How to tell if your roast is cooked
Cut in too early and you get a pink panic. Wait too long and you’ve made a very expensive doorstop. Here’s how to know.
Last checked 12 November 2026
Use a thermometer
A digital probe thermometer is the safe, reliable way to check, and it ends the guessing for good. Push the tip into the thickest part of the meat, away from any bone.
- Chicken: thickest part, away from the bone.
- Whole turkey: the thickest part between the breast and the leg.
- Turkey crown: the thickest part of the breast.
- Pork and rolled joints: the centre, which is the thickest part.
The number: 75°C or more. Poultry, pork and rolled joints should reach 75°C at the thickest part, so they’re cooked all the way through.
Give the probe a wash in hot soapy water between checks.
No thermometer? Use all three checks
Pierce the thickest part with a skewer or knife. You want:
- Juices that run clear.
- Meat that’s steaming hot all the way through.
- No pink meat.
All three, not just one. Colour on its own can fool you.
Beef and lamb: pink is allowed
Whole joints of beef and lamb can be served pink in the middle. Any bacteria sit on the outside, and the oven deals with those. Just make sure the outside is properly cooked and has changed colour. Babies and toddlers, pregnant women, older people and anyone unwell should avoid beef and lamb that’s pink.
Rolled joints, sausages, burgers and offal are different, because they need cooking all the way through. That includes pigs in blankets, which are sausages in a bacon coat.
The planner times beef for well done and lamb for medium. If you like yours pinker, start probing early.
Not there yet?
Pop it back in the oven and check again in ten minutes or so. For poultry and pork, make sure it has hit the safe temperature before it comes out. Once it’s there, it’s time for the best bit: resting.