Meat and Poultry Doneness Temperature Chart

Inexperienced cooks sometimes face situations with fried and roasted foods where the food is either overcooked and therefore dry, or undercooked and therefore not ready to serve. More experienced and skilled chefs can tell when a steak, for example, is done by touch, by the firmness of the meat. And the readiness of roasted duck by the color of the meat juices coming from the piercing. But all this comes with experience.

What should beginners do? Use an instant-read thermometer 😉 Even those who are not the first day in the kitchen could use this tool to be sure.

Below, I’ve provided a table of readiness temperatures for various foods. I’ll explain the two columns of numbers right away.

Cooked meat or poultry should rest for 7 to 15 minutes before serving, depending on the size of the item. During this time, the muscle fibers relax and the temperature and juices are more evenly distributed throughout the product. During the resting period, the product continues to increase in temperature due to the internal heat. And the difference between the temperature before and after resting can be 7 to 10°C. For example, to get a medium rare steak with a final temperature of 70°C (158°F), it should be removed from the pan at a temperature of 60-65°C (140-150°F).