Getting that joint of Beef or Lamb cooked perfectly requires some experience, so in this section I am going to give you the perfect cooking times for various joint and cuts of Meat.
Cooking Meat
If you are cooking on a BBQ or trying to impress your dinner guests, it is important that you get your cooking times right
Some people like their steak Rare, others like it Well-Done. Getting this right can be tricky.
When cooking a joint of Beef it is important to let the meat rest at room temperature for at least an hour before cooking.
How do you want it cookedThere are a few choices here, you can go with Medium-Rare, Medium, Medium-well or Well Done.
By far the best way to get your joint cooked perfectly is to use a meat cooking probe, these can be expensive but worth the cost if you cook a lot.
Med-Rare 54.4 C to 57.2 C
Cooking Lamb correctly can be tricky, I seal the leg in a griddle pan before putting it in the oven. Lamb can also be cooked from Medium-Rare to Well Done, I like mine medium but if you like yours cooked for longer here are the timings.
How do you want it cooked These times are based on weight and the Leg of Lamb, Half Leg or Full Leg. Using a Meat Cooking ProbeThese times are calculated on a 500 g joint of meat.
Medium : Cook the Leg @150 C for 25 minutes per 500g plus 25 minutes
Cooking Pork is a bit like cooking Chicken or Turkey as it is a white meat it has to be fully cooked and can't be Medium-Rare or even Medium, it has to be cooked.
This makes the cooking times a bit easier as there is only one rule.
If you like pork crackling
Calculate the cooking times based on 500 g of Pork.
Season the pork with salt before putting it in the oven.
Cook the Pork for 20 minutes @220 C then reduce the temperature to 180 C.
Continue cooking the joint for 35 minutes per 500g
Remove the joint from the oven and cut the string from the bottom, as you remove the string the rind (Crackling) should come off with it. If not then slice it from the joint before wrapping it it Foil.
Leave the meat to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
No matter what cut of Steak you are cooking, A Fillet Steak, A Sirloin Steak, T-bone or Rump, these rules apply to all.
It is difficult to put a time on cooking a steak as it depends on your Grill Temperature and your interpritation of cooked.
You can have a steak cooked to different degrees. From Blue to Well Done. The trick is knowing when it is cooked to your requierments. Experience has a lot to do with this but there are a few old Chef's tricks that I can share with you.
It is an old Chefs trick and it is as old as the hills, But you can tell how a cut of Steak is cooked by pushing the meat with your finger and checking the way it feels against your own hand.
When doing this your hand should be as relaxed as possible. Don't use any pressure to press your finger and thumb together, just touch them together to get the right texture.
Rare
Medium Rare
Medium/Well
Well Done
The first thing to realise with poultry is that is has to be fully cooked, unlike Beef and Lamb that can be anything from Rere to Well-Done, Chicken CAN NOT BE PINK.
As a rule I try to aim for a core temperature of 75c or 167F, although anything above 63c will be cooked.
These cooking times were used in a small Air-Fryer oven, but the times will translate for any oven at the same temperature.
Whole Chicken (large) 4lb / 1.8kg350F / 180C 65 minutes
350F / 180C 55 minutes
When cooking a chicken breast we are assuming that you are cooking it in an oven, wrapped in foil, as this is the best way to keep it moist.
You can Char-grill the Chicken Breast if you like but the rule is that it must reach a temperature of over 63c, preferably 75c.
In an Oven or Air-Fryer
170g Breast / 185c / 15 minutes