Meat Cooking Temperature Chart: Safe Beef, Pork, Lamb, and Poultry Temps

Core Terms in This Meat Cooking Temperature Chart

A meat cooking temperature chart is a reference that matches each type of meat with a minimum internal temperature. It is a safety checklist, not a doneness chart: preference temperatures for rare or medium beef are separate from the temperatures required to reduce foodborne illness risk.

A safe minimum is the temperature reached at the coldest part of the meat before resting. For whole cuts, the target can depend on whether the meat is intact, ground, injected, or stuffed. Poultry targets apply to all cuts and preparations.

Resting is the undisturbed time after cooking. Beef, pork, lamb, and veal steaks, chops, and roasts need a three-minute rest at the temperatures below. Rest time does not replace cooking to the stated minimum, and it should not be used to claim that undercooked poultry is safe.

Beef: Steaks, Roasts, Ground Meat, and Resting

Beef steak and roast are whole-muscle cuts such as sirloin, ribeye, tenderloin, chuck, and standing rib roast. The safety minimum is 145°F (63°C) with a three-minute rest. Higher temperatures may be selected for preference, but they are not additional safety requirements.

Beef ground meat includes burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, and sausages made from beef. Grinding can move surface bacteria through the product, so the minimum is 160°F (71°C), with no separate rest period required. If beef is combined with poultry, use the poultry minimum of 165°F (74°C).

Rest time is a defined holding period after the beef reaches 145°F (63°C). During this period, the temperature may remain level or rise slightly, but the meat should not be cut into or returned to cooking. Ground beef is already complete at 160°F (71°C).

Pork: Chops, Tenderloin, Roasts, and Ground Pork

Pork whole cuts include chops, loin, tenderloin, shoulder, and ham that is not labeled ready-to-eat. The safe minimum is 145°F (63°C) with a three-minute rest. A pink center can remain at this temperature; color is not a reliable substitute for a thermometer reading.

Pork ground meat includes ground pork, pork burgers, sausage meat, and fillings mixed into meatloaf. The minimum is 160°F (71°C), with no separate rest requirement. If pork is mixed with poultry, use 165°F (74°C), the safe minimum for the poultry mixture.

Ham terms depend on the package label. A ready-to-eat ham may be eaten without cooking; if reheated, the USDA reference temperature is 140°F (60°C). Fresh or cook-before-eating ham must reach 145°F (63°C) with a three-minute rest. The product label takes priority when it gives different directions.

Lamb: Chops, Roasts, Ground Meat, and Mixed Dishes

Lamb whole cuts include chops, racks, legs, and roasts. The safe minimum is 145°F (63°C) with a three-minute rest. Lamb can remain pink at this temperature, so the reading at the coldest part is more dependable than the color of the meat or juices.

Lamb ground meat includes burgers, kofta, meatballs, and lamb sausage. Its minimum is 160°F (71°C), with no separate rest period. If ground lamb is mixed with poultry, the mixture must reach 165°F (74°C), even when the lamb alone would be complete at a lower temperature.

Lamb shoulder is often cooked beyond the safety minimum to soften connective tissue. That higher temperature is a texture choice, not a separate safety threshold. Stuffed lamb rolls and injected lamb should be treated as poultry-free mixtures only when the stuffing contains no poultry; otherwise use 165°F (74°C).

Poultry: Chicken, Turkey, Duck, and Ground Poultry

Poultry includes chicken, turkey, duck, goose, and game birds. All whole birds, parts, ground poultry, and poultry-based sausages have a minimum of 165°F (74°C). This target applies whether the meat is white or dark and whether the bird is fresh or thawed.

Stuffing cooked inside a bird is a separate checkpoint. It must also reach 165°F (74°C), measured at its center after the cavity is opened enough for the probe to reach it. Cooking the surrounding meat to the target does not automatically establish the stuffing temperature.

Poultry prepared with another meat uses the highest applicable minimum. A chicken-and-beef meatloaf, turkey-and-pork sausage, or duck stuffing containing pork must reach 165°F (74°C). The presence of poultry overrides a lower target for beef, pork, or lamb in the same mixture.

Final Checklist: Measure, Rest, and Record

An instant-read thermometer is a handheld probe used to check the final internal temperature. A leave-in probe can monitor cooking and remain in the oven, while an instant-read model is suited to spot checks. Either type must be accurate enough for the target and used according to its instructions.

Probe placement means inserting the sensor into the thickest part without touching bone, fat, the pan, or the rotisserie spit. For a whole bird, check the inner thigh, wing, and thickest breast area. For chops and roasts, check the center from the side so the sensing area sits within the meat.

Carryover rise is additional heating after removal from the heat source, most noticeable in large roasts. Do not pull meat below its safe minimum in anticipation of carryover; verify the stated temperature first. Clean the thermometer probe between checks, especially after touching raw meat or juices.

The quick checklist is: identify the meat and preparation, use the matching minimum, measure the coldest part, apply the required rest, and recheck any stuffing or mixed dish. Record the result for large roasts, whole birds, or meals held for service; the chart is a reference, while the thermometer confirms the food.