I have starting using the Harold McGee approach. He warns us not to trust the timing in recipes or tables because there are too many unpredictable variables. His recommendation is to choose the oven temperature according to the cut of meat and to cook to your eating preference i.e. rare or any gradation up to well done using a good digital probe thermometer. Meat is well done at 160F / 70C and rare at 125F / 52C. I find the method very challenging because I am used to calculating time based on weight as opposed to adjusting time the temperature depending on the size and cut then cooking to the desired internal temperature. I used the method with good success for my Christmas rack of pork this year. I cooked my roast to an internal temperature of 160F / 65C. It is a little nerve racking; I found myself checking quite a lot near the end. I know with practice, my meat cooking will be a lot better so I figure the learning curve is well worth the time and anxiety.
Figure 20 minutes per pound in a 400 degree oven. There are several things to take into account. Always use an oven thermometer because that is the only way to tell truly what the heat is. Always use a meat thermometer. That is the only way to judge accurately the doneness of your meat. And remember your meat will keep cooking when out of the oven. Take it out a little rarer than you like, and cover for 10 minutes.
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