The Meat Buying Planner

The MeatnMetal method for buying the right amount of the right cut: count plates instead of people, split the menu, and price every cut by the plate instead of the pound

MeatnMetal's Meat Portion Calculator turns a number of people into a raw weight to buy, for one meat at one appetite. The Meat Cut Selector sorts cuts by cooking method into budget, mid-range and premium tiers. Neither knows what the meat costs, and neither talks to the other: a mixed table gets bought as if everyone ate like the hungriest guest, a two-meat menu gets a full portion of each, and a bone-in pack that is cheaper by the pound can cost more by the plate without anything saying so. The Meat Buying Planner joins them in seven steps. It weighs each guest as a light, normal or hearty plate, works back from the cooked plate to the raw weight, splits a two-meat menu by shares, turns the shelf price per pound into a price per plate, gives the bone-in price that ties with boneless, picks the cut by method before price, and rounds the list up once at the counter. On its worked example, 12 guests and a beef and chicken menu cost $39.92 at the counter instead of $71.60, $3.41 a plate, and bone-in thighs beat boneless at $3.99 a pound only up to $2.66. Every figure is computed from the site's own calculators; the party, menu and shelf prices are examples, tagged as such, and rules of thumb are called rules of thumb. It is a buying planner only, with no cooking instructions of any kind: cook meat to USDA safe minimum internal temperatures (see FoodSafety.gov) and follow a trusted source for thawing and storage. Included: 23 printable pages with seven steps, a plate count, a counter sheet and a shopping list, reference tables and a quickstart, plus a personalised sheet worked from the numbers you enter in the Meat Portion Calculator and Meat Cut Selector.

Look inside

Two full pages from the planner, exactly as printed. Click either to read it at full size before you decide.

What is in it

• The Plates Rule: each guest weighed as a light, normal or hearty plate instead of one appetite for everyone
• The Shrink Rule: raw weight to buy from the cooked plate, boneless and bone-in, for beef, pork, lamb, poultry and ground meat
• The Share Rule: a two-meat menu split by shares that add up to 100%, not a full plan per meat
• The Plate Price Rule: the shelf price per pound turned into a price per plate
• The Bone Break-even Rule: the highest bone-in price that ties with boneless, by meat
• The Method First Rule: the cut chosen by cooking method, then the lowest price tier the Cut Selector lists
• The Counter Rule: one round-up per line at the counter, priced, with the cost per plate
• Printable working pages: a plate count, a counter sheet and a shopping list with an after-the-meal line
• Reference tables: raw pounds to buy by plates, and pounds per plate by appetite, plus a quickstart
• A personalised sheet worked from the numbers you enter in our calculators

The planner picks up where the free Meat Portion Calculator leaves off. The calculator turns a number of people at one appetite into a raw weight for one meat; the planner weighs a mixed table by appetite, splits a two-meat menu instead of buying a full portion of each, turns the shelf price per pound into a price per plate, gives the bone-in price that matches boneless, and picks a cut by method before price with the Meat Cut Selector. It is a buying planner only, with no cooking instructions of any kind: cook meat to USDA safe minimum internal temperatures (see FoodSafety.gov) and follow a trusted source for thawing and storage. The party, menu and prices in it are examples.