Pork roast cooking times- need help

[ceile]

I want to make a roast tonight. Plan is to put it in cast iron pot w/ potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. I'm getting two drastic variations on cooking time. The package says 350 for an hour per pound. Online it says 350 for 20 mins per pound. Which one is it? I've never made a roast before.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Bone in or out? Last one I cooked took seven hours and was over the top good

America's test kitchen (PBS) has a segment on cooking a bone in pork shoulder roast (about 9 lbs.) that is just to die for but you need to start prepping it with salt and brown Sugar the day before.

If you are cooking a pork loin roast I would ecpect a lot less time cause it's not as dense.

[ceile]

3. boneout

1.5 lbs, but not a tenderloin- that much I know. Not sure what cut it is...

[NMDemDist2]

8. how thick is it?? edit to add, I am assuming it's Beef

if it's a chuck style roast (1.5 to 2" thick) 20 minutes per pound is probably correct

if it's a thick rolled roast it will take longer

either way, a meat thermometer is your friend, a thin roast just cook to temp, a thick roast pull it out about 10 degrees low and let it rest for 20 minutes to re-absorb the juices and finish cooking

[Lucinda]

2. We cook pork loin very hot and fast around here and pork roasts

in the crock pot. So I don't have any suggestions for you for regular roasting times.

You could try looking up the cut online, or go to someplace like allrecipes.com and look for reviewed pork roast recipes.

[ceile]

4. it doesn't say what the cut is...

it's not a loin that much I can tell.

[HopeHoops]

5. "Cook until done" - that's how most of my elders wrote down their recipes.

[Irishonly]

6. We had a pork roast last week

It was stuffed so I went online to find out We baked at 325 until the inside temp of the roast was 190 and it was wonderful.

[Major Nikon]

7. Dry roasting tender meats should be done to temperature, not time

With tender cuts of meat like this there's a fine line between not being done enough and overcooked. If you're not roasting by temperature, you're almost certainly going to miss it.

For about $15-20 you can get a remote thermometer at Wal-Mart or cooking supply places. The probe goes in to the meat and is connected by wire to a digital readout. You leave the probe in while the roast is cooking. The oven door shuts on the wire which runs back to the readout. It sets off an audible alarm when you get to the target cooking temperature.

Alternatively, you can get an instant read thermometer and check the roast periodically.

[grasswire]

9. pork has changed

There is no danger of trichinosis in pork anymore in the U.S., meaning you can cook it less time. That probably explains the difference in your two recipes.

Do you have a meat thermometer? That would make your task easy. Doesn't have to be an instant read or anything fancy.

I don't think your 1 1/2 pound no-bone roast is going to take very long at all. 350 preheated oven for 30 min then check it. If you don't have a meat thermometer, you could check it at 30 min by cutting a slit in it to see the color of the inside. Should be 160 degrees inside.

[ceile]

10. Thanks!!