Roast chicken vs roast beef - cooking tips and tricks

With the chilly winter season upon (at least here in the Bow Valley), my thoughts turn to Sunday dinners and roasted meats. We ate roast beef every Sunday of my childhood and I'm quite fond of a big Sunday night supper. 

While they may take a few hours to cook, making roast beef or roast chicken isn't complicated and there is no need to be afraid! But, I've figured out a few tips that  should hopefully make things even easier for those who want to try a traditional Sunday night supper.  

Roasting rules:

1. Roast beef always takes longer to cook than you might think. The Joy of Cooking (my mom's cooking bible when we were kids) suggests that roast will take 20 mins per pound to cook to medium-rare. This means that a 3 lb roast should cook within an hour. This is simply not true. I've found that roast almost always takes at least 1 1/2 hours to cook to medium rare - even for the small-sized roasts that we get from our farmer. 

2. Chicken always cooks quicker than you expect. Again, the Joy of Cooking recommends 20-25 minutes per pound for birds up to 6 pounds (when cooking at 350 degrees). This means they are suggesting that a 5 lb chicken would take over 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to cook. In reality, it will probably take between 1- 1 1/2 hrs to cook. 

3. Regardless of size, 5-8 lbs chickens and turkeys all seems to cook within 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. They do not need an extra 20 minutes per pound when they are within this size range. It's weird and I don't know why this is but honest, this is how it works.  

4. Using a meat thermometer is the most accurate way to determine if your roast chicken/beef is cooked properly. Start checking for doneness at the lowest end of the cooking time suggestion. Roast beef is medium-rare at 145 degrees and chicken is done when it reads 180 degrees in the breast.

5. Always let your roast chicken/beef rest on the counter for 10-20 minutes after you remove it from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and makes for a more flavourful meal. Plus, this gives you lots of time to make yummy gravy!