BBQ Timing Calculator
Calculate BBQ cooking times for multiple meats including beef, chicken, pork, ribs, and fish.
Get accurate grill times based on weight and doneness preference.
Accurate BBQ timing is the difference between a perfectly cooked meal and a dry, overcooked disaster. Every cut of meat behaves differently on the grill, and weight, thickness, temperature, and desired doneness all affect how long you need to cook.
How BBQ Timing Works
Most BBQ timing is based on a combination of:
- The size of one piece — minutes per kilo for a roast, a fairly fixed time band for chops and fillets
- Internal temperature — the only reliable way to confirm doneness
- Resting time — letting meat rest after cooking allows juices to redistribute
Always use a meat thermometer. Times are estimates only, since actual cooking time varies with grill temperature, wind, altitude, and the meat’s starting temperature (room temp vs. refrigerator cold).
Why eight chicken thighs do not take eight times as long
This is the mistake almost every timing chart makes. Grill time is set by how long heat needs to travel to the center of one piece, so eight thighs laid out side by side finish together at roughly the same time as one. Doubling the count changes nothing. Doubling the thickness changes everything.
So enter the total weight going on the grill and how many pieces it is split into. The calculator divides one by the other and times a single piece. The exception is a solid roast: a 6 kg brisket really does take about twice as long as a 3 kg one, because there is no way to slice the heat path shorter.
A worked example. Four chicken breasts, 800 g in total, so 200 g each. A 200 g breast over medium heat runs about 14 minutes to 74°C, and the calculator returns 14 minutes rather than 56. Rest them 5 minutes. Swap to a 1.8 kg whole chicken and it moves to the roast model instead, near 100 minutes at 175°C.
USDA Safe Internal Temperatures
| Meat | Safe Temp (°C) | Safe Temp (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken (whole/pieces) | 74°C | 165°F |
| Ground beef/pork | 71°C | 160°F |
| Beef, lamb, pork whole cuts | 63°C | 145°F, then rest 3 min |
| Baby back ribs | 88–93°C | 190–200°F |
| Fish/seafood | 63°C | 145°F |
Ribs are the odd one out. That 190–200°F is not a safety number, it is where the collagen has finally turned to gelatin and the meat pulls off the bone.
Steak and lamb doneness ladder
| Doneness | Pull off the grill at | Settles at after resting |
|---|---|---|
| Rare | 49°C / 120°F | 52°C / 125°F |
| Medium rare | 54°C / 130°F | 57°C / 135°F |
| Medium | 60°C / 140°F | 63°C / 145°F |
| Medium well | 65°C / 150°F | 68°C / 155°F |
| Well done | 68°C / 155°F | 71°C / 160°F |
Well done beef finishes at 160°F, not 165°F. The 165°F figure belongs to poultry, and plenty of charts blur the two.
Resting Times
- Small cuts (steaks, chops, chicken pieces): 5 minutes
- Medium roasts: 10–15 minutes
- Large roasts, whole birds: 20–30 minutes
Grilling Temperatures
- High, direct (230°C / 450°F): steaks, lamb chops
- Medium high (200°C / 400°F): fish fillets
- Medium (175°C / 350°F): chicken pieces, pork chops, and whole birds over indirect heat
- Low and slow (110°C / 225°F): ribs, brisket, pulled pork
Pro Tip
Pull meat off the grill 3–5°C (5–10°F) before your target temperature. Carryover cooking will finish the job during resting.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
SuperGlobalCalculator is independently built and maintained. See how we build and verify our calculators.