Meat Cooking Times
As with anything else, meat cooking times will vary depending upon the type of cut and the weight of the overall piece.
As a general rule of thumb, you should never assume that meat cooking times apply to all types of meat. This means that while a five pound turkey may have to cook for a few hours, a ten pound turkey will have to cook much longer. Still, there are some basic meat cooking times that can be followed ninety-nine percent of the time. Below, you will find a basic chart relating to most major types of meat.
When it comes to roasting, the following times are fairly accurate, though you should always check your roast with a thermometer before eating it. Beef: 20 minutes per pound; lamb: 20 minutes per pound; mutton: 25 minutes per pound; pork 30 minutes per pound; veal: 30 minutes per pound. If you intend to broil, the following are true: unsalted: 30 minutes per pound; salted: 25 minutes per pound. Since these cooking methods are used most often, they are the ones that should be adhered to. However, frying or grilling is an entirely different thing altogether.
Most home chefs tend to overcook steak, but this can be avoided by sticking to the following rules. Well done: 8 minutes per side; medium: six minutes per side; rare: four minutes per side. Another thing to remember is to cook all pork products thoroughly, and this means eight to ten minutes per side when grilling. Clearly, meat cooking times vary according to the task at hand. If you want to be sure that you cook all cuts right the first time, take a few moments to write down the aforementioned information, stick the list to your fridge, and keep it handy while you are cooking.
Once you get used to the various methods of cooking each cut of meat, you will not have to refer to the chart anymore, though it is a good tool when you are first beginning to cook. Of course, you can always buy a thermometer that tells you when something is finished cooking, but what’s the fun in that?
Meat cooking times are not too tricky to figure out, just keep in mind the type of cooking that you plan to do, and you are sure to prepare every meal right all of the time.