Cooking Temperature for a Beef Pot Roast

Getting your pot roast temperature right gets you a tender, moist and delectable meal. Getting your pot roast temperature wrong could get you a tough, chewy meal, or worse, food poisoning. To help you get it right, a roast beef temperature chart can come in handy while you're cooking.

The USDA has published a roast beef temperature chart you can refer to while you're cooking. The chart also lists the approximate cooking times for various beef roasts.

According to the USDA's chart, beef should not be cooked at a temperature below 325 degrees Fahrenheit. You can cook it at a higher temperature if you wish. Follow these cooking guidelines for other meats:

• ‌Bone-in ribs (4 to 6 pounds):‌ 23 to 25 minutes per pound at 325 degrees F
• ‌Boneless ribs (4 to 6 pounds):‌ 28 to 33 minutes per pound at 325 degrees F
• ‌Round or rump roast (2.5 to 4 pounds):‌ 30 to 35 minutes per pound at 325 degrees F
• ‌Tenderloin roast (4 to 6 pounds‌): 45 to 60 minutes total at 425 degrees F

Once the meat is cooked, the USDA recommends using a food thermometer to check that it's done. Your beef pot roast internal temp should cross 145 degrees to be considered safe for consumption, and the roast should rest for at least three minutes.

The USDA suggests an easy beef pot roast recipe you can follow. The recipe uses allspice, pepper and orange juice to flavor the roast; however, you can swap those ingredients out for any other herbs and spices that you prefer.

You will need:

• 2 1/2 pounds of boneless beef roast
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 1 cube of beef bouillon
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 2 cups of hot water
• 1 tablespoon of orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon of pepper

Here's what you need to do to make the roast:

• ‌Make the gravy:‌ Put the bouillon cube in a bowl with the 2 cups of hot water. Stir it until the cube has dissolved completely, making a beef broth. Add the allspice, pepper and orange juice to the broth and mix well.
• ‌Cook the onions:‌ Put the 2 tablespoons of water into a skillet. Add the chopped onions and let them simmer on medium heat until they are tender.
• ‌Brown the beef roast:‌ Add the beef roast to the skillet. Cook it until it is brown on all sides.
• ‌Cook the roast:‌ You can cook the roast over the stovetop by adding the gravy to it and letting it simmer for two hours. Alternatively, you can cook it in the oven, following the beef pot roast temperatures listed for the type of roast you're cooking.
• ‌Check that it's done:‌ Use a food thermometer to check that your pot roast's internal temperature has crossed 145 degrees. Though you may be tempted to skip this step, it's important you follow it. If your pot roast's internal temperature hasn't crossed 145 degrees, eating it could make you sick.

According to the USDA, a 3-ounce serving of beef pot roast provides 110 calories, 15 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat and 50.4 milligrams of cholesterol.

When you're selecting the beef roast, the Mayo Clinic recommends opting for lean or extra lean cuts of meat because they have lower levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and are therefore better for your weight and your health.

While red meat tends to get a lot of flak, a small study published in the ‌American Journal of Clinical Nutrition‌ in January 2012 found that consuming lean beef can help reduce your cholesterol levels and improve other markers of heart disease, provided that your overall diet is heart healthy and doesn't contain a lot of saturated fat.