• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

What Molly Made

Eat to Feel Good

  • Home
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Recipes
    • 14 DAY MEAL PLAN
    • Healthy Dinners
    • Special Diet
      • Gluten Free Recipes
      • Dairy Free Recipes
      • Keto
      • Whole30 Recipes
      • Paleo Recipes
      • Refined Sugar Free Recipes
      • Vegetarian Recipes
      • Vegan Recipes
    • Christmas Recipes
    • Healthy Desserts
      • Healthy Cookies
      • Healthy Cakes, Pies & Tarts
      • Healthy Brownies & Bars
      • Healthy Bread & Muffins
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
    • Appetizers & Snacks
  • PCOS
    • PCOS Recipes
    • PCOS Lifestyle
    • FREE PCOS Email Course
  • Shop
    • Whole and Healthy Meal Plan
    • Complete 4 Week Meal Plan
  • Lifestyle
    • Mom Life
    • Travel
    • Home and Decor
  • Resources
    • Income Report
    • Email Course for Food Bloggers
    • The Pinning Academy

Home » Recipes » Internal Temp of Beef: Determining Doneness

Internal Temp of Beef: Determining Doneness

July 15, 2020 By Molly Thompson 3 Comments

The very best way to cook your beef to proper doneness is by using the internal temperature as a guide to capture the cooked beef temp. The beef should be 145°F for a medium rare cut of beef. This post will explain each type of beef, varying temperatures of doneness and the best tools to use!

stuffed flank steak with text overlay with beef internal temp at 145°F

Have you ever been to a restaurant and wondered how they cook their burgers and steaks so perfectly? Though they may have professional chefs working their magic, you can get the same result at home by using a meat thermometer.

Using a meat thermometer is the #1 way to tell when your beef is cooked to the right temperature (see below for how to properly use a meat thermometer).

What temp to cook beef:

  • Rare: 135°F
  • Medium rare: 145°F
  • Medium: 160°F (always cook ground beef to medium)
  • Medium Well: 165°F
  • Well done: 170°F

Note: remove the steak from the heat a few degrees before reaching your desired temperature because it will continue to rise 5-15 degrees (also known as carry over cooking). Allow 15-20 minutes of standing time.

What temperature should beef be cooked to celsius?

  • Rare: 55°C
  • Medium rare: 60°C
  • Medium: 65°C
  • Medium well: 70°C
  • Well done: 75°C
graphic with pieces of beef cooked from rare to well done

Internal temperature of steaks:

For 1/2 inch thick or more steaks, use a meat thermometer to insert horizontally and wait for the temperature to read just below 145°F (medium-rare), 160°F (medium) or 170° (well done). Remember to remove the steaks from the heat prior to the desired temperature to allow for carry over cooking!

Internal temperature of ground beef:

Ground beef should always be cooked to a safe 160°F.  Ground beef includes all recipes that have ground beef as the base like burgers, meatballs and meatloaf. The color of the ground beef isn't always a reliable indicator for doneness so use a meat thermometer to determine the internal temperature to ensure it's thoroughly cooked. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the beef until it reaches a safe and savory 160°F.

Internal temperature of roasts:

There are two ways to check the internal temp of a roast: place an oven safe thermometer in the thickest part of the beef prior to cooking and leave it in throughout the cooking process or use an instant read thermometer after the cook time is complete.

Roasts include cuts of beef like round roasts, rump roasts and chuck roasts and their internal temperature should read 145°F (medium-rare), 160°F (medium) or 170° (well done).

Read more about determining doneness from The Ohio Beef Council and for an even more in depth guide to specific cuts, temps and cook times check out these oven roasting guidelines.

beef tenderloin cooked medium rare

How to properly use a meat thermometer:

Now that you have the proper cooked beef temps, there’s a few tips on how you properly capture those temps with the thermometer.

  • Insert a meat thermometer horizontally into the thickest part of the beef.
  • Avoid the thermometer resting in fat or touching bone.
  • Leave the meat thermometer in the beef for about 15 seconds.

Best digital meat thermometers:

  • Instant read meat thermometer
  • Meat thermometer with extra long probe
  • Bluetooth meat thermometer
slices of beef on a fork with a white background to show beef doneness

My favorite beef recipes:

Steak: Steak bites and potatoes, healthy IP mongolian beef, beef tenderloin, IP beef stroganoff, one pan garlic steak and potatoes, stuffed flank steak, steak fajitas

Ground beef: Mexican beef and rice, IP spaghetti, teriyaki burger

Roasts: Beef ragu, sweet potato beef stew, korean beef tacos, IP Pot Roast

This post is sponsored by The Ohio Beef Council. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to brands like them for believing in me and allowing me to share free information and recipes with you!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Previous Post: « Carne Asada Tacos [Street Tacos]
Next Post: Modern Farmhouse Bathroom Remodel »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathan Klatzkin says

    December 29, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    Are you just making these facts up because the temperatures you have for beef Are completely wrong and off by at least 20°F. You are missed leading people to an over cooked piece of steak or piece of beef.

    Reply
    • Molly Thompson says

      January 06, 2021 at 12:36 pm

      Hey Nathan! I'm not making these up. I spent hours testing and researching oven temps before hitting publish. I've spent days at the National Cattleman's association learning how to cook beef from their in house chefs. You can read more about their cook temps on their website where I fact checked all of my information. Those are the correct temps of when they should be served. I mention in my post that you need to remove them from the heat up to 15 degrees before they reach those to allow for carryover cooking. I like my steak medium rare so I take it off the heat when it reaches 130. The steaks you see in my image were all tested and taken by me and were cooked to the degrees I shared in my post.

      https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/cooking/determining-doneness#:~:text=For%20steaks%201%2F2%20inch,done%20is%20170%C2%B0F.

      Reply
  2. click this local electricians says

    January 21, 2021 at 2:12 pm

    you are really a just right webmaster. The website loading pace is amazing. It seems that you're doing any distinctive trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have done a wonderful process on this matter!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

I'm so glad you're here! My hope is that the recipes I share make your lives a little easier and healthier. I'm so happy you're here!

Recipe Key:

Dairy FreeDF
Gluten-FreeGF
Low CarbLC
PaleoP
Refined Sugar FreeSF
VeganVg
VegetarianV
Whole30W

Search What Molly Made

Healthy Dinner Ideas:

overhead shot of air fryer stuffed peppers topped with melted cheddar cheese and chopped parsley

Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

easy chicken pad thai recipe topped with green onion, cilantro and lime wedges in a shallow white bowl

30 Minute Chicken Pad Thai

crispy cauliflower gnocchi in a white dish tossed with fresh basil pesto

Homemade Cauliflower Gnocchi [Gluten Free | Whole30]

crispy golden brown air fryer shrimp being dipped into a spicy remoulade sauce

Crispy Air Fryer Shrimp [Gluten Free Option]

Footer

Stay Connected

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy