Two joints of lamb, one oven - timing....

morning glory said:
Didn't understand your last sentence. I'm assuming you meant, 'if they have half the thickness then about half the time)

But I see what you mean. I was assuming both bits of lamb were same size.

Having said that, what is the point in having cooking times per kilo (or pound) which are included in most roast meat recipes, if its going to vary so much between the thickness of the meat....? Now I'm confused!
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Thanks for catching the error.
All I know is that 1/2 inch steak cooks twice as fast as a 1 inch steak.
 
morning glory said:
I think she means if cooked at the same temperature.
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Yes, but its still not that simple. A half inch steak may take half the time to cook as a one inch steak at a given temperature, but the time differential will vary if the same two steaks are cooked at either a higher or lower temperature. Whether the heat source is direct or indirect is also a factor, as is whether the steak has been tenderised or not - a 1" steak that has been bashed down from 1.5" will cook differently from a 1" unbashed steak. How meat reacts to temperature is a complex subject and I am nowhere near beginning to understand most of it!
 
epicuric said:
Yes, but its still not that simple. A half inch steak may take half the time to cook as a one inch steak at a given temperature, but the time differential will vary if the same two steaks are cooked at either a higher or lower temperature. Whether the heat source is direct or indirect is also a factor, as is whether the steak has been tenderised or not - a 1" steak that has been bashed down from 1.5" will cook differently from a 1" unbashed steak. How meat reacts to temperature is a complex subject and I am nowhere near beginning to understand most of it!
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Well, if @ReallyTallTony comes back to read this thread I think he's going to be suitably confused! But I still think that if he cooks 2 x 2kg lamb joints of similar thickness then the timing would be as 1 x 2kg (or as near as damn it). Its always best to use your eyes when roasting anything .... and if he wants to get technical he could use a meat thermometer.
 
morning glory said:
Well, if @ReallyTallTony comes back to read this thread I think he's going to be suitably confused! But I still think that if he cooks 2 x 2kg lamb joints of similar thickness then the timing would be as 1 x 2kg (or as near as damn it). Its always best to use your eyes when roasting anything .... and if he wants to get technical he could use a meat thermometer.
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Agreed! Isn't it strange the number of people who pop in, make one post then disappear again?
 
Well now personally if I had to cook for 14 people (and yes I have cooked for 10 people more than once) I would be making something that I knew exactly how long it took to cook. I would not be experimenting and I would darn sure be checking on it every so often to make sure it wasn't cooking too fast or too slow.

And on cooking anything, length of time depends on many factors.
Have you ever noticed most recipes (or at least the good ones) give an estimate rather than an exact time.

Oh and I would bet if we all put the exact same thing in a 350°F/180C/Gas mark 5 oven, our cooking times would vary by a bit. Since ovens are notorious for being slightly off.
 
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