Judging the exact weight of a chicken breast is not as simple as it sounds. Nevertheless, we are here to help you find out the perfect method of achieving this goal. Are you wondering why it is so hard to work out the weight of a single chicken breast? There are several reasons why and we will instruct you how to weigh a chicken breast accurately in each situation a little later in this article and learn how much does a chicken breast weigh.
What is Chicken Breast Weigh?
We know how important it is to those of you who are watching your weight to be able to weigh your food meal by meal. Chicken breasts are generally an excellent addition to a diet because they contain lean protein. Still, the size and weight of a chicken breast may vary according to whether it is from a free-range Australian bird, from a caged bird, or fresh from someone’s backyard.
It’s essential to consider all these things when you are weighing your chicken breast. We will also help you to find a method for assessing the weight of a chicken breast before and after cooking. There are some standard percentages here that let you know what to expect in both situations.
How Much Does a Chicken Breast Weigh: Measure
In this article, we will gather all the pertinent information about how to weigh a chicken breast. No tips or tricks will be left out so that by the end of the article, you will be thoroughly well informed and ready to add chicken breasts to your menu.
Use how to make chicken salad recipe or combination with steamed or baked vegetables. You may add chopped breast of chicken to many dishes. Chicken breasts are so versatile that you can use them in burgers, broths, or paella dishes – but first, you must weigh them to know how much of the meat is needed for each recipe. The breast of the chicken is generally the meatiest and most delicate part of the bird. Now we will pull together all the most valuable information about how much does a chicken breast weighs into one, simple easy-to-read list.
The Kitchen Tools That You Will Need to Weigh a Chicken Breast.
A Nice Uncluttered Kitchen Bench
Before you begin to weigh portions, make sure that you have plenty of room on the kitchen bench. If you bump the scale or have something resting on it, you will not be able to get an accurate reading of the weight.
An Electric Kitchen Scale
An electric kitchen scale gives a very accurate measure. As you are preparing to weigh the chicken breast, the best thing to do is to stay with the type of measurement that is used on the packaging. So, for instance, if the package states the weight in ounces, stay with ounces. If the weight on the packaging is measured in grams, stay with grams. The next step is to adjust your kitchen scale to give you a readout in either grams or ounces.
A Mechanical Kitchen Scale
Mechanical or non-digital scales may take up more room in the cupboard, but they can still measure the chicken breast very accurately. They must be clean and in good repair. Whichever type of scales you use, don’t forget to subtract the weight of the bowl or plate that you put the chicken breast into, before you read the importance of the chicken breast.
Conversion Tables
These are very handy if you are working with scales marked with either/or imperial or metric readings. Conversion tables help you to understand what an equal portion looks like in each measurement. For instance, 1 ounce is equal to 25 grams. Both pieces will look the same size, even though the imperial and metric readings make them sound different.
Conversion Tables can provide readouts of the portion size to calorie measurements and the portion size to protein measurement. On average, a 4 0z. piece of (skinless) chicken breast will shrink by 25% during cooking. The 4 0zs. of the chicken breast will then weigh 3 0z.
3 oz. of cooked skinless chicken breast contains 100 calories, zero grams of carbohydrate, and 1 gram of fat. In other words, cooked, skinless chicken breast contains 33.3 calories per oz. Chicken breasts are usually boneless, so you will not have to deal with the problem of weighing and subtracting the weight of bones
A Small Amount of Plain Flour
You may prefer to coat the chicken breast in a small amount of flour before weighing so that it does not stick to their hands or the bowl it is placed in. The chicken may also then be placed straight onto the scales without being placed in a container first.
Tongs
You may prefer to pick the meat up with tongs to place it on the scales. This step is up to you. Some of you may even use disposable plastic gloves to remove the chicken from the packaging and place it on the kitchen scales.
How Much Does a Chicken Breast Weigh: Step-By-Step Instructions
Before purchasing, scrutinize the chicken breasts. You must be able to recognize healthy chicken breast before you purchase them. The chicken breasts weigh pale pink color. If they are not packaged, smell them carefully as well – the chicken breasts should have no scent.
Do not purchase flavored chicken breast unless that is what you want. Flavors can be Barbeque, Salsa, Spicy, etc. Remember to choose carefully. Another factor that you must check is the packaging. Read this carefully to find out if the chicken has been plumped or enhanced in any way. This will change the weight of the chicken.
Preparing the Chicken Breasts to be Weighed.
If you are not going to weigh and cook the chicken breasts straight away, you may store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days at the most. Do not store the chicken in the freezer unless it is necessary. De-frosting is very time consuming and may also spoil the flavor of the meat. Unpack the chicken breasts quickly and do not leave them to dry out on the bench.
