# Meat to Fat Ratio calculator?



## coffee_junkie

Does anybody out there have a spreadsheet or something to help me figure out my meat to fat ratio when making burger or sausage. My math skills suck but I am good at using caclulators. I could probably make one but it is easier just to get one from someone else. Thanks in advance!


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## mballi3011

Well if you had 1pound of meat (16oz) nd you wanted 15% fat to meat thats 2.4 oz of fat to meat. Now I haven't seen a scale or speadsheet on the matters. When I made sausage I use 15 or 20% fat to meat.


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## coffee_junkie

I was just thinking a spreadsheet that if I plug in the amount of venison I have, and the fat ratio I am after, it would give me the amount of fat I need to add to achieve that. I realize it is easy math but I just took out 14lbs of venison from the freezer and couldn't figure out how much fat....I came close and took out 3 lbs of fat, I was close but not on the button.


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## coffee_junkie

I normally make my sausage with 30% pork and 60% venison. And it works out good but it would be nice to calculate the fat content a little better. Maybe I am getting too scientific but that is who I am I guess.


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## beer-b-q

14lbs X 30% = 4.2lbs of fat...


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## beer-b-q

coffee_junkie said:


> *I normally make my sausage with 30% pork and 60% venison.* And it works out good but it would be nice to calculate the fat content a little better. Maybe I am getting too scientific but that is who I am I guess.


Okay, that's 90% what is the other 10%?


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## jirodriguez

If you change the percentage of fat you want to a decimal then you just have to multiply it by the number of pounds of meat you have.

15% = 0.15

0.15 x 14 = 2.1 lbs of fat

20% = 0.20

0.20 x 14 = 2.8 lbs. fat.

Just plug in your percentage as a decimal and multiply and you can do any amount you want.


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## baboy

What you are looking for is called Pearson's Square. Below is a link that allows you to input the values and it calculates what you need for each fat source. You will need to know approximate fat content of your two meat blocks and what your target % fat is.

http://prechel.net/formula/pearson.htm


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## DanMcG

Thanks for the link Baboy


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## worktogthr

Baboy said:


> What you are looking for is called Pearson's Square. Below is a link that allows you to input the values and it calculates what you need for each fat source. You will need to know approximate fat content of your two meat blocks and what your target % fat is.
> 
> http://prechel.net/formula/pearson.htm



Know this is an old thread but thanks so much for this!  I just got into sausage making and I found that I have a lot of fat and trimmings left over from other smoking projects  and I get really
Good prices on pork loin and chicken thighs, and I wanted to use a combo and achieve the right ratios and had no idea how to figure it out.  This is great!  Bookmarked it!


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## mob3245

If i am going to make summer sausage, what is the best king of fat to use with venison? Is there anything already ground up?


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## tallbm

This isn't a spreadsheet bout how about one step below.  
This is a chart for 80/20 meat to fat.  Just use the chart to figure out what you need to do.  
80/20 makes the math simple and this chart is a simple mix and match to figure out the amount of fat for any weight of meat 1 pound or higher :)

*How Much Fat Do I Need - 80% Meat, 20% Fat Chart*

1 pound Meat, 0.25 pound Fat = 1.25 pound Mixed
2 pounds Meat, 0.5 pound Fat = 2.5 pounds mixed
4 pounds Meat, 1 pound Fat = 5 pounds mixed
8 pounds Meat, 2 pounds Fat = 10 pounds mixed
12 pound Meat, 3 pounds Fat = 15 pounds mixed
16 pounds Meat, 4 pounds Fat = 20 pounds mixed
20 pounds Meat, 5 pounds Fat = 25 pounds mixed

Lets use your 14 pounds of venison example.
Choose from the chart the largest meat value that is Equal or as close to equal but NOT going over your amount of meat.  Repeat until all of your meat is accounted for.

So, 12 and 2 from the chart will cover our 14 pounds of venison/meat.

Using the chart values now:

12 meat / 3 fat
+
2 meat / 0.5 fat
=
14 meat / 3.5 fat

You will need 3.5 pounds of Fat to go with 14 pounds of Venison/meat and the result will be 17.5 pounds of mix.
(14 meat + 3.5 fat = 17.5 mixed)


So even if you have an oddball number like 37 pounds of Venison you just use the chart and pick the meat values that add up to 37 pounds of meat:

20 meat  (5 fat)
16 meat (4 fat)
1 meat (0.25 fat)
=
37 meat / 9.25 fat
(46.25 mixed)



I generally go the other route and try and figure out how much Mixed I want.
I then pull out the meat and the fat according to the chart below and then life is easy.
I do understand that with wild game sometimes you end up with an odd ball weight on scraps (6-7 pounds) so you want to use it up.  That is why I have the chart above

Now you can use both charts and be well on your way to figuring out your mixes :)

*Desired Mix 80% meat and 20% fat*


1.25 pound Mixed = 1 pound Meat, 0.25 pound Fat
2.5 pounds mixed = 2 pounds Meat, 0.5 pound Fat
5 pounds mixed = 4 pounds Meat, 1 pound Fat
10 pounds mixed = 8 pounds Meat, 2 pounds Fat
15 pounds mixed = 12 pound Meat, 3 pounds Fat
20 pounds mixed = 16 pounds Meat, 4 pounds Fat
25 pounds mixed = 20 pounds Meat, 5 pounds Fat

And yeah.... it is a slow day at work for me so I have time to put all this stuff together in a post hahaha :D


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## tallbm

mob3245 said:


> If i am going to make summer sausage, what is the best king of fat to use with venison? Is there anything already ground up?


