Roasting Temperatures and Times for Meats Chart

This chart lists the optimum oven temperature for various types of meat like beef, pork, ham, lamb, and poultry. The left side of the chart lists the oven temperature and the right side of the chart lists the desired final internal temperature of each meat. The center of the chart lists the recommended range of time in minutes to roast each meat.

A chart listing types of meats and the temperature and length of time to roast them.

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How to Prepare Meat for Roasting

Remove the meat from all of the packaging.
Dry the meat on all surfaces using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Drying the meat is the secret that allows the surface of the meat to brown and caramelize.
If desired season the meat. Most meats are delicious with just a combination of salt and pepper to season them.
Place the meat in a roasting pan, roasting sheet pan, or roasting rack in a roasting pan. Large cuts of meat like standing rib roasts, pork loans, and whole turkeys cook more evenly by being held above the pan on a roasting rack to allow hot air in the oven to circulate around all sides of the meat.
Let the meat come to room temperature before placing it in the oven.
Insert an oven meat thermometer into the meat before roasting. For large cuts place the thermometer in the center of the roast. For small cuts like cut-up chicken or pork chops, an instant-read thermometer can be used at the minimum cooking time to see the current temperature of the meat.

Types of thermometers for roasting meat, clockwise from top: oven thermometer, instant read thermometer, and a meat thermometer.

How to Roast Meat and Poultry

Beef, pork, ham, and poultry, should be roasted at the oven temperature listed in the above chart. Remove the meat when its temperature is 15 degrees less than the internal meat's final temperature. Cover the meat with aluminum foil and let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes for very large roasts, 8 pounds or larger.

During the resting time, the meat will continue to cook, which is called "carry-over" cooking. A good rule of thumb is that the roast will raise in temperature by 1° per minute of resting time.

Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the roast as it rests. The final temperature of the meat at the end of resting will be the recommended temperature for serving.