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Yield & kitchen

Butcher's test

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Also called: butcher test · yield test

A butcher's test records how a purchased cut divides into the main cut, usable by-products and waste. Subtract supported by-product credits from the purchase cost, then divide the remaining cost by the main cut's weight. Record whether that weight is raw or cooked. Recalculate when prices change and recheck the yield when the product or preparation changes.

The BC Cook Articulation Committee's Yield Testing chapter explains this allocation method and recommends repeated measurements rather than relying on one piece. Keep the test date, product specification, supplier price and preparation method with your result.

The procedure

  1. Record the purchased food's weight, excluding packaging, and its dated purchase cost. Use one weight unit throughout.
  2. Prepare it to the state your recipe specifies. Record the main cut, each usable by-product and waste separately; investigate any unexplained weight difference.
  3. For by-products you actually use, document an appropriate comparable purchase value and the recipe receiving them. Unsupported or unused credits stay at zero.
  4. Subtract the supported credits from purchase cost and divide by the main cut's measured weight. Carry the allocated by-product costs into the receiving recipes so they are not treated as free.

Net EP cost

(Purchase cost − By-product credits) ÷ Main cut weight

All values refer to the same batch. Credits allocate purchase cost between outputs; they do not reduce the supplier bill.

Worked example · Illustrative raw pork shoulder breakdown, 18.2 lb

AP cost, 18.2 lb at $3.40/lb
$61.88
Main cut: trimmed raw shoulder, before braising
12.1 lb
Usable trim → sausage, credited at $2.80/lb
2.4 lb = $6.72
Bones → stock, credited at $0.90/lb
2.2 lb = $1.98
True waste
1.5 lb
Net cost after credits
$53.18
Cost per trimmed raw lb
$4.40

Synthetic weights, prices and credit values, not a standard yield or supplier quote. Main-cut cost is $53.18 ÷ 12.1 = $4.40 per trimmed raw lb, rounded. The outputs total 18.2 lb. The $53.18 main-cut allocation plus $8.70 of by-product allocations still equals the $61.88 purchase cost. No saving or menu-price recommendation follows from moving cost between recipes.

Recalculate after a supplier price change

Hypothetical price change; weights and $8.70 credits held constant
Input or resultBeforeAfter
Purchased price per lb$3.40$4.00
18.2 lb purchase cost$61.88$72.80
Main-cut cost after credits$53.18$64.10
Cost per trimmed raw lb$4.40$5.30
Cost per 6 oz trimmed raw portion$1.65$1.99

Keep full precision until the final display. In this scenario the meat allocation rises by about $0.34 per raw portion. Before reusing the result, check whether the yield and by-product values still apply. If they changed too, recalculate those inputs as well. The table excludes cooking loss, other ingredients and labor; it is not a restaurant profit result.

Check the yield, then finish the recipe

The free yield and EP cost calculator handles one usable output without by-product credits. Enter $3.40 per purchased lb, 18.2 lb purchased, 12.1 lb usable and a 6 oz raw portion: it returns about 66.5% yield and $1.92 per portion with the entire purchase cost assigned to that output. With those unadjusted inputs it does not calculate the $1.65 allocation above. Keep multi-output allocations in your own record and match each recipe's quantity to the cost's preparation state. The recipe-costing guide shows how to complete the other ingredients and cooking-yield checks.

Run the numbers

Yield & EP cost calculator

Open it free →

The guide that works it through

Recipe Costing, Step by Step: Purchase Unit to Served Portion

Cost a recipe from supplier pack to served portion, with source dates, measured yields, a worked plate and explicit handling of missing ingredient costs.

Related terms

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