Meat Temperature Guide

When are steaks, chops, chicken, and other foods done?

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I want my meats tender, juicy, and flavorful, and I also want them safe. The temperature of the meat controls these things. You cannot tell by looking and feeling. You need a good instant-read meat thermometer and a good oven thermometer. Nothing will save you from apologizing to your guests and keep you from wasting money as well as good thermometers. Click here for my Buying Guide to Thermometers.

Here's what the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says: "The color of cooked meat and poultry is not always a sure sign of its degree of doneness. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that a meat has reached a safe temperature. Turkey, fresh pork, ground beef or veal can remain pink even after cooking to temperatures of 160°F and higher. The meat of smoked turkey is always pink." In addition, smoked meats are often pink due to a chemical reaction with the smoke, rare hamburgers can be brown, and chicken cooked well above the safe temp can still have bloody splotches.

Important disclaimer. I am a cook, not a food safety expert. The temperatures recommended below are similar to the temps restaurant chefs use and they may be slightly different from those recommended in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. To be absolutely perfectly safe from a microbial standpoint, you should follow USDA guidelines exactly. I cannot be responsible for your health or safety if you do not follow USDA guidelines. You also need to know that the temps are not exact. Some cuts may go medium at a lower temp than others, and certainly the dividing line between rare and medium rare (etc.) is not hard and fast.

Chefs vs. USDA. The USDA has published a guide for proper cooking temperatures for decades. The USDA charts are designed to make sure there is no chance of any pathogens surviving. But many chefs feel the recommended temps for some cuts of pork, beef, and fish are too high. On the other hand, the USDA recommendations for chicken, turkey, eggs, and ground meats are nothing to be trifled with. The risks are too high. Why? Read on.

* Veal colors will be similar to pork colors.

** These cuts are safe at much lower temperatures, but because they are high in connective tissue and fat, they taste and feel best if cooked to about 190°F at very low temperatures such as 225°F. This is the secret to great barbecue and is discussed in detail on AmazingRibs.com.

About this guide

Note that these colors above may not be accurate if your computer monitor is not properly calibrated.

Beware of the bone When you take the temperature of meat, place the tip of the thermometer as close to the center of the meat as possible and keep it away from the bone. If necessary, take readings in multiple locations. Here's why: Muscle and bone are very different composition. Muscle is mostly water. Bone has a hard, dense, outer shell, and the center, can be gelatinous or even mostly air. When you begin to cook meat with bone, the muscle and bone heat at different rates. At first the bone does not heat up as rapidly as the meat, but then, when the bone gets hot, it can get hotter than the muscle. So if you take the temp close to the bone or touching the bone at the beginning of a cook, the temp might be lower than the center of the muscle mass because the bone is acting like an insulator. Then, as the bone hears up, the marrow can generate steam which is hotter than dry air, and the bone can get very hot. If you take the temp near or touching the bone when the bone heats up, the reading might be higher. All this can vary depending on how wet the marrow is as well as the size, shape, and location of the bone. Insert the thermometer probe near the center of the muscle mass, and go past the center. Then pull the probe out slowly reading the temp as you go. The lowest reading is the one that counts.

It's not blood! Some folks are turned off by the red juice that is commonly called "blood". It is not blood and people we should stop calling it blood. It is myoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from the blood to the meat fibers.

In Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry by David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox, 4th Edition, 2005, it says "Myoglobin is a relatively small oxygen-binding protein of muscle cells [emphasis mine]. It functions both to store oxygen and to facilitate oxygen diffusion in rapidly contracting muscle tissue." They go on to explain that myoglobin contains the heme portion of iron that gives muscle its red color, just as it gives hemoglobin in blood its red color. Apparently the only time myoglobin is found in the bloodstream is after a muscle injury.

Just call it "juice".

The longer you cook it the tougher it gets. According to scientists, at about 140°F red meat begins to turn pink as the myoglobin begins to change from red to pink. As the temperature rises above 140°F myoglobin starts to go from pink to clear, and the meat begins to turn tan. At that temp the meat starts to toughen as the proteins denature. I know a lot of folks like their meat well done, but it's a scientific, machine-measurable fact, that well done meat is tougher and drier than rare or medium rare meat. So if you order meat medium or well done, don't complain if it is not juicy and if it is tough. Click here for more on meat science.

Cooking time and weight and other factors. Many cookbooks tell you to cook some cuts for X minutes per pound. You've got to be careful with these rules of thumb because they are for "typical" cuts. Thickness is the really crucial factor, not the weight. Other factors that can influence cooking time are the temperature of the meat before you start cooking, the type of cooker, the amount of bone, how many times you open the cooker, the humidity in the cooker, how much other food is in the cooker, and how much of a fat cover there is since fat cooks at a different rate. There is no substitute for a good thermometer.

