Does Meat Continue to Cook When Taken Out of the Oven?

[Michelemarie]

I was under the assumption that meat cooks around 10 additional degrees once taken out of the oven. I recently left my meat thermometer in my roast and after 25 minutes it only cooked 2 more degrees. I needed my meat to be cooked more so I stuck it in the oven and it rose 6 degrees very quickly - 2 minutes - I took it out and it stayed at that temperature for another 25 minutes - didn't rise at all. I'm confused - should I leave my meat in the oven until I reach the temperature I want or was this just a fluke?

 

[GB]

That sounds like a fluke to me. I have no idea why it would not continue to rise in temp after being removed from the oven. How big of a roast was it? The larger it is, the more the temp should continue to rise. This is called carry over cooking. For small things like chicken breasts you might only get 3-5 degrees of carry over, but for larger things like roasts, whole birds, or anything with a lot more mass then 10-15 degrees or more is usual.

 

[auntdot]

It has always been my conception that the meat will continue to cook after removing from the oven because it is hot, it will not increase in temperature by just lying on the counter. Being outside the oven there is no reason for it to get any hotter.

Why your thermometer went up six degrees in two minutes I have no idea.

But yes, meat will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven.

 

[buckytom]

agreed gb, the bigger the roast, the more it will rise in temp. my experience is 10-20 degrees for a large beef roast, 5 to 10 degrees for smaller pork roasts.

i'm sure factors like the kind of meat, amount of fat, cut, and whether it is bone in or boneless also has factors influencing the amount of carry over.

any one of our experts have good info on this? michael, andy, marm, jenny, allenmi ...???

 

[Michelemarie]

this was a 2.5 lb. beef roast - i used a maverick meat probe thermometer - the remote kind - which i must say, was pretty slick. so -- at what point do you take the meat out of the oven, 10 degrees lower than you want it so it will rise to the temp during rest ... or ... remove it at the temperature you want to it be?

i found it interesting that this thermometer has settings for the different types of beef and the temperature and "taste" - beef - rare-140, med-160, and well done 170 - i was trying to figure out if rare is 140 and it goes to that temp, from what i have read, wouldn't it then rise in temp and become medium? nothing in the documentation about this. anyone have this thermometer?

 

[GB]

You would want to take it out of the over a few degrees short of what you want the final temp to be. For a 2.5lb roast if I wanted it 140 I would probably pull it out around 135.

 

[buckytom]

the thermometers aren't intuitive yet michele, as far as i've seen. (hey, good idea for a foolproof thermometer. you tell it the type and weight of the roast, and the cooking temp, and it calculates the offset. hmmmmmm)
if it says 140 when you pull it out, larger roasts will continue on to medium rare / medium.
i've found that most temp ranges on thermometers are a little to high for my taste. 160 is on it's way to well done, and i don't like pork cooked to 170 as they are oft programmed.

 

[Michelemarie]

okay, the smaller the piece of meat, the less it will increase in temp. yesterday it only increased by 2 degrees. i guess this is something i am going to have to get experienced in - i'll have fun trying!

 

[Michelemarie]

buckytom, you're on to something with the thermometer - when should we start making our millions?

 

[buckytom]

lol michele, we'll split the profits 50/50, ok?

upon thinking about this, i figure (darn, i wish crewsk was back so i could say reckon) that heat is a form of energy, and it enters the roast from the outside in to the center, where the probe tip is located. so, even after removing the roast from the heat source, the heat energy continues to radiate inward towards where the probe tip is located. thus, the internal temp will continue to rise, thereby continuing to cook the meat.

 

[AllenOK]

What happens when you roast a piece of meat, is that the hot temperature causes the proteins to coagulate, contract, stiffen, etc. This acts to squeeze the juices towards the center of the meat, as the hot surfaces are all around. This is where the misconception that searing meat "seals" in the juices comes from.

What happens when you pull meat out of the oven, is that the temperatures even out. The "hot" temperatures on the outer surfaces still move inwards, as well as radiate outwards away from the surface. As this happens, the juices in the meat redistribute throughout the meat, instead of being forced into the center by the coagulation of the protein.

The larger the cut of meat, the more noticable this is. Remember that the tip of your thermometer needs to be in the center of the meat, but not touching bone (if present).

Where I work, when we roast pork loins, we pull them out when they register 150°F, stick a probe thermometer in it, and let it sit for about 15 minutes. You can actually watch the temperature continue to rise as it rests. Once the temp holds steady, then we usually slice it for buffet service.

You are exactly right, that you need experience doing this, not only knowing when to pull the roast out of the oven, but, the intricacies of your oven, any hot spots, does it cook at the indicated temperature, is it convection of conventional, etc. This is why the pro's say "Cooking is an art, Baking is a Science".

 

[Gretchen]

I think you can assume that temps will rise 5-10* and you probably cannot accurately measure it. The real reason for the rest time is to let the juices redistribute back into the meat. Even steaks should rest. If not, your first cut just lets all the juices out and the rest of the meat is drier.

 

[buckytom]

gretchen, welcome to d.c..

are you the famous "gretchen's pulled pork" gretchen from another cooking forum? if so, could you please post your recipe???? tia, i've heard it's great.

 

[auntdot]

What I should have said before is that the temperature of the meat, as a whole, does not increase after you take it out of the oven.

But, as Allen said, it does still migrate from the surface into the center.

So a thermometer in the center will make it look as if the meat is getting warmer.

And the center will continue to cook.

Rarely rely upon thermometers any more. Mrs. Auntdot will tell me that the thermometer says one thing, and I will take a look and decide the opposite.

Usually am correct, but we like things on the rare/raw side, and it is not so difficult to decide when things are not done. The problem is overcooking.

Pork is always a problem and like it on the pink side. Even then usually can tell by the feel of the meat when it is done to the degree we like.

When I use a thermometer I want to make sure it is calibrated, ten or fifteen degrees off can result in a dismal piece of meat, and most of the items we have purchased are not on target.

Prefer my own judgement most of the time.

Just my opinion.

 

[Michael in FtW]

From your description - my first thoughts are that you were cooking a boneless "flat" roast that was about 1-2 inches thick, you removed it from the oven and placed it uncovered on the cutting board (or a serving dish) and waited for the temp to go up. In this case - a modest 2-3 degree F temp increase would be about right. Another factor would be the initial oven temp.

If you care to share some more information on the type of roast (bone in or boneless, thickness and it's shape), the oven temperature, and what you did with it when you removed it from the oven perhaps we can help you figure out the presumed problem.

 

[mish]

I was under the assumption that meat cooks around 10 additional degrees once taken out of the oven.

That was my undertanding as well, Michele. Don't have the answer about the reading on the thermometer, but from memory of a show I caught with Emeril re cooking temp...

He said not to go by the temp called for in the finished roast etc./recipe. Was it the FDA that calls for a higher finished cooking temp? Well, as I recall he said take the roast out of the oven 10 degrees lower, and let it sit, as the temp will rise about 10 degrees - or you will have an over-cooked roast/dish.

The other Michelle

 

[Michelemarie]

Thanks everyone, for all the great information! I have talked to many people who do not use a thermometer and go by look, feel, etc. I wish I was that good! I cannot rely on my instict, at least not yet. I've learned that from all the meat I have ruined in the past - that is why I went and bought a good thermometer. I am hopeful my experiences will get me to the touch-feel-look point.

Michael in FtW - this was a cross rib roast (I know, i should have crocked it - see thread "how do I cook a cross rib roast") - but I decided to try a "recipe" I found calling to roast - it was excellent - i just had questions with the temp deal. It was 2.5 lbs. and was flat but had the shape of a tip roast.