Roast dinner timing plan: work backwards from 1pm

The rules that make it work

1. Start with the meat. Its cooking time plus resting time fixes everything else.
2. Match the potatoes to the oven. If the meat rests for a long time, roast the potatoes while it rests. If the meat cooks at 180°C (160°C fan), the potatoes can go in alongside it.
3. Veg goes on last. Carrot batons boil in 5 to 7 minutes (BBC Good Food: carrots); sprouts simmer in 3 to 5 (BBC Good Food: sprouts).

There are two potato methods in the plans below. The hot method is BBC Food’s: start in cold salted water and test after about 15 minutes, steam-dry for 10 to 15 minutes, heat the fat at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 10 minutes, then roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning once after 20. The same article suggests resting the joint while you blast the roasties (BBC Food: roast potatoes). The steady method is Tom Kerridge’s, on BBC Good Food: simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until cooked through, dry on a rack, then roast in hot oil at 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) for 40 minutes, turning every 10 to 15 minutes (BBC Good Food: Tom Kerridge’s roast potatoes). That’s the same temperature as the chicken and pork below, which is handy.

Plan 1: roast beef with Yorkshire puddings

BBC Good Food says 1.5kg of beef off the bone serves about 6. For medium-rare, allow 20 minutes per 500g (25 minutes per 500g for medium). Cook at 240°C (220°C fan, gas 9) for 20 minutes, then turn down to 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) for the rest of the time. Take the beef out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking, and rest it for at least an hour afterwards (BBC Good Food: how to cook roast beef). So 1.5kg medium-rare is 60 minutes in total: 20 hot, 40 cooler. That long rest is perfect for the hot potato method. This plan is for a whole joint that hasn’t been rolled; if yours is rolled and tied, see the note below the table.

The Yorkshire timings are BBC Good Food’s: heat the oiled tins at 230°C (fan 210°C, gas 8), then bake undisturbed for 20 to 25 minutes (BBC Good Food: Yorkshire puddings). Undisturbed is the important word, which is why the potatoes come out before the batter goes in.

For doneness, BBC Good Food says a thermometer should read 40°C for rare (rising to 54 to 56°C, medium-rare, as it rests) or 48°C for medium (rising to 65°C). The FSA says whole cuts of meat such as joints, except poultry and pork, can be served pink in the middle, as long as the outside is properly sealed: seared at a high temperature until the outside has changed colour (FSA: cooking your food). The NHS says the same of whole cuts of beef and lamb (NHS).

Rolled joint? Cook it through. The FSA and the NHS both say rolled joints must be cooked all the way through, like mince and sausages, because rolling moves bacteria from the outside into the middle. If your beef has been rolled and tied (check the label or ask your butcher), don’t use the rare or medium-rare times and temperatures above: follow the pack and cook it until it’s steaming hot all the way through with no pink meat, then move the rest of the plan to suit.

Plan 2: roast chicken

With no pack instructions, the FSA says to cook chicken in an oven preheated to 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) for 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes (FSA). For a 1.6kg chicken that’s 92 minutes. BBC Good Food suggests resting a small joint for 20 to 30 minutes (BBC Good Food: roast timer). The rest is too short for the hot potato method, so this plan uses the steady one.

The FSA says chicken must be cooked all the way through: no pink meat, juices running clear, steaming hot, and with a clean probe in the thickest part (avoiding the bone) reaching a combination such as 75°C for 30 seconds or 70°C for 2 minutes. If it isn’t there yet, it goes back in (FSA: cooking your food).

Plan 3: roast pork shoulder

BBC Food’s roast pork shoulder recipe, for a 2 to 2.5kg boned and rolled half shoulder serving 6 to 8, starts at 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7) for 30 minutes, then turns down to 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) for 30 minutes per half kilo, and rests the meat for 15 to 20 minutes (BBC Food: roast pork shoulder). For 2kg that’s 30 minutes plus 2 hours. The recipe suggests taking the crackling off before covering the meat to rest, so it stays crisp.

The FSA says pork, like poultry, needs cooking all the way through: no pink meat, juices running clear and steaming hot throughout. This shoulder is rolled, which is another reason it must be cooked through. BBC Food’s recipe checks that the juices run clear, and says to give it longer if you’re unsure (FSA: cooking your food). If some of the crackling hasn’t crackled, the recipe’s tip is to cut those bits off and put them under a hot grill.

Let your phone do the counting

I made Big Dinner Timer because I wanted a roast’s timings right without a spreadsheet. It works backwards from when you want to eat, reminds you of each job, and has a Running late button that moves everything you haven’t done yet. It includes a pork joint planned for one steady oven setting, but it doesn’t plan the crackling. It’s on the App Store.

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