Meat Temperature and Thermometer Check
Chicken and turkey are safe at 165°F (74°C), ground meat at 160°F (71°C), and whole steaks, chops and roasts at 145°F (63°C) plus a 3-minute rest. Pick what you're cooking below for its number, where the probe goes and how far it climbs off the heat. If your thermometer reads off in ice water, it also gives the number yours should show.
When is it done?
Pick what you're cooking. You get the USDA's safe number, the rest, where the probe goes and how far it climbs off the heat. Add your thermometer's ice-water reading to get the number your own thermometer should show.
A glass packed with ice, topped with water, stirred, probe 2 inches in. A true thermometer reads 32°F (0°C). Leave it at 32 if you haven't checked.
- USDA safe minimum
- Rest before eating
- Climbs off the heat by
- Your thermometer
The whole chart, on your thermometer
| Food | USDA safe minimum | Rest | Your thermometer shows |
|---|
The safe minimums are the USDA FSIS chart's, read from the thickest part of the food. Carryover ranges are rough guides from Traeger and Temperatures.com, not promises. Below 145°F for a steak is your call, not a USDA figure.
The safe minimum internal temperatures
These are the figures on the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service's Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart, as Hungry Duck checked it in October 2026. They are read from the center of the food, and they answer one question: is it safe to eat?
| What you're cooking | Safe minimum | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken and turkey: whole, breasts, thighs, legs, wings, giblets | 165°F (74°C) | None required |
| Ground chicken and turkey | 165°F (74°C) | None required |
| Ground beef, pork, veal, lamb | 160°F (71°C) | None required |
| Beef, pork, veal, lamb steaks, chops and roasts | 145°F (63°C) | At least 3 minutes |
| Fresh or smoked (uncooked) ham | 145°F (63°C) | At least 3 minutes |
| Fish and shellfish | 145°F (63°C), or until opaque and flaking with a fork | None required |
| Egg dishes such as frittata or quiche | 160°F (71°C) | None required |
| Leftovers and casseroles, reheated | 165°F (74°C) | None required |
Why does a burger need more than a steak? On a whole cut, bacteria sit on the outside, which is the part that gets hottest. Grinding spreads them through the meat, so the middle of a patty has to get hotter. The rest on whole cuts is part of the standard: FSIS counts the 3-minute hold as part of the kill, so skipping it means you've met only half the rule. The full reasoning is in our safe internal temperature chart.
Color won't tell you. FSIS's Doneness Versus Safety page says ground beef can turn brown at around 130 to 135°F, well short of 160°F. Some lean ground beef stays pink after it passes 160°F, and pork cooked safely to 145°F can stay pink as well. The same page cites studies showing only about 15% of consumers consistently use a food thermometer on meat.
Safe is a floor, not a recipe
The chart tells you when food is safe. It doesn't tell you when it's good, and FSIS says you may cook past the minimum for preference. Three places where that matters:
- Steak. 145°F lands in medium. Traeger's guide says many experienced cooks pull steaks at 130 to 135°F for medium-rare, and frames that as a personal risk decision, not something the USDA endorses. The tool offers it for a steak only, with that warning. See how to sear a steak in a cast iron pan.
- Chuck and pot roast. A chuck roast at 145°F is safe and tough, because its collagen hasn't broken down yet. Dutch Oven Daddy puts fall-apart tender at 195 to 205°F; KitchPrep gives 190 to 200°F and says the breakdown starts at 170 to 180°F. More in what size Dutch oven for a pot roast.
- Chicken thighs. Cooks take thighs past 165°F on purpose for texture. The sources behind our guides give no tested number for that, so the tool doesn't invent one: 165°F is the floor and the texture decides. Try it on sheet-pan chicken thighs.
Carryover: it keeps cooking off the heat
Meat keeps climbing after it leaves the pan or oven. Traeger puts the rise at 3 to 5°F for steaks, chops and chicken breasts, 5 to 10°F for pork loins and whole chickens, and 10 to 15°F for prime rib, whole turkeys and briskets. Temperatures.com gives 5 to 10°F for large roasts. Treat those as rough guides, not promises. The tool shows the rise only where one of them gives a figure. In practice, a chop that reads 145°F in the pan will be above that by the time you eat it, and one taken to 155°F "to be safe" ends up dry. That is the whole trick in how to cook pork chops so they stay juicy.
Where the probe goes
A right number from the wrong spot is still a wrong number. A whole chicken or turkey gets three readings, the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast, and each has to reach 165°F on its own (FoodSafety.gov). Bone conducts heat and can read high, so keep the tip in the thickest part of the meat, clear of bone and fat (Temperatures.com). Push the probe into patties and thin cuts from the side, so the tip lands in the middle rather than poking out the bottom.
Is your thermometer telling the truth?
All of this assumes the thermometer reads true. The ice-water check takes about ten minutes, and our calibration guide walks through it. Pack a tall glass to the top with ice (the USDA asks for finely crushed), top it with cold water, stir, and lower the probe at least 2 inches in, clear of the sides and bottom. A digital probe needs at least 30 seconds and a dial 1 to 2 minutes (SDSU Extension). University of Georgia Extension waits 5 to 10 minutes and wants the reading steady for a full 3. A true thermometer reads 32°F (0°C).
How close counts as close enough? Sources disagree: FoodDocs allows ±1°F and a chef writing for Parkview Health ±2°F. The tool calls anything within 1°F true, flags 1 to 2°F as worth correcting, and past 2°F tells you to adjust it or allow for it. Past 10°F it asks you to test again, because a reading that far out usually means too little ice. That 10°F line is our own, not a source's.
If it reads off, a dial thermometer usually has a nut under the head: hold the stem in the ice water and turn the head with pliers until it reads 32°F. Most digital thermometers can't be adjusted, so the USDA's advice is to note the offset and allow for it every time, or replace it. That is what the tool does with your reading.
| Worked example | |
|---|---|
| Ice-water reading | 34°F |
| Correct reading | 32°F |
| Offset | +2°F (reads high) |
| Target for chicken | 165°F |
| Pull the chicken when the display shows | 167°F |
Boiling water is the worse test at home. The USDA's fact sheet says a true 212°F needs distilled water at exactly one atmosphere, and water boils lower the higher you live, so a correct thermometer in ordinary tap water often reads 2 to 5°F low. That error is bigger than the one you're trying to catch.
Choosing one? See how to use an instant-read thermometer and which one to buy and instant-read vs leave-in thermometers.
Sources, as cited in Hungry Duck's guides (checked October 2026): USDA FSIS, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart; USDA FSIS, Doneness Versus Safety; USDA FSIS, Food Thermometers; FoodSafety.gov, meat and poultry charts; University of Georgia Extension; SDSU Extension; Traeger, safe meat internal temperatures; Temperatures.com; Dutch Oven Daddy; KitchPrep; FoodDocs; Parkview Health. Celsius figures are the Fahrenheit ones converted and rounded.