Which meat has the most protein per 100g?
Dried meats such as biltong reach around 50g per 100g. Among fresh meats, rabbit and kangaroo lead at 32–33g, ahead of beef flank and pork tenderloin at about 30g.
Protein In Meat: Beef, Pork, Lamb And Game
Cooked red meat lands between 24g and 33g of protein per 100g. The cut decides the calories: sirloin and ribeye carry the same animal but very different fat.
Meat compared
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🥩 South African Biltong | 50g | 280 |
| 🐇 Rabbit (cooked) | 33g | 212 |
| 🦘 Kangaroo (cooked) | 32g | 208 |
| 🥩 Flank steak (cooked) | 30g | 200 |
| 🍖 Pork tenderloin (cooked) | 30g | 200 |
| 🦌 Venison (cooked) | 30g | 200 |
| 🥩 Beef sirloin (cooked) | 29g | 196 |
| 🍖 Lamb leg (cooked) | 25g | 180 |
| 🥩 Ribeye steak (cooked) | 25g | 320 |
| 🌶️ Chorizo (cured) | 24g | 316 |
Per 100g.
Lean cuts versus fatty cuts
Flank steak and lean ground beef give around 26–30g of protein for under 200 calories per 100g. Ribeye gives 25g for 320 calories, and brisket 28g for 332. The protein barely moves; the calories nearly double.
Cured meats look impressive on paper — prosciutto at 28g, salami at 22g — but they arrive with high fat and high sodium. Treat them as flavour rather than as your protein base.
Portions worth knowing
- One sirloin steak (~220g cooked): about 64g protein.
- One pork chop (~150g cooked): about 40g protein.
- A 40g pouch of biltong: about 20g protein.
- 100g of beef liver: about 27g protein plus very high vitamin A and B12.
Game and lean alternatives
Venison, kangaroo, bison, rabbit and ostrich are all in the 28–33g per 100g range with much less fat than farmed beef. If you want red meat with the calorie profile of chicken, these are it.
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Try the Protein CalculatorCommon questions
Does cooking increase protein?
Not in absolute terms. Cooking removes water, which raises the protein per 100g while the total grams stay roughly the same.
Is red meat necessary for building muscle?
No. It is convenient and rich in iron, zinc and B12, but chicken, fish, dairy, eggs and well-planned plant sources build muscle just as effectively.
Keep reading
Protein in chickenEvery cut compared.Does chorizo have protein?Cured meat, examined.Browse meats33 meats in the database.What is Protein Hunter?
Protein Hunter is a protein and nutrition app with a database of 232 foods — from a leaf of kale to a wagyu steak — plus AI tools that answer protein questions, count a whole meal, build recipes to a macro target, and track what you actually eat.
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Why it's different: the numbers are calculated from a fixed ingredient database rather than guessed, and when a target is not physically achievable the app says so instead of inventing a figure.
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