Meat Doneness Temperature Chart

135 °F (57 °C) in the centre once it has rested. Because a thick steak keeps cooking after it leaves the pan, pull it off the heat at about 130 °F (54 °C) and let the carryover take it the last 5 °F while it rests for five minutes. The rest of the standard scale is rare 125 °F (52 °C), medium 145 °F (63 °C), medium well 150 °F (66 °C) and well done 160 °F (71 °C). Note that rare and medium rare sit below the USDA safe minimum of 145 °F for whole cuts — that is normal restaurant practice, but not advised for young children, older adults, pregnant people or anyone immunocompromised.

The USDA FSIS chart gives four numbers. All poultry — whole birds, parts, ground chicken and turkey — and any stuffing need 165 °F (74 °C). Ground beef, pork, lamb and veal, plus egg dishes and casseroles, need 160 °F (71 °C). Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb and veal, and all fish and shellfish, need 145 °F (63 °C) followed by a three-minute rest. Leftovers and anything being reheated need 165 °F (74 °C). This tool shows the applicable minimum next to every cut and warns you when the doneness you picked falls below it.

Carryover cooking. The hot outer layer of the meat keeps conducting heat into the cooler centre after you take it off the heat, so the internal temperature carries on rising while the meat rests — roughly 5 °F on a steak, chop or chicken breast and around 10 °F on a big roast, whole bird or leg of lamb. If you cook until the thermometer already reads your target, you overshoot it. Aim at the pull temperature instead and the meat coasts to the number you actually wanted. Barbecue cuts held at low smoker temperatures barely carry over at all, which is why the chart shows a negligible rise for brisket, ribs and pulled pork.