Why Does Meat Shrink During Cooking?

Everyone who has ever operated a stove knows that cooking meat makes it shrink — but the question is why? Heat is what jumpstarts this reaction. Raw meat contains roughly 50% to 70% water, depending on the livestock. It loses some of that moisture when it meets hot cookware, and you end up with a piece of meat that's smaller than when it was raw. The temperature also creates an environment where the meat proteins dwindle in size, plus fat renders out and the texture becomes firmer. To put it simply, meat loses moisture and fat when cooked, contributing to its natural shrinkage.

The percentage of how much meat shrinks can vary depending on different factors, including the cut, cooking process, and temperature. Steaks can shrink by 15% to 25% when cooked, lamb and pork is roughly the same, and poultry generally loses an average of 15% to 20%. The differences can be due to fat content and moisture levels. Turn the heat too high, and you can expect greater shrinkage. Meanwhile, cooking methods that let less water content dwindle, such as braising, can help lessen the size reduction. Along with other techniques, this can be handy if you want to maintain as much of the original size of the meat as possible.

Avoiding meat shrinkage when cooking is impossible, but this isn't to say you can't minimize the issue. The way you prepare the meat before cooking comes into play. Patting it dry can help; it minimizes the time the meat's surface needs to caramelize, and the less cooking time there is, the less potential moisture loss. Another culprit behind meat shrinking is cooking it cold, which makes it take more time for the heat to penetrate the interior while the exterior continues to cook — all while losing juices. Working with meat that's already warm (but still under safe conditions) can help alleviate the issue.

Also, avoid certain cooking methods, including boiling or anything that requires cooking over high heat. Grilling, especially if you turn the heat up too high, risks burning the meat while yielding a smaller outcome. Since overcooking is one issue to really look out for, considering it's one of the common reasons meat shrinks, don't forget about carryover cooking to really grill like a master. While cooking low and slow can test anyone's patience, it has its advantages. Once you serve meat that retains its original size as much as possible, you might just find out it was all worth it.