Meat Cooking Temperatures

Cooking any type of meat properly is both an art and a science. There are many variables involved in preparing a flavorful and tender piece of meat, fish or chicken and each type has to be handled differently. Beef needs to be aged at least 21 days in order to eat right and fish needs to get to your table as quickly as possible, unless it is frozen, chicken, pork and lamb fall somewhere in between.

I am including two tables both having meat-cooking charts but each has a different purpose. The first chart is put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and it is the minimum safe temperatures for meats:
USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures

* Steaks & Roasts - 145 °F
* Fish - 145 °F
* Pork - 160 °F
* Ground Beef - 160 °F
* Egg Dishes - 160 °F
* Chicken Breasts - 165 °F
· Whole Poultry - 165 °F

The second table is a meat-cooking chart used to determine the degree of doneness for various types of meat and seafood:
Meat Temperature Chart
(Fahrenheit)
Beef
Rare 120° - 125°
Medium-rare 130° - 135°
Medium 140° - 145°
Medium-well 150° - 155°
Well done 160° and above

Lamb
Rare 135°
Medium-rare 140° - 150°
Medium 160°
Well done 165° and above

Poultry
Chicken 165° - 175°
Turkey 165° - 175°

Pork 150°


USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures

* Steaks & Roasts - 145 °F
* Fish - 145 °F
* Pork - 160 °F
* Ground Beef - 160 °F
* Egg Dishes - 160 °F
* Chicken Breasts - 165 °F
· Whole Poultry - 165 °F

There is a lot of discussion in regard to safe temperatures especially in pork. The problem is that as you cook the meat to higher temperatures, the muscle continues to contract and the moisture drains, which leaves the meat both tougher and drier to eat as you get upwards in the doneness scale. It is all about personal preferences so just cook it as you like it. I would recommend that if you like your meat well done cook it slowly and in moisture to help retain flavor and tenderness.

The last point I want to make is that you need to invest in some type of meat thermometer and use it whenever you are cooking. It is the only way to know if you have cooked your food to the point you have killed bacteria and other harmful organisms in your food.

We would also like to invite you to visit our website, Free Family Favorite Recipes, and also our Kitchen Store section shere we have any type of kitchen supply you might be interested in!

Grilling Steaks To Proper Doneness

Grilling steaks is an art to some and a livelihood for others. I have spent many years grilling ribeye steaks, New York Strip steaks, Filet Mignon and more burgers than I can count. Grilling beef is most effectively done by feel. Everyone tries to cook by how much time the steak is on each side but really there are to many variables, such as fire temperature, wind, cut of steak, density of the beef, etc. People who grill for a living have to learn how to feel what they are grilling. I will try to give you some tips to start with but there is no replacing experience. So practice, practice, practice!

One thing you need to know is that as the steak of burger cooks through the various stages of doneness the meat firms up. Now for the trick, if you make a really loose fist, the muscle in your hand between your thumb and index finger becomes the steak. If you push on that muscle with a loose first the feel of that muscle represents a rare steak. When you clinch your fist tightly the muscle has the feel of a well-done steak. If you want medium, clinch your fist at a pressure between tight and loose. This is just a rough guide to use but as you practice your feel with steaks and burgers you will learn how to hit that perfect doneness.

When you are grilling salmon for example, when the fillet is just done you can push lightly on top and you will feel the grain of the fish just start to separate like it does as you eat it when it is done. Most people want their fish to be completely done but not overcooked. Remember when you feel the fish start to flake, pull it off the grill. Any product you cook will continue to cook a little after you pull it off the grill or out of the oven.

I will usually try to tie in a recipe with my blogs which will send you to our favorite family recipe website which we are adding recipes to everyday.

Welcome To My Blog!

This blog will always be about meats of one kind or another. I will cover beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck and all types of seafood plus many other meat related subjects. I will go into cutting different cuts of meats as well as cutting up whole chickens. Sanitation will be covered as well as how beef should be aged and how to tell if your seafood is fresh or frozen and thawed to put in the display case, many stores love this trick.

I have a blog that deals with kitchen equipment reviews and a website being build with all our family favorite recipes. I hope you enjoy reading this blog and will leave comments to help guide me as to what you are looking for.