[Sca-cooks] Intro and Newbie question - estimating meat portions
Terry Decker
t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Wed Mar 12 06:11:34 PDT 2008
The feasts I prepare take roughly two hours or less, served in three courses
with two brief periods of entertainment (hopefully) while setting up for the
next course. If I planned for a longer feast, I would consider more dishes
of smaller portions served two or three at a time at roughly 20 minute
intervals with continuous entertainment. Interminable, boring waits for the
next course do not enhance the cook's or the group's reputation.
The quantity of meat at a feast is often dictated by the dietary habits of
the people at the board. In my case, I live in a region of carnivores with
a high incidence of heart disease in the general population.
Bear
>I would also add that the portion sizes are dependent on the time frame in
> which the feast will be consumed. If the courses are spread out over
> several hours you might have the 8-12 oz. of protein per person, if it is
> going to be served as a dinner (most food served in 90 minutes) you might
> opt for 6-8 oz per person.
>
> Euriol
>
> On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:58:49 -0500, "Terry Decker"
> <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>> While it may be wasteful, as long as you broke even or made a profit on
> the
>>
>> feast, the leftovers are immaterial. Cutting waste, however, can keep a
>> feast in the black and is a worthy goal of itself.
>>
>> When I plan a feast, I usually plan for 10 to 12 dishes (including bread)
>
>> with a portion size of 3 to 4 ounces. I calculate meat portions at
>> roughly
>> one pound for four people. I will normally serve 3 different meats for a
>
>> total of 12 ounces per person. For fewer meat dishes, I might serve one
>> or
>> two ounces more in the meat portions, particularly if I were limiting the
>
>> number of dishes overall. Portion size of mixed dishes needs to be based
>> on
>> the total weight of the ingredients. You could probably trim my
> estimates
>>
>> by 1/3 and still have a good feast with even fewer leftovers.
>>
>> For tarts and things of that ilk, I usually ignore weight and serve as
>> quarters or eighths.
>>
>> Bear
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