Ready to BBQ: safe meat serving temperatures (2024)

FAQs

Ready to BBQ: safe meat serving temperatures? ›

The FDA recommends following USDA guidelines for safe minimum cooking temperatures. These include 165°F for poultry, 160°F for ground meats and egg dishes, and at least 145°F with a three-minute rest time for beef, pork, lamb, or veal steaks or roasts.

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.

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. This will result in a product that is both safe and at its best quality—juicy and tender.

Check temperatures of time/temperature control for safety food (TCS) when it is received. Ensure that TCS food products are received at required temperatures. Cold TCS food must be received at 41°F or below, except: Fluid milk and shell eggs must be received at 45°F or below and cooled to 41°F or below.

Keep hot food at 135˚F (57˚C) or higher. Keep cold food at 41˚F (5˚C) or lower. Keep raw meat, fish, and poultry separate from ready-to-eat food. Do NOT let customers refill dirty plates or use dirty utensils at self-service areas.

Keep TCS food outside of the danger zone (410F and 1350F; 50C and 570C ): Pathogens grow within this temperature range. If food is held in this range for 4+ hours, throw it out.

Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 ° and 140 °F, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. This range of temperatures is often called the "Danger Zone." That's why the Meat and Poultry Hotline advises consumers to never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours.

Pork today is very lean, making it important to not overcook and follow the recommended pork cooking temperature. The safe internal pork cooking temperature for fresh cuts is 145° F. To check doneness properly, use a digital cooking thermometer.

Minimum internal temperature of 145℉ (63℃) for 15 seconds applies to: Seafood—including fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. Steaks/chops of pork, beef, veal, and lamb. Eggs that will be served immediately.

At what temp is a steak well done? ›

Well (Over 160°F)

A well done steak will be grey throughout. It will be very firm and most of the juices will have cooked out of the steak. With most of the fat and water removed the steak will have lost a great deal of its size.

Ideally, the internal temperature of the ribs should be between 190 and 200 degrees when you're finished. If you don't already have a meat thermometer, go ahead and invest in one. You can find one for under $20. Perfectly cooked ribs will pull apart easily, but be careful, overcooked ribs will become mushy.

To determine whether it's done, you can measure the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Sausages should reach 155–165°F (68–74°C). Alternatively, boiling them before cooking in a pan or on a grill can ensure that they're thoroughly cooked and remain moist.

Danger Zone for Smoking and Grilling Meat

Therefore, you need to find the optimum temperature for meat. As mentioned above, the temperature danger zone is 46°F -140°F (8°C-60°C). Hence, it is better to keep the hot smoking or grill above 158°F (70°C).

Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the “Danger Zone” between 40°F and 140°F. Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F).

Serve or keep food hot in chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Be aware that some warmers only hold food at 110 °F to 120 °F, so check the product label to make sure your warmer has the capability to hold foods at 140 °F or warmer. This is the temperature that's required to keep bacteria at bay!

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).

What temperature should ground beef be safely cooked to? The ServSafe restaurant industry standards suggest that to destroy harmful bacteria, cook ground beef to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C). Get a good meat thermometer and poke it into the thickest part of the meat you are cooking.

For example, raw whole beef steaks need to be cooked to at least 145°F (63°C) to remove E. coli bacteria, while chicken and poultry need to be cooked to at least 165°F (74°C) to remove Salmonella. Undercooking these foods can lead to foodborne illness.