Recommended cooking times

I agree, I rarely cook a half leg of lamb and even with me shortening the time I still ended up with a slightly overdone piece of lamb. A lesson learned.

I bought some tortellini and the instruction were cook in boiling water for no more than 2 mins. They were not even warm in the middle. 4 mins with a lid on is about right

I use a probe thermometer now for all my meat as the cooking times are always too long. The thermometer wasn't expensive and I've probably saved more in power bills since I bought it.

Could it be that everyone cooks meat much less than we did in the past.

Personally I cannot bear meat that is not thoroughly cooked, not even a hint of pink, and I find most cooking times work well for me. I have not had a problem with dried out meat.

M0nica

Could it be that everyone cooks meat much less than we did in the past.

Personally I cannot bear meat that is not thoroughly cooked, not even a hint of pink, and I find most cooking times work well for me. I have not had a problem with dried out meat.

@#££%&--:+

But everyone so far is saying the opposite!

On the other hand, I find that baking times are always far too short and I need to leave cakes in much longer than the recipe recommends. And I have checked the temperature with an oven thermometer.

I am pretty slapdash, just bung stuff in the oven and hope for the best, just look at it now and again to check whether it looks cooked. But I always prefer meat overcooked to undercooked.

I do not often roast a joint, although yesterday we had a sausage meat stuffed venison joint from Lidl that said: put in the oven 200C for 1.5 hours, so I did - and it was fine.

Yes. The chicken I cooked today was 1.935 kg, package said roast at 200° for 20 mins then 160° for a further 1hr 25mins.
I cooked it at 180° for 1 hrs 10 mins and it was just right.
I never follow package instructions.

What was the weight?

The simplest recommended time for a chicken from room temperature is about 20 minutes per 500 grams plus about 20 minutes at 180C.

I usually start it at 200C for ten minutes then turn it down.

Yes, I have a meat thermometer too, very useful, Salti

I meant to add that I have an instant read meat thermometer which I use when roasting meat and fowl.

We had duck breasts yesterday, they are supposed to be served pink according to Masterchef but I cooked them right through!

UTTB do you open roast?

I have a stainless steel roasting pan with a lid, bought in M&S many years ago. The chicken stays moist.

Yes I do open roast.
I do not normally do roasts in a covered pan.
If I am being totally truthful I don’t do many roast dinners any more as I cook mainly for myself but Sainsbury’s had the chicken reduced so I cooked for my family who mostly cook for themselves.
Since my H died I have a rather complicated household !!!

This roasting pan browns it too somehow. It's self-basting.
It's similar to this, but M&S don't seem to do it any more.

Other outlets available!
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I agree that the cooking times for meat are often far too long, I often start at a high temperature and then immediately reduce it to below what is reommended. I also use a meat probe for roasts now, or an instant read thermometer for smaller pieces of meat.
I find the cooking times for pasta are often too short - I don't like pasta soggy, but I do like it to be cooked through. Like JackyB I find that baking does often take longer than suggested.

Allira I've got a black enamel pan like that. I use it to do most of my roasts, and just take the lid off for the last 20 minutes to crisp and brown the meat on the outside. Works perfectly.

I also find that, with beef and lamb, a couple of tablespoons of water or stock in the bottom below the rack keep the meat moist and give a good base for gravy.

I don’t cook meat, but my 2 foodie sons do, and they use a meat thermometer and don’t time it. The same as professional chefs.

I have just got a new oven, a fan oven like my last one, but cooking times seem to be much faster, so I wonder if our ovens temps are not always accurate.
Where possible I use my air fryer now as it is quicker and more economical. I wouldn’t risk a joint of meat in it though.

I'll try that AskAlice

I don't tend to use the rack except for something like duck so the fat drains off. Perhaps I should.

I think it is largely a matter of knowing your oven, rather than relying on thecooking instructions on a label when you buy meat.

I always have to roast meat for slightly longer than the time stated and when baking cakes sometimes have to give them longer than the time the stated in the recipe.

I agree that the times stated on pasta packets are usually far too short.

I never read labels, I just go by dear old Margerite Patten - remember her? My guess is the cooking times are overstated so no-one can sue for food poisoning

My aunt loved Margerite Patten and bought me one of those large format paperback books when I got married, her basic times and and recipes all worked. But today with fan ovens I think many cooking times are shorter and can be cooler.
I do agree about overstating cooking times to avoid being sued for food poisoning. In particular some microwave ready meals sometimes have times that are longer than necessary, though they obviously have to be what the pack terms as "piping hot". Many of them are pre-cooked and all you are really doing is heating them up.

Allira

We had duck breasts yesterday, they are supposed to be served pink according to Masterchef but I cooked them right through!

Exactly waht i would do, and will do when I cook the duck's breastss currently in my freezer.

We always cook our joints and chicken low and slow. Always lovely and moist.

Do you all always rest the meat after roasting? (Wrapped in tinfoil) I only learned a couple of years ago that you were supposed to do this. It continues cooking a little while resting, and is easier to carve, too.Perhaps if you only cooked the meat for 3/4 of the given time, but left it to rest for the remaining time, it would turn out just right.* So why doesn't it say that in the instructions?

* Although we have learnt here that not everyone has the same idea of what is "just right"