Resting meat. When my trusty thermometer says the meat is ready, I take it away from the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Resting is important because meat is mostly water, and heat makes the water expand and generate pressure within the cells. Some of the liquid is driven to the surface. When meat is removed from the heat the pressure drops a bit and the juices reabsorb into the muscle. When you cut into the meat, less juice is spilled and more juice makes into your mouth. For properly cooked, tender, and moist food, remove the meat from the heat when it reaches the temp in the chart in the thickest part and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roasts and carryover. Take large thick roasts of beef, lamb, veal, or pork loin out of the heat at 5°F less than the desired temp and they will rise about 5°F in the 10 minutes of resting. This is called carryover. Actual carryover can vary depending on the shape of the meat. Thin steaks will not rise much in temp. Carryover also has to do with the cooking temp. If you are cooking hot, carryover can be up to 10°F. If you are cooking low, it might not go up the full 5°F. But 5°F is a good rule of thumb for most roasts.

Beef, lamb, and duck breasts. I like my red meat steaks and roasts rare to medium rare. The meat is no longer purple, but bright red, and it is tenderest and juiciest at this temp. Some folks like their steaks "black and blue" or "Pittsburgh" which means a dark, almost burnt crust and a rare, almost cool center. You need a really hot grill or broiler to accomplish this. I can often tell when beef steaks are rare without a thermometer. When the juices begin to break through the upper crust as in the photo to the right, it's usually rare. But this method is not foolproof. A lot of chefs can tell by poking the meat with a finger since it gets more firm the more it cooks. You have to be very experienced to rely on touch. Forgive the broken record, but a good thermometer is the best way to tell when meat is ready.

Pork steaks, chops, and roasts. USDA says you should cook pork to 160°F but that's a recipe for cottonmouth. Once upon a time it was easy to get the parasite trichinosis (trick-a-NO-sis) from undercooked pork. Today trichinosis has been all but eradicated in developed countries. Trichinosis is caused by eating raw or undercooked pork and some wild game infected with the larvae of a species of the parasitic worm, trichinella. The annual average is now fewer than 40 cases per year in the US, most associated with eating undercooked wild game such as bear. Trichinosis from pork was about five cases per year in 2006, mostly from eating uninspected home grown hogs. The number of cases in pork has decreased because of improved farming and processing methods as well as public awareness of the importance of proper cooking. Trichinosis is killed at 138F, so I like to remove chops from the heat at 140°F and roasts 135°F (carryover takes them to 140°F). At 140°F there will be a hint of pink, and the meat will be moist and juicy.

Pork ribs, pork shoulders, and beef brisket. We deliberately cook pork ribs and shoulders for pulled pork up to 180-190°F, well past well done, in order to melt the collagens, connective tissues, and fats that are so rife in these tough cuts.

Burgers, ground meat, and sausage. Cook to 155°F (serve at 160°F). That's the USDA recommended temp and it should be adhered to closely. Alas, it is also well done. The risk of E. coli 0157H:7 is too great to mess around undercooking ground meat. Why is ground meat different than whole muscle meat? During butchering of the carcass the intestines are often cut open by mistake. The fecal matter within, full of dangerous pathogens, can get on the meat and on the butcher knives. This is not a problem for steaks because the pathogens do not migrate far into the muscle fiber. They remain on the surface and they are killed rapidly by cooking. But when meat is ground, the contamination on the surface is mixed into the center. If it is not served at 160°F, it can find its way into your gut and cause discomfort, illness, or even death. So ground meat must be cooked to a higher temp than whole muscle meat. Don't screw around. The risk is too high, especially for young and elderly people at your table.

Chicken and turkey. Researchers tell us that practically all chicken and turkey have salmonella in the juices. I find it helpful to think of raw chicken and turkey as poisonous. USDA says to serve poultry at 165°F and most chefs agree and remove it at no lower than 160°F. Measure the breast at its thickest part since it takes longest to cook and dries out most easily. At 165°F it is still juicy. Much higher and you'll be eating cardboard. The transition happens rapidly. The juices should run clear and any pink could be dangerous. That said, safe chicken can have some bright red parts attached to the bone. Again, a good thermometer is what you need.

Fish. USDA recommends serving it at 145°F, but at that temp most fish will be dry. I remove from heat at 135°F when the meat is only slightly translucent, flakes easily, and is tender and moist. It is easy to overcook fish, so be vigilant.

Pre-cooked ham. Serve at 140°F. This stuff is cured and pre-cooked, so you are really just warming it. No need to dry it out.

Eggs. OK, so eggs aren't meat. But I've included them because we eat them and they pose a safety risk. It is estimated that one in 20,000 eggs is contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis in the US, and in the Northeast US it may be one in 10,000. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that one in 50 consumers eats a contaminated egg each year because large batches of eggs are pooled by food processors and restaurants. Salmonella is widespread among hens nowadays and it infects the ovaries of otherwise healthy appearing hens. In the ovaries it infects eggs before the shells are formed. Salmonella growth is inhibited by refrigeration, so eggs should not be kept at room temp. Cooking eggs to 160°F, so their yolks are firm, makes them safe. You should use a thermometer on egg-based casseroles. If you like runny yolks or dishes made with lightly cooked eggs such as soft boiled eggs, pasta carbonara, egg nog, caesar salad dressing, custards, or bearnaise and hollandaise sauces, it is strongly recommended that you use pasteurized eggs. They are perfectly safe, they taste great, and they are now widely available.

This page was revised 9/17/2009

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