Core temperatures for beef, pork and chicken (2024)

FAQs

Core temperatures for beef, pork and chicken? ›

Note: There are three important temperatures to remember when cooking meat or eggs at home: Eggs and all ground meats must be cooked to 160°F; poultry and fowl to 165°F; and fresh meat steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F.

Note: There are three important temperatures to remember when cooking meat or eggs at home: Eggs and all ground meats must be cooked to 160°F; poultry and fowl to 165°F; and fresh meat steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F.

Note: There are three important temperatures to remember when cooking meat or eggs at home: Eggs and all ground meats must be cooked to 160°F; poultry and fowl to 165°F; and fresh meat steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F. Use a thermometer to check temperatures.

Because of this, the USDA suggests cooking it to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the same temperature for every variation of pork you might choose from pork tenderloin to shoulder.

Cook pork, roasts, and chops to 145 ºF as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source, with a three-minute rest time before carving or consuming.

Cook all organ and variety meats (such as heart, kidney, liver and tongue) to 160 °F (71.1 °C). Cook all raw beef steaks and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 °C) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source.

Cook beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C), with a 3 minute rest time. Cook ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). Cook ground poultry to 165° F (74° C). Cook all poultry to minimal safe internal temperature of 165° F (74° C).

Killing Bacteria in Ground Beef

You cannot kill the bacteria by freezing ground beef. Instead, the bacteria will remain dormant while the meat is frozen and becomes active once thawed. Cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 155°F is the only way to destroy the germs.

Simply insert your food thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (for a whole chicken, that would be the breast). You know your chicken is cooked when the thermometer reads 180°F (82°C) for a whole chicken, or 165°F (74°C) for chicken cuts.

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

What is the best core temperature for chicken? ›

Chicken is done cooking when its internal temperature reaches 165ºF (75ºC). 165ºF is the safe internal temperature regardless of cooking method, cooking temperature, and cut of meat—including white meat like chicken breasts and wings, and dark meat like drumsticks and thighs.

All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (73.9 °C) as measured with a food thermometer. A whole chicken must reach this temperature throughout the bird. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.

Core Temperature

The core, or deep body, temperature of a fully feathered chicken normally ranges between 105 and 107 degrees, averaging 106 degrees under normal circ*mstances. Sometimes the upper limit is as high as 109 or even 113 degrees.

Given the fact that drumsticks and thighs are dark meat and won't dry out as easily as breasts, the range from 350 to 450 degrees is okay for baking them. 350 to 375 is generally best for breasts. The best answer to these questions? Simply check the chicken for doneness using an instant read thermometer.

When roasting meat and poultry, set the oven temperature to 325°F (163°C) or higher. Explore the charts below to learn how to get great results every time you cook.

The Target Temperature for Pork Is 145 F

One last note: The USDA's guidelines only apply to whole pork cuts like chops, roasts and so on. Ground pork, like all ground meats, still needs to be cooked to 160 F.