Did you know that when you cook meat, you should not rely solely on appearance or time to determine if it is done or not? For food safety and quality, you should use a food thermometer to ensure meat is thoroughly cooked. The food thermometer should be placed in the thickest part of the meat and should not be touching gristle, bone, or fat. You should begin checking the temperature toward the end of cooking but before the food is expected to be done. Make sure you clean your food thermometer with HOT soapy water before and after each use.
Recommended cooking times:
- Pork chops, ribs and roasts should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow food to rest at least 3 minutes before cutting.
- Beef, lamb,veal steaks and roasts: internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit and allow to rest at least 3 minutes.
- Fish: internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Ground beef, ground pork, ground veal, ground lamb: internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Egg dishes: internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Ground turkey and chicken: internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chicken and turkey breasts: internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Poultry legs, thighs, and wings: internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whole chicken: internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whole turkey: internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you like your meat more on the “well done” side, you can choose to cook it to a higher temperature. Cooking meat to the temperatures listed above helps ensure all food borne bacteria have been killed. Undercooked food can cause food poisoning and that experience is certainly not fun.
Reference: USDA.gov
About Kimberly {Chief Blogger}
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We are super careful about food temperatures in my house ever since my mom took a food handling class. We tend to overcook everything to the point of being crispy though so I don’t think we have to worry