Roasting question

[kasar]

OK, all you cooks out there here's one for you: If you have an 8 pound roast that won't fit in your pan and you make it 2 4-pounder roasts does the cooking time change? If so, is it for a 4 pound roast?

Sorry, I just can't get my mind around this. I figured it would take me 4 hours to cook this beast (1/2 hour/lb.) but now it's almost done in 2. All because I cut it in half??

 

[tar heel]

Yes, cooking time will go down by a lot. What you have now are two four-pound roasts. I would expect it to take somewhat longer than a four-pound one, though, b/c you're cooking two at the same time. I would check fairly frequently from now on out. If you're trying to make it less than well done, don't forget that it will continue cooking from the heat it's built up for a few minutes after you remove it from the oven.

 

[ahutton]

Yep - cutting it down reduces the cooking time. Overall cooking time for large pieces of meat centers around how long it takes the heat to penetrate to the center of the meat and bring it to a "safe" temperature, or your desired degree of done-ness.

Also remember that after you remove it from the oven to rest it will continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes, so we remove roasts from the oven about 5 degrees before they are done, then let it sit, covered with aluminum foil, on the stove (no heat). This also helps prevent the juices from running all over the place when you cut into it.