As you are unpacking or unwrapping the chicken, make sure that no unpleasant liquids run off them, as this may indicate that the meat is not fresh. Remember to wash your hands after handling raw chicken as this meat can spread salmonella very quickly. Unpacking is the point at which you may like to use tongs or put on some disposable gloves.
Defrost Chicken Breast Weigh
After you have unpacked the chicken breasts, placing them on a chopping board or plate is the best thing to do. This will allow you to examine the chicken portions individually so that you can see the size of each piece. Some pieces will be larger than others. This is important because larger pieces will probably weigh more than other parts. You will have to decide which portions to use to make up a four, six, or eight-ounce portion. You may need to use a good sharp boning or filleting knife for this step.
Coat the chicken breast pieces with a light coating of flour to stop them from sticking to your hands or any utensils that you are using. Just use a little bit of flour – this coating is not meant for “browning” the meat during the cooking process. Now that you are ready to place the chicken onto the scales, you can use tongs, or just pick up the portions in glove-covered hands.
Weighing the Chicken Breasts.
As we have mentioned before, it’s essential to weigh your chicken breasts when they are raw. This is the best time to weigh the portions for macro-nutrients, protein, and calories. The weight that is lost from the chicken portions while they are cooking is mainly liquid, or juice and this loss do not affect the nutritional content. An important point that we will mention here is Tare.
This function helps you to weigh your chicken portions singly or in halves, two’s or three’s. By pushing the Tare button on a right digital scale, the weighing table will reset to zero each time, without you having to do the extra mathematical calculations for different containers. Remember that the right digital scale is one that measures very accurately so that you know exactly how much your portions of chicken breasts weigh.
Protein Measurements of Chicken Breast Weigh
If you have forgotten to weigh your chicken breast before you cook it, we are still able to help you. Here is an excellent method for weighing the cooked meat that will stand you in good stead, so that you will always be able to work out calories and protein measurements after cooking the chicken.
The formula goes like this:2 skinless uncooked portions of chicken breast weighing 4 oz. contain 24grams protein, zero grams carbohydrate, and 1gram fat. By multiplying by four, for the four ounces, the totals come out like this: The 2 chicken breasts weigh 6.8oz altogether. 6.8ozs X 1.4 = 9.6ozs. This 9.6ozs can be broken down into 57 grams of protein, zero grams carbohydrate, and 2 grams fat.
Buying Guide
If you don’t feel like weighing out each chicken breast individually, meal after meal, we can help you with this alternative method of weighing your chicken. In general, we find it easier to weigh out individual portions of chicken breast as each breast piece may be of a different size. If you have bought a bulk bag of chicken breasts, although the chicken portions may not all be the same size, you will have to divide the weight of the pack by the number of chicken breasts that are in it. For instance, if the bulk load of chicken breasts weighs 120ozs, and there are 10 portions in the bag, each chicken breast portion weighs 12ozs. There is now availably to make a recipes for leftover chicken recipes that you will love it and make for your family.
Make sure that the kitchen scales are sitting firmly on the kitchen bench. Look underneath to make sure that the is nothing destabilizing the scales, or to make them sit crookedly. This will make your measurements wrong.
Place the chicken breast or breasts onto the scales. Program the scales to read out in ounces or grams. Program the weight of the bowl or container that you are using. Read the precise weight of your chicken portions on display.
SPECIAL TIP: it’s our own Chef’s Tip for Weighing Chicken Breasts:
“Never purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts weighing more than 8 or 9 grams each. These portions are cut from stewing hens – they must be cooked in a liquid to become tender.”
Conclusion
We have packed a lot of information into this article. We hope that it will help you to weigh your chicken breast portions, whether they are cooked or uncooked. The science of weighing food has advanced a-pace, and we are now able to gain an exact weight for chicken breasts, whether they are whole or cut into fillets. Another tip from our kitchen is that Kids Love Meals Made from Chicken Breasts! And How Much Does a Chicken Breast Weigh?
Did you enjoy this article? Knowing the answer to this question is important to us. Let us know in the comments section if there is anything we may have missed or anything else you would like to know about the best method of weighing chicken breast portions.
Our exclusive recipes for chicken breasts feature precise measurements for the weight of the chicken portions, as well as their macro-nutrient values. If you would like to read some of these tasty recipes, please let us know. They are so simple and easy to make for the weekend.
Finally, don’t forget to tell your friends about this article. They never find a better way to measure the correct weight of chicken breast portions.