Meat Temperature Guide
350°F = 177°C
Reference Table
Temperature Scale
Context & Usage
These temperatures come directly from USDA food safety guidelines and represent the minimum internal temperature needed to kill harmful bacteria.
A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the cut, away from bone, gives the most accurate reading.
Carryover cooking — where a resting piece of meat continues to rise a few degrees after leaving the heat source — is a separate effect from the rest time built into USDA safety guidance, and skilled cooks often account for both when timing a roast.
A Worked Example
Say you're roasting a whole chicken and want to pull it at the right moment. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, away from bone, and look for 165°F. Because carryover cooking can add a few more degrees during resting, some cooks pull the bird at 160-162°F and let it finish climbing to 165°F while it rests.
Standards and Sources
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service sets these minimum internal temperatures based on the specific time-temperature combinations needed to destroy common foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli.
The 165°F poultry standard applies uniformly across chicken, turkey, and duck, reflecting USDA research on Salmonella's heat sensitivity in poultry specifically.
USDA guidance also specifies a 3-minute rest time after reaching 145°F for whole cuts of beef, pork, and lamb, since the temperature continues to have a pathogen-reduction effect briefly after cooking stops.
Where This Shows Up
Home cooks grilling or roasting meat for guests rely on a digital meat thermometer and this chart together to confirm doneness without cutting into the meat and losing juices.
Meal-prep cooks batch-cooking chicken or ground beef for the week use these exact figures to ensure food safety across multiple stored servings.
Common Mistakes
- Inserting the thermometer near bone, which conducts heat differently and can give a falsely high reading compared to the meat itself.
- Judging doneness by color alone, since some safely cooked meat can still appear pink, and some unsafe meat can look fully browned.
- Not resting whole cuts for the recommended 3 minutes after reaching temperature, skipping a step that's part of the official safety guidance.
Whole Cuts vs Ground Meat Safety Temps
| Whole Cuts (steak, roast) | Ground Meat | |
|---|---|---|
| Beef/pork/lamb minimum | 145°F + 3 min rest | 160°F, no rest required |
| Why the difference | Bacteria mainly on surface | Bacteria mixed throughout |
| Poultry (either form) | 165°F | 165°F |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What internal temperature is safe for chicken?+
165°F (74°C), measured at the thickest part of the meat.
What internal temperature is safe for ground beef?+
160°F (71°C), higher than whole cuts due to bacteria mixed throughout during grinding.
Why does ground meat need a higher temperature than steak?+
Grinding can introduce surface bacteria throughout the meat, so it needs to reach a higher temperature to be safe.
Is it safe to eat pork at a lower temperature than it used to be?+
Yes, USDA lowered its recommended pork temperature to 145°F in 2011 after research showed the earlier 160°F recommendation was more conservative than necessary for whole cuts.
Does resting meat continue to cook it?+
Yes, carryover cooking can raise a large roast's internal temperature by several more degrees after it's removed from heat, which is worth factoring into timing.