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.

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