken, with skin | Simmered | 75% | 69–87% | 1975 |
| Chicken breast, with skin | Roasted | 72% | 61–82% | 1975 |
| Chicken thigh, with skin | Roasted | 69% | 58–79% | 1975 |
| Chicken drumstick, with skin | Roasted | 76% | 63–87% | 1975 |
| Chicken wings, floured | Deep-fried | 66% | 53–78% | 1975 |
| Whole turkey, not enhanced | Roasted | 71% | — | 1 |
| Turkey breast, with skin, not enhanced | Roasted | 72% | — | 1 |
| Cut | Method | Cooking yield | Range | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb roasts, all cuts | Roasted | 74% | 53–88% | 1975 |
| Lamb shoulder, shank or breast | Braised | 60% | 54–72% | 1975 |
| Veal cutlet (leg top round) | Grilled | 74% | 66.5–82.7% | 6 |
Source: USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA Table of Cooking Yields for Meat and Poultry, Release 2 (2014). Rows marked 1975 come from USDA Agriculture Handbook 102 and have no sample count.
Cooking yield vs trim yield
Cooking yield only covers what happens in the oven, pot or grill. If you also trim, bone or peel before cooking, multiply the two: an 85% trim yield × a 69% cooking yield ≈ a 59% total yield. To get the trim yield and the cost per usable pound, use the food yield calculator.
Cooking yield FAQ
What is cooking yield?
Cooking yield is the cooked weight of a product divided by its raw weight, times 100. A roast that goes in at 10 lb and comes out at 7.7 lb has a 77% cooking yield.
How do you calculate cooking loss?
Cooking loss % = (raw weight − cooked weight) ÷ raw weight × 100. Meat that goes from 10 lb raw to 6.9 lb cooked has a 31% cooking loss.
How much raw meat do I need per cooked portion?
Divide the cooked portion by the cooking yield as a decimal. A 6 oz cooked portion of braised brisket flat at USDA's 69% yield needs 6 ÷ 0.69 = 8.7 oz raw.
How much does ground beef shrink when cooked?
USDA measured 62–77% cooking yields for ground beef depending on fat content and method, so it loses roughly 23–38% of its raw weight. High-fat crumbles lose the most; lean patties cooked on a pan lose the least.
How much does brisket shrink when cooked?
USDA measured an average 69% cooking yield (range 65–76%) for braised brisket flat trimmed to 1/8 inch of fat. A whole packer brisket loses more overall because you also trim fat before cooking, so weigh a batch to get your own number.
How much does chicken shrink when cooked?
USDA figures for chicken with skin: whole birds roasted average 78%, breasts 72%, thighs 69% and floured deep-fried wings 66%.
How much does steak shrink when cooked?
USDA grilled steak yields run from 68% for outside skirt to about 86% for bone-in rib eye; boneless rib eye averages 84% and tenderloin and top sirloin 80%.
Do USDA cooking yields include the bone?
Yes. For bone-in cuts the yield compares the whole cooked piece with the whole raw piece. To get the edible meat, also account for bone and trim with a yield test.
Is this calculator free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, needs no account, and your numbers never leave your device.
Sources and method
Preset yields are the USDA Agricultural Research Service averages from the USDA Table of Cooking Yields for Meat and Poultry, Release 2 (2014), a public-domain dataset. The calculator applies the standard formulas above; your own before-and-after weights always beat an average.
Last reviewed: October 2026.
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