Internal temperature

What It Means

Internal temperature is how hot food is at its center, measured with a food thermometer pushed into the thickest part. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) publishes a safe minimum internal temperature for each kind of meat, poultry and leftover, the point hot enough to kill the germs that cause food poisoning. For whole cuts of red meat the chart also lists a rest timeResting meatLeaving cooked meat off the heat for a set time before cutting or eating it; USDA lists at least 3 minutes for whole cuts of red meat. See more after the food comes off the heat.

How It Sounds at Home

• "What temp is the chicken at?"
• "Stick the thermometer in, I don't trust the color."
• "It needs another ten degrees."

The Breakdown

How to check it

1. Find the safe minimum for the food on the chart below.
2. Near the end of cooking, push the thermometer into the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle.
3. For thin foods such as burger patties and sausages, go in through the side so the tip sits in the center.
4. Give the reading time to settle. FSIS says a thermistor takes about 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more seconds, and a dial thermometer needs to go about 2 to 3 inches into the food.
5. If the number is short, keep cooking and check again. Once it's reached, add the rest time if the chart lists one.

Safe minimums, per the USDA FSIS chart

This table is part of the chart. FSIS and FoodSafety.gov list more foods, so check the full chart for fish, eggs and anything not shown here.

Try it today. Tape the five lines above inside a cabinet door next to where the thermometer lives.

Good to Know

FSIS advises always using a food thermometer to check that meat has reached its safe minimum. The center of a piece of food is usually cooler than its outer surface, which is why FSIS puts the tip in the center of the thickest part; a shallow reading can show a number the middle hasn't reached. Buhata's suggestion: on a large roast or a whole bird, check a second spot before you call it done.

Related Terms and Categories

• Resting meat

  Leaving cooked meat off the heat for a set time before cutting or eating it; USDA lists at least 3 minutes for whole cuts of red meat.

• Thanksgiving timeline

  A plan that works back from Thanksgiving dinner to set when the turkey thaws, goes in the oven, rests, and when leftovers go in the fridge.

Meal planning, groceries and kitchen