Calculate cooking loss percentage from raw and cooked weights. Track shrinkage from heat to price cooked-weight menu items accurately.
Cooking loss measures the percentage of weight lost when food is cooked. Proteins shrink significantly during cooking — a raw steak loses 20-30% of its weight, and a roast can lose 30-40%. Understanding cooking loss is critical when recipes specify cooked weights or when you need to determine how much raw product to purchase for a specific number of cooked portions.
The calculation is straightforward: subtract the cooked weight from the raw weight, divide by the raw weight, and multiply by 100. A 16-ounce raw chicken breast that weighs 12 ounces after grilling has a 25% cooking loss. This means you need to start with more raw product than the final serving weight.
This calculator helps chefs and kitchen managers track cooking loss by protein type and cooking method, order the right quantities for banquets and catering, and price menu items accurately when portions are specified in cooked weights.
Restaurant owners, hotel managers, and event coordinators depend on accurate cooking loss numbers to maintain profitability while delivering exceptional guest experiences. Return to this tool whenever menu prices, occupancy rates, or staffing levels shift to keep your operations on track.
Cooking loss directly affects your food cost per serving. If you price a dish based on the raw weight cost but serve a cooked portion, you're understating your per-portion cost. This calculator ensures you account for heat shrinkage in your recipe costing and purchasing calculations. Instant results let you test multiple scenarios so you can align pricing, staffing, and inventory decisions with current demand and cost pressures.
Cooking Loss % = ((Raw Weight − Cooked Weight) ÷ Raw Weight) × 100 Cooking Yield % = 100 − Cooking Loss %
Result: 25.00%
A 16-oz raw chicken breast weighs 12 oz after grilling. Cooking loss = ((16 − 12) ÷ 16) × 100 = 25%. If raw chicken costs $0.25/oz, the cooked cost per ounce is $0.25 ÷ 0.75 = $0.33/oz — a 33% increase.
Grilling and broiling produce 20-30% loss as moisture evaporates from direct heat. Roasting at 350°F produces 25-35% loss over longer cooking times. Braising in liquid retains more moisture but the cooking liquid absorbs flavor and nutrients. Deep frying can actually increase apparent weight through oil absorption, though the food cost increases due to oil expense.
To serve 100 guests a 6-oz cooked chicken breast with 25% cooking loss, you need: 100 × 6 oz ÷ 0.75 = 800 oz raw = 50 lbs. Add a 5% buffer for inconsistent pieces, bringing the order to 52-53 lbs. This reverse calculation prevents both shortages and expensive over-ordering.
When working with untrimmed products, multiply fabrication yield by cooking yield for the net percentage. An untrimmed beef tenderloin with 80% fabrication yield and 70% cooking yield produces: 0.80 × 0.70 = 0.56 or 56% net yield. A 10-lb untrimmed tenderloin yields only 5.6 lbs of cooked, sliceable meat.
Chicken breast (grilled): 20-25%. Beef steak (grilled): 25-30%. Pork loin (roasted): 25-35%. Whole roast beef: 30-40%. Fish fillet (pan-seared): 10-20%. Cooking method, temperature, and doneness all affect the result.
Yes, significantly. Braising and stewing have lower apparent loss because liquid is retained. Deep frying can add weight from oil absorption. Grilling and roasting have the highest visible shrinkage from moisture evaporation.
Cooking loss increases the cost per cooked ounce. A $10/lb raw protein with 25% cooking loss effectively costs $13.33/lb cooked. Menu prices should be based on cooked-weight costs when portions are specified cooked.
Yes, if your recipe specifies cooked portion weights. To serve a 6-oz cooked breast with 25% cooking loss, start with 8 oz raw (6 ÷ 0.75 = 8). Build this into your prep instructions.
Somewhat. Lower cooking temperatures, proper resting, brining, and avoiding overcooking all minimize moisture loss. However, some shrinkage is unavoidable — it's the nature of protein coagulation during cooking.
No. Total yield loss combines fabrication loss (trimming) and cooking loss. A whole chicken with 60% fabrication yield and 25% cooking loss has a net yield of 45% — less than half the purchased weight is served.