The Effects of Heat on Meat Proteins, Color, and Texture Cooks can also avoid zooming through the zone of ideal doneness by removing the meat from the oven or pan before it’s completely done, and relying on lingering afterheat to finish the cooking more gradually, until the surface cools enough to draw the heat back out of the meat interior The extent of afterheating depends on the meat’s weight, shape, and center temperature, and the cooking temperature, and can range from a negligible few degrees in a thin cut to 20ºF/10ºC in a large roast Knowing When to Stop Cooking The key to cooking meat properly is knowing when to stop Cookbooks are full of formulas for obtaining a given doneness — so many minutes per pound or per inch thickness — but these are at best rough approximations There are a number of unpredictable and significant factors that they just can’t take into account Cooking time is affected by the meat’s starting temperature, the true temperatures of frying pans and ovens, and the number of times the meat is flipped or the oven door opened The meat’s fat content matters, because fat is less conductive than the muscle fibers: fatty cuts cook more slowly than lean ones Bones make a difference too The ceramic-like minerals in bone give it double the heat conductivity of meat, but its frequently honeycombed, hollow structure generally slows its transfer of heat and turns bone into an insulator This is why meat is often said to be “tender at the bone,” more ... temperatures of frying pans and ovens, and the number of times the meat is flipped or the oven door opened The meat’s fat content matters, because fat is less conductive than the muscle fibers: fatty cuts cook more slowly... approximations There are a number of unpredictable and significant factors that they just can’t take into account Cooking time is affected by the meat’s starting temperature, the true temperatures of. .. the muscle fibers: fatty cuts cook more slowly than lean ones Bones make a difference too The ceramic-like minerals in bone give it double the heat conductivity of meat, but its frequently honeycombed, hollow structure