Often, when you buy meat from the store, it comes with guidance on how long the meat needs to be roasted, presumably calculated as a function of its weight. Is there some well known general algorithm for calculating how long to roast various types of meat (e.g. for display on packaging).
Perhaps something like:
roasting time = c * weight of meat
Assuming the algorithm is this simple, is there some reference of ideal oven temperatures and scaling constant c for each type of meat (chicken, beef, pork etc)?
Relatedly, is there a well known set of algorithms for converting between say, fan oven, AGA, and/or gas mark standards for oven temperature?
I'm assuming these facts must be well known in meat supplier's product development departments, due to the labeling I see on meat that I buy. However, having Googled it a fair bit, I can't find these details summarized anywhere.
Best Answer
I don't know the whole algorithm, but I found the formula you'd need to derive it.
First, as you said, you would need a reference for the final internal temperature of the meat. McGee On Food And Cooking is a good source, I don't know of any online accessible ones, although they probably exist.
Second, you have to calculate the time needed to reach that temperature. The system of equations you need is (assuming a simple case - I am sure that adding oil to the pan, or breading the meat, or using a microwave will all change it a lot):
No, I don't know what these variables stand for. The book from which I scanned this uses it as an example why asking for such an algorithm is pointless. I guess you could look it up in the paper cited below the equations, if you are so inclined. I will stick with my thermometer.