Maximum protein absorption?

Is there actually a limit as to how many grams of protein can be absorbed by your body at a time? I've seen conflicting information on various forums and was hoping someone here could set the record straight (I know there are some great researchers on this forum)! One advice-giver said you should only consume 10-20 grams of protein per meal and that just seems extremely low to me. Anyone know of a good study that addresses this? Many thanks!!

I have heard that since I had my surgery.  Nobody really knows.  I get in as much protein as I can. 

When I was fat, I never said that I am not going to finish this Big Mac because I can only absorb 20 grams of protein. 

People who consumed lots of protein seemed stronger, leaner, and more energetic than those who subsist on lots of carbs. I followed their lead, lost all my excess weight, have maintained over eight years, and am never hungry. 

I don't have links now, but this is something I did a lot of research into and could find NOTHING that substantiated the "our bodies can only absorb X amount of protein at a time."  I think it's old, out-dated dietary info.  I aim for 20-30 grams per meal.  (Just because that seems to work out with the portions I can eat.)

Likewise, I haven't seen any real support for this contention. For me, like a lot of diet myths and fads, it doesn't pass the historical/evolutionary "smell test" - how did we evolve to eat? In the good old days, we would hunt down an antelope and gorge on it, then may not have any substantial protein for several days. That doesn't work if we could only absorb 20 or 30 g at a time.

What makes some biological sense is that we might have a decreasing absorption with higher intake (the first 30g are fully absorbed while the next 20 or 30 are 90% absorbed, etc. Additionally, nutrients from supplements may be somewhat more limited than that from real food as it hits all at once and can potentially overwhelm the absorption mechanism, while real food needs to be processed and broken down before the nutrients are available to be absorbed. This is likely why we have the calcium/iron absorption warnings about splitting up our supplements, even though in the real world many of the calcium rich foods we eat also have iron in them.

Like Gwen, I tend to split the protein up as a matter of course, as we tend to do better eating combinations of protein, fat and carbohydrates when possible.

I have searched for any study on this and have never ever found one. Let me give you the answer I got from a nut. 

Let me put it to you this way: If your body can only absorb 10-20 grams of protein per meal, that would mean eating an 8 oz filet mignon would only cost you 125 calories instead of the 400 it holds. Because if your body can't absorb the protein it can't absorb the calories from the protein either and we all know that that's a load of hooey! 

Thank you everyone for your responses! I can't find any reliable sources that support the theory that we only absorb 10-20 grams of protein at one time so I'm going to stick to my average of 20-30 grams per meal.