Hi there and welcome!

I go to the one butcher in my area and I buy Trimmed Pork Back Fat.  I think pork fat will make the best sausages with your venison.  I have used it for the 6-7 years or so of sausage making I have been doing and it makes amazing sausage for what you want.

When I want more beefy flavor I use beef fat.  I save brisket fat and use it with venison to make my Ground Venison Pastrami sandwich meat.  The beef fat gives it that beefy flavor to taste like pastrami :)

Mix and match for your need but the pork back fat is awesome and my butcher ALWAYS has it in stock :)


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## Biggy1

tallbm said:


> This isn't a spreadsheet bout how about one step below.
> This is a chart for 80/20 meat to fat.  Just use the chart to figure out what you need to do.
> 80/20 makes the math simple and this chart is a simple mix and match to figure out the amount of fat for any weight of meat 1 pound or higher :)
> 
> *How Much Fat Do I Need - 80% Meat, 20% Fat Chart*
> 
> 1 pound Meat, 0.25 pound Fat = 1.25 pound Mixed
> 2 pounds Meat, 0.5 pound Fat = 2.5 pounds mixed
> 4 pounds Meat, 1 pound Fat = 5 pounds mixed
> 8 pounds Meat, 2 pounds Fat = 10 pounds mixed
> 12 pound Meat, 3 pounds Fat = 15 pounds mixed
> 16 pounds Meat, 4 pounds Fat = 20 pounds mixed
> 20 pounds Meat, 5 pounds Fat = 25 pounds mixed
> 
> Lets use your 14 pounds of venison example.
> Choose from the chart the largest meat value that is Equal or as close to equal but NOT going over your amount of meat.  Repeat until all of your meat is accounted for.
> 
> So, 12 and 2 from the chart will cover our 14 pounds of venison/meat.
> 
> Using the chart values now:
> 
> 12 meat / 3 fat
> +
> 2 meat / 0.5 fat
> =
> 14 meat / 3.5 fat
> 
> You will need 3.5 pounds of Fat to go with 14 pounds of Venison/meat and the result will be 17.5 pounds of mix.
> (14 meat + 3.5 fat = 17.5 mixed)
> 
> 
> So even if you have an oddball number like 37 pounds of Venison you just use the chart and pick the meat values that add up to 37 pounds of meat:
> 
> 20 meat  (5 fat)
> 16 meat (4 fat)
> 1 meat (0.25 fat)
> =
> 37 meat / 9.25 fat
> (46.25 mixed)
> 
> 
> 
> I generally go the other route and try and figure out how much Mixed I want.
> I then pull out the meat and the fat according to the chart below and then life is easy.
> I do understand that with wild game sometimes you end up with an odd ball weight on scraps (6-7 pounds) so you want to use it up.  That is why I have the chart above
> 
> Now you can use both charts and be well on your way to figuring out your mixes :)
> 
> *Desired Mix 80% meat and 20% fat*
> 
> 
> 1.25 pound Mixed = 1 pound Meat, 0.25 pound Fat
> 2.5 pounds mixed = 2 pounds Meat, 0.5 pound Fat
> 5 pounds mixed = 4 pounds Meat, 1 pound Fat
> 10 pounds mixed = 8 pounds Meat, 2 pounds Fat
> 15 pounds mixed = 12 pound Meat, 3 pounds Fat
> 20 pounds mixed = 16 pounds Meat, 4 pounds Fat
> 25 pounds mixed = 20 pounds Meat, 5 pounds Fat
> 
> And yeah.... it is a slow day at work for me so I have time to put all this stuff together in a post hahaha :D


​


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## Biggy1

79% meat and 30% fat equals what for 5 lbs ?


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## DanMcG

that's a 109%
70% =3.5 lbs.
30% =1.5 lbs.


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## tallbm

Like 

 DanMcG
 mentions, your numbers make 109% and there is no such thing as 109% sausage.  I'm guessing you meant 70% meat, 30% fat and the 79% was a typo.

In that case

70% meat in 5 pounds of sausage = 0.70 x 5 = 3.5 pounds meat
30% fat in 5 pounds of sausage = 0.30 x 5 = 1.5 pounds of fat

sooooooo,

5 pounds sausage at 70/30 = 3.5 pounds meat + 1.5 pounds of fat.

Just like dan mentioned :)


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## Biggy1

Sorry I meant 70%-30% but I thank you for responding.


danmcg said:


> that's a 109%
> 70% =3.5 lbs.
> 30% =1.5 lbs.





tallbm said:


> Like
> 
> DanMcG
> mentions, your numbers make 109% and there is no such thing as 109% sausage.  I'm guessing you meant 70% meat, 30% fat and the 79% was a typo.
> 
> In that case
> 
> 70% meat in 5 pounds of sausage = 0.70 x 5 = 3.5 pounds meat
> 30% fat in 5 pounds of sausage = 0.30 x 5 = 1.5 pounds of fat
> 
> sooooooo,
> 
> 5 pounds sausage at 70/30 = 3.5 pounds meat + 1.5 pounds of fat.
> 
> Just like dan mentioned :)


I meant 70/30 .


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## DanMcG

Biggy1 said:


> Sorry I meant 70%-30%



LOL, yeah I figured it was a fat finger typo. Tallbm gave a good explanation on how to figure it out. have fun!


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## whrdallas

After some serious internet searching and working my excel skills, I created the following. Feel free to use. This will calculate what you need on the fly. Enjoy.


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