How Do You Like Your Steak?

How many of you out there know what temperature your ground beef should be cooked to? What about pork? Chicken?

 
 

USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures

  • Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.
  • Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
  • Cook all poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer

  • Alright now some of you are probably thinking 145 °F for beef!?
    Please take note, if you cook your beef steak to the recommended temperature, IT WILL BE OVER DONE!
    A better chart for determining doneness on beef products such as steaks can be below.
    It is important to note that this is for WHOLE MUSCLE cuts, NOT ground meat.
    Image

    Blue Rare

    Extra-rare or Blue (bleu)
    very red and cold, 46–49 °C 115–120 °F
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    Rare

    Rare (saignant)
    cold red center; soft, 52–55 °C 125–130 °F
    Image

    Medium Rare

    Medium rare (à point)
    warm red center; firmer, 55–60 °C 130–140 °F
    Image

    Medium

    Medium (demi-anglais)
    pink and firm, 60–65 °C 140–150 °F
    Image

    Medium Well

    Medium well (cuit)
    small amount of pink in the center, 65–69 °C 150–155 °F
    Image

    Well Done

    Well done (bien cuit)
    gray-brown throughout; firm, 71-100 °C 160-212 °F

    Straight from USDA the guidlines for proper internal temperatures are as follows:

    Hmmm… So now some of you are probably wondering…? If I cook my steak to 120-130 so it’s rare and juicy, am I taking a healthy safety risk in doing so!? Food Scientist Harold McGee (via Food Network) gives us a GREAT explanation:
    “…meats inevitably harbor bacteria, and it takes temperatures of 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to guarantee the rapid destruction of the bacteria that can cause human disease-temperatures at which meat is well-done and has lost much of its moisture. So is eating juicy, pink-red meat risky? Not if the cut is an intact piece of healthy muscle tissue, a steak or chop, and its surface has been thoroughly cooked: bacteria are on the meat surfaces, not inside. In other words, with whole cuts of meat it is the external temp, not the internal temp that must exceed 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal cooking methods-sautéing, grilling, roasting, braising, etc.-raise surface temperatures far above 160 degrees Fahrenheit. (To get a sense of this, consider that meat only begins to brown at 230 degrees Fahrenheit.) People very rarely get sick from rare or medium rare meat. Ground meats are riskier, because the contaminated meat surface is broken into small fragments and spread through the mass. The interior of a raw hamburger usually does contain bacteria, and is safest if cooked well done. Overwhelmingly, people get sick from the way meat is handled in the home: from cross-contamination, lack of cleanliness and holding meat at dangerous temps. Internal temperature should be the least of your worries.”
    So feel free to eat the pink, juicy. medium rare steak!

    Dine with us!

    Make your dining experience memorable with 1776 Steakhouse

    Dine with us!

    Make your dining experience memorable with 1776 Steakhouse

    Dine with us!

    Make your dining experience memorable with 1776 Steakhouse

    Dine with us!

    Make your dining experience memorable with 1776 Steakhouse