Temperature (meat)

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For other uses, see Temperature (disambiguation).

"Medium rare" redirects here. For the album by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, see Medium Rare (album).

Temperature, or doneness, is a description of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on the color, juiciness and internal temperature when served. The gradations of cooking are most often used in reference to beef (especially steak) but are also applicable to lamb, pork, poultry, veal, and sometimes fish.

The gradations in common use in most English-speaking countries are:

Term	Description	Traditional temperature range^{[citation needed]}		Updated temperature Range^{[citation needed]}
Raw	not cooked at all; thoroughly red/bloody inside	<115°F	<46°C
Very rare/ Blue	very red and cold ("blue rare")	115–125°F	46–52°C
Rare	a cool red center; pink otherwise	125–130°F	52–55°C
Medium rare	a warm red center, otherwise pink	130–140°F	55–60°C	145-150°F
Medium	warm pink center, otherwise brown	140–150°F	60–65°C	150-165°F
Medium well	mostly brown with a gray center, very little if any pink	150–160°F	65–71°C	165-170°F
Well done	Brown throughout with no sign of pink	>160°F	>71°C	>170°F

As meat is cooked, it turns from red to pink to brown to black (if burnt), and the amount of myoglobin (not blood) and other juices decreases. Well done cuts are drier and contain little or no juices.

The interior of a cut of meat may still increase in temperature 5–10°F (3–5°C) after being removed from the grill or oven, and the meat is therefore allowed to "rest" before being served, which allows its temperature to stabilize. This is caused when the hot exterior continues to cook the comparatively cool inside- in short, heat moves from the hot exterior into the cooler interior.

The USDA recommends a temperature of at least 145°F (63°C) for beef, veal, and lamb steaks and roasts, or fish to prevent foodborne illness. Other meats require higher temperatures; see Critical Control Point.