Meat Cooking Time and Temperature Calculator

How the calculator works

The calculator holds the roasting chart published on FoodSafety.gov, the federal food safety site, and applies it to your weight. Each cut on the chart has an oven temperature, a weight range and a timing.

For most cuts the timing is a rate, in minutes per pound:

time in minutes = weight in pounds x minutes per pound

The rate is usually a range, so you get a range of times. A 5 pound bone-in beef rib roast at 23 to 25 minutes per pound is 115 to 125 minutes.

For a few cuts the chart gives one total time instead, whatever the weight within the range. Whole beef tenderloin (4 to 6 pounds) is 45 to 60 minutes in total at 425 °F. Pork tenderloin (1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds) is 20 to 27 minutes in total. A whole chicken is 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 3 to 4 pounds. For those the calculator returns the chart’s time without multiplying.

Kilograms are converted to pounds first. One kilogram is 2.2 pounds.

Worked example

You have a 3 1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast.

1. The chart rate for pork loin, 2 to 5 pounds, is 20 minutes per pound at 350 °F.
2. 3.5 x 20 = 70 minutes.
3. Cook to 145 °F inside, then rest for at least 3 minutes.

A 6 pound bone-in leg of lamb at 325 °F: 6 x 20 = 120 minutes, up to 6 x 25 = 150 minutes. That is 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

A 4 pound Boston butt at 350 °F: 4 x 45 = 180 minutes, which is 3 hours.

The time is an estimate. The temperature is the rule.

Two roasts of the same weight do not always cook in the same time. The chart’s own first line is that raw meat and poultry should always be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature, and that you should always use a food thermometer to be sure they have reached it.

So use the time for planning: when to put the roast in, and when to start checking. Use the thermometer for deciding it is done.

Beef

All at 325 °F unless noted, cooked to 145 °F with a 3 minute rest.

• Rib roast, bone-in, 4 to 6 pounds: 23 to 25 minutes per pound.
• Rib roast, boneless, 4 to 6 pounds: 28 to 33 minutes per pound.
• Round or rump roast, 2 1/2 to 4 pounds: 30 to 35 minutes per pound.
• Tenderloin roast, whole, 4 to 6 pounds: 45 to 60 minutes in total, at 425 °F.

The boneless rib roast takes longer per pound than the bone-in one. For a 5 pound roast, that is 140 to 165 minutes against 115 to 125.

Lamb and veal

At 325 °F, cooked to 145 °F with a 3 minute rest.

• Leg of lamb, bone-in, 5 to 7 pounds: 20 to 25 minutes per pound.
• Leg of lamb, bone-in, 7 to 9 pounds: 15 to 20 minutes per pound.
• Leg of lamb, boneless and rolled, 4 to 7 pounds: 25 to 30 minutes per pound.
• Lamb shoulder roast, 3 to 4 pounds: 30 to 35 minutes per pound.
• Veal rib roast, 4 to 5 pounds: 25 to 27 minutes per pound.
• Veal loin, 3 to 4 pounds: 34 to 36 minutes per pound.

The bone-in leg has two rows, and the rate per pound is lower for the heavier leg. The calculator picks the row for your weight. A leg of exactly 7 pounds uses the lighter row.

One note on the heavier leg. The FoodSafety.gov chart prints 10 to 15 minutes per pound for it, while the USDA’s own lamb page gives 15 to 20. The calculator uses the USDA figure, which is the longer time.

Pork

Cooked to 145 °F with a 3 minute rest.

• Loin roast, bone-in or boneless, 2 to 5 pounds: 20 minutes per pound at 350 °F.
• Crown roast, 10 pounds: 12 minutes per pound at 350 °F.
• Tenderloin, 1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds: 20 to 27 minutes in total at 425 to 450 °F.
• Boston butt, 3 to 6 pounds: 45 minutes per pound at 350 °F.

The chart also lists pork ribs, 2 to 4 pounds, at 350 °F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until fork tender.

Poultry

Cooked to 165 °F. The times are for unstuffed birds.

• Chicken, whole, 3 to 4 pounds: 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 350 °F.
• Chicken, whole, 5 to 7 pounds: 2 to 2 1/4 hours at 350 °F.
• Capon, whole, 4 to 8 pounds: 2 to 3 hours at 350 °F.
• Duck, whole, 4 to 6 pounds: 30 to 35 minutes per pound at 350 °F. Do not stuff.
• Young goose, whole, 8 to 12 pounds: 2 1/2 to 3 hours at 325 °F.

For a stuffed bird, the chart says to add 15 to 30 minutes, and the stuffing has to reach 165 °F in the center.

Turkey has its own timetable, by weight and by stuffed or unstuffed. Use the turkey thawing and cooking time calculator for that.

What is not in the calculator

Ground meat, meatloaf and sausage are not on the roasting chart, and they are not cooked to the same temperature as a whole roast. Ham has a separate chart with its own rules for smoked, cooked and fresh hams, and is not included here. For either, go to the source.

The chart also does not give times for rare or well done. It gives the time to reach the safe minimum temperature, and this page keeps to that.

Tips and common mistakes

Weigh the roast, or read the label. A rate per pound is only as good as the pounds you multiply it by.

Check that your weight is inside the range. The rates were set for the weights shown. A 9 pound rib roast is not a 5 pound one cooked for longer.

Check poultry in three places: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast.

Start checking early, at the short end of the time range.

Do not skip the rest. For beef, lamb, pork and veal the 3 minutes is part of the safe cooking instruction, not a serving suggestion.

Match the oven setting to the cut. The rates above only hold at the temperature the chart gives for that cut.