Grill Time Calculator

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

About Grill Time Calculator

Grill time scales with thickness at a minutes-per-millimetre rate that rises with doneness, split evenly between the two sides, with a rest of about 40% of the cooking time. Thickness rather than weight governs grilling, because heat has to travel from both faces to the centre regardless of how wide the steak is.

Formulas

Total time

total minutes = thickness in mm x minutes per mm for the doneness x 2

Per side

per side = total / 2

Worked example

With the default values below, Grill Time Calculator returns Time per side of 4.3. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Thicknessaccepts 5–80 mm: 25 mm
Donenessone of Rare, Medium rare, Medium, Well done: Medium
Turn everyminimum 0.5 min: 2 min

Results

Time per side: 4.3 min
Total grilling time: 8.5 min
Number of turns: 3
Resting time: 3.4 min

Step by step

1Values used
2Total time
3Per side
4Time per side= 4.3 min
5Total grilling time= 8.5 min
6Number of turns= 3
7Resting time= 3.4 min

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 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 1 decimal place, 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 Grill Time figure worked out?

total minutes = thickness in mm x minutes per mm for the doneness x 2. Grill time scales with thickness at a minutes-per-millimetre rate that rises with doneness, split evenly between the two sides, with a rest of about 40% of the cooking time.

Why does this matter?

Thickness rather than weight governs grilling, because heat has to travel from both faces to the centre regardless of how wide the steak is.

What do I need to enter?

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