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!
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
When to take the meat off the heat
Remove the steak from the heat a 5-15 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
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.
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:
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!
Nathan Klatzkin says
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.
Molly Thompson says
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.
Jesse says
These temps led me to overcook steaks for the entire family. Please calibrate your thermometer.
Roosta says
I agree...these temps are about 15°F too high. Medium rare is 130°F at rest, which means (depending on your cooking method) you should pull to rest at an internal temp of around 125°F. This is for a 1" Boneless Ribeye when cooking via the Arroser or Sautee & Baste method. The carry over will raise the temp about 5°F before plateauing.
Aztec says
Agreed, 145°F is way too high for medium rare. Also, to quote, "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)". What exactly is 'just below'? Is it 10°F, is it 5°F, is it 3°F? This is probably a moot point because 145°F will not produce a medium rare steak - it will be well into medium.
Joe says
These temps are completely wrong. 135 rare?! What planet are you on?
Molly Thompson says
Hi Joe! Thanks for your feedback. I spent time researching and testing and ran all of these numbers by my friends at the Ohio Beef Council and they confirmed these are correct. Make sure to account for carry over cooking so you'll want to pull them off the heat about 10 degrees before these numbers.
Ed Jetter says
I would suggest that the temps published for doneness is AFTER carryover temps are reached meaning to take the meat off the grill (or oven) 10-15 degrees BEFORE the desired temp so it doesn't get overcooked to your liking, ie if you desire a medium rare roast or steak, take the meat off the grill when it reaches an internal temp of 130-135 degrees so the carryover cook reaches the desired 145 degrees. Most of the temps published never mention this. I have overcooked prime rib (to my liking) by waiting for the internal temp to reach 145 degrees which brings it to 160 degrees (while resting) to be carved making it barely pink. You did make a note after the list of temps but most lists never mention this.
Molly Thompson says
Hey Ed! I have that included in the post, but it's probably a good idea to make it a little more bold so people don't miss it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Donna T says
Hi Molly, I say thanks! You made it very clear to take roast out 10-15 degrees before desired temp!
lakawak says
Wow...apparently people in Metric System countries like their steaks more rare. The Celsius conversions aren't even close to matching up. Not even rounding to the nearest 5 degrees. That 65 degrees Celsius Medium is only 149 degrees Fahrenheit. Even 70 degrees C would be less than 160 F. Really not hard to do the math. Not even for an unknown "blogger"
Leslie says
Hey Molly,
I think all your temp instructions made perfect sense and THANK YOU for testing and tweaking so I don’t have to! - Question- I have a couple of friends who’ve recently told me to cook at what I think is a LOW temp to get their ideal roast. My friend Mark insists the perfect way to oven cook say, an eye of round roast is to brown on all sides stove top, then pop it in the oven w a top on it at 285 for close to 2 hours.
I’ve promised him I’ll try it, oh! -with 1cup of beef broth for a 2lb roast a tad more if there’s no fat on it to keep the moisture required. My fear is that this will produce a dry, overcooked product. Any thoughts before I take the dive to try his method?
Thanks-
Leslie says
Hey Molly,
Question- I have a couple of friends who’ve recently told me to cook at what I think is a LOW temp to get their ideal roast. My friend Mark insists the perfect way to oven cook say, an eye of round roast is to brown on all sides stove top, then pop it in the oven w a top on it at 285 for close to 2 hours.
I’ve promised him I’ll try it, oh! -with 1cup of beef broth for a 2lb roast a tad more if there’s no fat on it to keep the moisture required. My fear is that this will produce a dry, overcooked product. Any thoughts before I take the dive to try his method?
Thanks-