Beef Doneness Time Calculator

Work out beef doneness time instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Beef Doneness Time Calculator

Time is minutes per kilogram for the chosen doneness plus a 20 minute base; the joint is pulled about 3 C below target because carryover cooking continues while it rests. Beef doneness is a temperature, not a time, and ignoring the few degrees of carryover is the usual reason a medium-rare joint arrives medium.

Formulas

Roasting time

minutes = weight in kg x minutes per kg for the doneness + 20

Carryover

remove from oven about 3 C below the target internal temperature

Worked example

With the default values below, Beef Doneness Time Calculator returns Roasting time of 86. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Joint weightminimum 0.2 kg: 1.5 kg
Doneness wantedone of Rare (52 C), Medium rare (57 C), Medium (63 C), Well done (71 C): Medium (63 C)

Results

Roasting time: 86 min
Roasting time in hours and minutes: 1h 26m
Target internal temperature: 63 C
Take it out of the oven at: 60 C

Step by step

1Values used
2Roasting time
3Carryover
4Roasting time= 86 min
5Roasting time in hours and minutes= 1h 26m
6Target internal temperature= 63 C
7Take it out of the oven at= 60 C

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to whole numbers, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Beef Doneness Time figure worked out?

minutes = weight in kg x minutes per kg for the doneness + 20. Time is minutes per kilogram for the chosen doneness plus a 20 minute base; the joint is pulled about 3 C below target because carryover cooking continues while it rests.

Why does this matter?

Beef doneness is a temperature, not a time, and ignoring the few degrees of carryover is the usual reason a medium-rare joint arrives medium.

What do I need to enter?

Enter joint weight, doneness wanted. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.