Meat Cooking Time
Free Meat Cooking Time calculator with clear step-by-step results.
About Meat Cooking Time
Roasting time is a per-kilo rate plus a fixed allowance for bringing the joint up to temperature, adjusted for two things people routinely ignore: bone conducts heat differently and slows the overall time slightly, and a joint straight from the fridge needs about ten percent longer than one brought toward room temperature.
Formulas
Roasting time
Minutes = (weight kg x minutes per kg + fixed allowance) x bone factor x fridge factor
Resting time
Rest = 8 minutes per kilo, between 5 and 45 minutes
Worked example
With the default values below, Meat Cooking Time returns Roasting time of 131. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Weight of the cutminimum 0.1 kg
- 2 kg
- Meatone of Whole chicken, Turkey, Duck, Lamb leg, Venison haunch
- Whole chicken
- Bone in
- Yes
- Starting straight from the fridge
- Yes
Results
- Roasting time
- 131 min
- Total time including resting
- 147 min
- Safe internal temperature
- 74 C
- Resting time
- 16 min
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Roasting time
- 3Resting time
- 4Roasting time= 131 min
- 5Total time including resting= 147 min
- 6Safe internal temperature= 74 C
- 7Resting time= 16 min
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 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.
- Food safety guidance: poultry must reach 74 C throughout, measured in the thickest part away from bone. Stuffed birds need longer, and any joint served to vulnerable people should be cooked through rather than pink.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Food safety guidance: poultry must reach 74 C throughout, measured in the thickest part away from bone. Stuffed birds need longer, and any joint served to vulnerable people should be cooked through rather than pink.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is poultry really safe only at 74 C?
That is the standard instantaneous target. Lower temperatures can be safe if held long enough, but 74 C in the thickest part of the thigh is the practical domestic rule.
Why rest the meat?
Resting lets the temperature even out and the muscle fibres relax, so the juices redistribute instead of running out when carved. It also allows for carry-over cooking.