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Butcher yield and cost per portion
The price per kilo you pay is not the price per kilo you serve. Divide it by the steak yield of the cut (ribeye 81 %, tenderloin 57 %, measured) to get the real cost of every plate.
My own yield test
Estimates to plan with, not a guarantee: every piece, butcher and grill is different. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Put this calculator on your website
Free for blogs, butchers and restaurants: paste this code into your page. It updates itself, works on phones and keeps the link to Steakpedia.
The numbers at a glance
| Cut | Steak yield | Real cost of 1 kg of steak | To order for 100 × 250 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ribeye (boneless) | 81 % | 1.23 | 30.9 kg |
| Ribeye, bone-in (tomahawk) | 71.1 % | 1.41 | 35.2 kg |
| Striploin | 77.2 % | 1.30 | 32.4 kg |
| Tenderloin | 57 % | 1.75 | 43.9 kg |
| Picanha | 57.7 % | 1.73 | 43.3 kg |
| Flank steak | 66 % | 1.52 | 37.9 kg |
| Skirt steak | 65 % | 1.54 | 38.5 kg |
| T-bone | 77.4 % | 1.29 | 32.3 kg |
Questions
What is a butcher's yield test?
Weigh the piece as received, cut it, and weigh the steaks, the usable trim and the fat separately. Steaks ÷ weight received is the steak yield; it turns the price you pay into the price you serve.
How do I calculate cost per portion?
Price per kg ÷ steak yield × portion weight. A ribeye at 30 per kg with an 81 % yield costs 37.04 per kg of steak, so a 250 g portion costs 9.26.
What food cost should a steak have?
Many restaurants aim for 28–35 % on the meat alone. Type your target and the calculator gives the menu price.
Where the numbers come from
- Field data: 279 butchery sheets weighed piece by piece by the Steakpedia Field Kitchen, up to 17 Oct 2026. Download them at Field data (CC BY 4.0).
- Cuts marked “published, not measured”: there is no reliable published figure for what a whole piece gives once trimmed, so they show ready-cut amounts and the USDA cooked yield only. They get the full calculation as soon as the field kitchen measures them.