No More Guessipes
Just Calculate & Cook!

Your calculation

What’s cooking today?

How the calculator works

Cook’s Calculator turns a few simple choices into a cooking time you can plan a meal around. Pick the type of meat, then the cut, and the calculator asks only for the details that change the result for that cut, such as weight, steak thickness, cooking method and how well done you like it. The answer shows the cooking time, the oven or pan temperature, any time to turn the meat, how long to rest it and the internal temperature to aim for.

The calculator covers beef steaks and joints, whole chickens and chicken portions, and pork cuts. Every time and temperature comes from the original Cook’s Calculator tables, so results stay the same as they always were. Where a method needs a validated recipe, such as sous vide or curing, the calculator says so and points you to the Food Standards Agency instead of guessing a time.

Get better results every time

A time is a starting point, not a promise. Ovens run hot or cool, pans differ and meat comes out of the fridge at different temperatures. Take the meat out of the fridge for about thirty minutes before cooking where it is safe to do so, pat the surface dry, and season just before it goes on the heat. Check the thickest part with a thermometer near the end of the cooking time and rest the meat before you carve it, which keeps the juices in the meat and not on the board.

Food safety basics

Always use a clean food thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, away from bone. Chicken and pork must be cooked right through, with no pink meat and clear juices. Wash your hands, boards and knives after handling raw meat, and never wash raw chicken, as splashing spreads bacteria. Leftovers should cool quickly, go in the fridge within two hours and be eaten within two days.