Roast beef cooking times start at about 30 to 40 minutes per kg at 200C for rare, stretching to 50 to 60 minutes per kg for well done.
The real answer depends on the cut, its thickness and your oven, which is why a meat thermometer matters more than the clock.
This guide is for anyone planning a roast, from a Sunday dinner to Christmas lunch.
It covers per-kilo times, internal temperatures in Celsius, worked examples for a 2kg roast, a short method and resting.
Roast Beef Cooking Times per Kg: General Guide
For premium roasting cuts, allow roughly 30 to 40 minutes per kg for rare, 40 to 50 minutes for medium and 50 to 60 minutes for well done in a 200C oven, or 180C fan-forced.
These figures double the per-500g times in Australian Beef's roasting chart, which has no medium rare column, so aim between rare and medium and go by temperature.
| Doneness | Minutes per kg at 200C (180C fan-forced) |
|---|---|
| Rare | 30 to 40 |
| Medium | 40 to 50 |
| Well done | 50 to 60 |
General guide converted from Australian Beef's per-500g chart for boneless premium roasting cuts, including eye fillet, porterhouse striploin (sirloin), scotch fillet (cube roll), rostbiff and rump cap.
The same per-kilo times apply to each of those cuts, but shape changes how quickly the centre comes up to temperature.
- Eye fillet: slim, so it cooks faster than a thick roast of the same weight; the whole eye fillet roast method covers searing and trussing.
- Porterhouse striploin: an even shape, with a fat cap that bastes the meat as it roasts.
- Scotch fillet: well marbled and forgiving, and our scotch fillet range includes whole cube rolls you can cut to size.
- Rostbiff: a lean rump centre, best rare to medium rare.
- Rump cap: flatter than the others, so it can finish sooner; roast it fat side up, as in roast picanha with chimichurri.
Roast Beef Internal Temperatures in Celsius
Roast beef is rare at 55 to 60C, medium rare at 60 to 63C, medium at 65 to 70C and well done at 75C, measured in the thickest part after resting.
| Doneness | Take it out at about | Final temperature after resting |
|---|---|---|
| Rare | 52C | 55 to 60C |
| Medium rare | 57C | 60 to 63C |
| Medium | 62C | 65 to 70C |
| Well done | 71C | 75C |
A roast keeps climbing as it rests, so take it out 3 to 5C below your target. Larger roasts hold more heat, so pull a big roast nearer the 5C mark and a small one nearer 3C.
Australian Beef's chart puts rare at 60C, the top of the range above. For food safety, the Food Safety Information Council recommends cooking whole cuts of beef to at least 63C and resting them for 3 minutes, which is medium rare. Rarer beef is a personal choice that pregnant women, older people, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system are safest avoiding.
Rolled and Stuffed Roasts: Cook to 75C
The Food Safety Information Council advises cooking mince, sausages and rolled or stuffed roasts to 75C, because rolling, stuffing or boning can carry surface bacteria into the centre. If you tie a roast around a stuffing, check the very middle with a thermometer before serving.
How Long to Cook a 2kg Roast Beef: Worked Examples
Using the general guide, a 2kg beef roast takes about 60 to 80 minutes at 200C for rare, 80 to 100 minutes for medium and 100 to 120 minutes for well done.
| Roast weight | Rare | Medium | Well done |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5kg | 45 to 60 min | 60 to 75 min | 75 to 90 min |
| 2kg | 60 to 80 min | 80 to 100 min | 100 to 120 min |
| 2.5kg | 75 to 100 min | 100 to 125 min | 125 to 150 min |
Worked from the same Australian Beef general guide at 200C, or 180C fan-forced.
In a fan-forced oven, set 180C rather than 200C, the conversion Australian Beef uses, and treat the same times as your starting point.
Shape matters as much as weight: a 2kg eye fillet will be ready well before a 2kg block of scotch fillet. If you sear the roast first, start probing earlier too. Whatever the weight, check the thickest part well before the lower time in the table and take the roast out at its pull temperature.
How to Roast Beef in the Oven in Australia: Step by Step
To roast beef in an Australian oven, season it, brown it, roast it at 200C (180C fan-forced) and take it out when the thickest part reads 3 to 5C below your target.
- Take the chill off: sit the roast on the bench for 20 to 30 minutes while the oven heats.
- Season: pat it dry, rub with a little oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Brown: sear it all over in a hot pan for colour and flavour.
- Roast: set it fat side up on a rack or thick onion slices in a roasting tin and cook at 200C, or 180C fan-forced.
- Probe: check the thickest part well before the chart time ends, and remove the roast at your pull temperature.
- Rest: tent it loosely with foil before carving.
For a dressed-up version, the whole roast scotch fillet recipe adds garlic and rosemary to the same basics.
Resting, Carving and Gravy
Rest roast beef for 10 to 30 minutes depending on size, loosely tented with foil, then carve it across the grain.
Resting lets the juices settle so they stay in the meat when you slice. A 1.5kg roast needs around 10 to 15 minutes, while a larger roast can rest for 20 to 30 without going cold. Keep the foil loose, since wrapping it tightly steams the crust.
While the roast rests, put the tin to work. The browned juices left behind are the base of a proper beef gravy, so do not wash it up yet.
To carve, find the direction of the grain and slice across it, thinner for lean cuts and a little thicker for marbled scotch fillet; a roast rostbiff, for example, is best carved very thin.
Chill any leftovers promptly in a covered container; thin slices make excellent sandwiches the next day.
Conclusion
Roast beef cooking times are a starting point: about 30 to 40 minutes per kg at 200C for rare, longer for medium and well done.
A thermometer gets it right, so pull the roast 3 to 5C early and let resting finish the job.
Ready to cook? Our scotch fillet roasts are a reliable place to start.
