Have you ever taken meat off the grill and declared "dinners ready!"—only to sheepishly return minutes later to put your partially cooked chicken, steak or burger back over the flames? Perhaps the only thing worse is trying to chew through an overcooked, tough piece of meat.
So how do you ensure your meat is done before whisking it off the grill, or worse—overcooking it? While the most reliable way to know if your meat is really cooked is to use a thermometer, there are other trustworthy methods to use.
Learn how to know when chicken is done, along with beef, pork and fish.
When you are using a digital thermometer to check for doneness, insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. If you're cooking meat on the bone, make sure the thermometer isn't touching the bone—it's a conductor of heat and could give you a false reading. Also, know your temperatures. The USDA's recommended safe minimum internal temperatures are as follows: 145°F for beef (steaks and roasts), veal, lamb and pork, as well as fish;160°F for ground beef; and 165°F for poultry.
While food safety experts encourage home cooks to use thermometers, some meat-cooking aficionados like to use the "finger test" as a reference for checking for doneness. There are a couple of ways, but this is my favorite. You just need to know what meat feels like in various stages of cooking. Start by learning what raw meat feels like by pinching the flesh of your hand below your thumb while your hand is relaxed. To know what rare feels like, lightly touch the tip of your pointer finger to the tip of your thumb. For medium-rare, switch your middle finger to the tip of your thumb; for medium-cooked, test with the ring finger and the thumb; and for well-done, move your pinkie to the thumb. It takes some practice to master this touch-and-feel technique, so use your thermometer as a backup until you think you have the hang of the "finger test" method. (Note: This method works best on smaller cuts of meat.)
This method applies to chicken specifically. For properly cooked chicken, if you cut into it and the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked. If the juices are red or have a pinkish color, your chicken may need to be cooked a bit longer. Some home cooks don't like this method because chicken shouldn't be consumed below 165°F (so you need a thermometer). And when you cut into the chicken, you start losing the juices that keep the chicken moist.
When grilling meat, it's easy to get thrown off by observing just the exterior color of it. Your steak or chicken breast could look ready to eat based on the lovely grill marks, but it could still be cold on the inside. One trick is to keep track of the size of the meat you're grilling and not let it shrink too much. If it looks nice and charred on the outside but hasn't shrunk in size, it probably needs a longer cooking time. If it starts to look smaller, then chances are it's close to done—the change will be subtle, so really keep an eye on it. However, if your meat gets quite a bit smaller than when you started, it may be overcooked.
Pierce the thickest part of the meat with a fork or skewer and check that: The juices run clear. It is piping hot all the way through (it should be steaming)
Pierce the thickest part of the meat with a fork or skewer and check that: The juices run clear. It is piping hot all the way through (it should be steaming)
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.
With bigger cuts, such as a whole prime rib roast that will be sliced after cooking, "a thermometer is super helpful for consistency and accuracy," says Flamm, but "for smaller cuts and for speed, many chefs can check it by feel," he says.
A thermometer is the best way to determine when meat has reached the desired degree of doneness. The guide below indicates the approximate temperature for each level of doneness. There is no doubt that the first question (Is it safe to eat?) is the most important.
Bacteria which cause food poisoning may also be found in internal organs like the liver and gizzard. Accordingly, eating meat raw or undercooked can lead to food poisoning. Even when the initial symptoms are light, food poisoning can abruptly become more severe.
When thoroughly cooked, the myoglobin, oxymyoglobin, and metmyoglobin pigments of normal meat are converted (i.e. denatured) to denatured hemichrome, the grey pigment of cooked meat. Meat with a pH of 6.0 or higher can remain pink at 159.8 degrees F.
Obvious signs of spoilage, like mold, are clear indicators that you'll be tossing that cut and buying a new one. Other tell-tale signs of spoilage include meat that looks slimy, shiny, crusty, and/or off color. Raw beef should ideally be a beautiful red or even purplish hue and look moist but not wet.
The USDA's recommended safe minimum internal temperatures are as follows: 145°F for beef (steaks and roasts), veal, lamb and pork, as well as fish; 160°F for ground beef; and 165°F for poultry.
In general, they found that when steaks were UNDERCOOKED, consumers scored the steak more favorably in tenderness, flavour, juiciness and overall liking. And conversely, when steaks were OVERCOOKED, consumers scored them less favourably.
Rare is the lowest level of doneness when it comes to steaks and burgers. Diners who like extremely tender, flavorful cuts of meat will choose this option. Rare meat has an internal temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If you order your food rare, the central portion of the meat will be a bright red color.
Always use a food thermometer to check whether meat has reached a safe minimum internal temperature that is hot enough to kill harmful germs that cause food poisoning. Some meats also need rest time after cooking.
Cooking time depends on the size and type of meat you're making. A smaller portion of meat will take around 30 to 40 minutes, but larger cuts or full roasts could take up to a few hours. Chicken breasts will take 20 to 30 minutes to cook, but a full chicken will take around an hour and a half.
The time it takes food poisoning symptoms to start can vary. Illness often starts in about 1 to 3 days. But symptoms can start any time from 30 minutes to 3 weeks after eating contaminated food. The length of time depends on the type of bacteria or virus causing the illness.
Further cooking (towards 140°F) begins to breakdown the red myoglobin (iron/oxygen-binding protein) and turns it into a tan-colored hemichrome. It's at this point that meat turns from pink, to brown and then to grey.
Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping
Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/8146493-aca3852905254be0b8c527e950d22293.jpg "Is It Done Yet? 4 Ways to Really Know If Your Meat Is Cooked (1)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/45266111-c01b66979caa444a8e0854fe685cd63c.jpg "Is It Done Yet? 4 Ways to Really Know If Your Meat Is Cooked (2)")
