Meat Temperature Guide

How to use

1. 1Search or scroll the food list and tap the protein you are cooking, such as chicken breast, beef steak, pork chop, or salmon.
2. 2Switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius with the unit toggle; every temperature on the page updates to match.
3. 3If the food offers a doneness scale, choose your level, for example medium rare or well done. The tool warns when a level is below the USDA safe minimum.
4. 4Read the pull temperature, the temperature to take the food off the heat so carryover finishes it during the rest.
5. 5Adjust the carryover rise if your roast or bird is unusually large or small, or leave it blank to use the typical value for that cut.
6. 6Copy a single value, the summary, or the full internal temperature chart. Everything is calculated in your browser with no upload.

About this tool

Meat Temperature Guide answers the question people search for every time they cook a protein and are not quite sure it is done: what internal temperature should it reach, and when should it come off the heat. It pairs the USDA safe minimum internal temperatures with the higher target temperatures that whole cuts are usually taken to, then does the small but important piece of arithmetic that a plain chart leaves out. Pick a food, choose a doneness where doneness is a choice, and the tool shows three numbers in both Fahrenheit and Celsius: the recommended pull temperature, the final internal temperature, and the USDA safe minimum. The pull temperature is the final target minus the carryover rise, the amount the centre of the food keeps climbing after it leaves the oven, grill, or pan while it rests. That rise is real and easy to underestimate: a thick roast or a whole turkey can gain eight to ten degrees Fahrenheit during the rest, so pulling at the exact target overshoots and dries the food out. Each food carries a sensible default carryover based on its size, and you can override it with your own number if you know how your equipment behaves. The doneness scale matters most for whole-muscle red meat. A beef steak runs from rare through medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done, and the guide makes clear that rare and medium rare sit below the USDA safe minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit; they are a widely accepted chef preference rather than a food-safe recommendation, and the tool flags that with a clear warning rather than hiding it. Poultry is different: all chicken and turkey, whole or ground, should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and there is no lower safe doneness, though dark meat like thighs is more tender taken a little higher. Pork follows the modern USDA guidance that whole cuts are safe and juicy at 145 degrees Fahrenheit with a three minute rest, while tough cuts destined to be pulled need to climb all the way to about 203 degrees Fahrenheit for the collagen to break down, far above the safety line. Ground red meat must reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit because grinding mixes surface bacteria throughout, and seafood is covered too, from a fish fillet that flakes at 145 degrees Fahrenheit to a seared tuna steak that many cooks take rare by choice. A full reference chart lists every food, doneness, target, and safe minimum in one place, switchable between Fahrenheit and Celsius and copyable as plain text for a recipe note or a fridge list. The Fahrenheit and Celsius figures come from the same source numbers, converted with the exact formula, so the two columns always agree. The guidance is practical: always measure with a probe in the thickest part of the food, away from bone and fat, and treat low doneness levels with extra care for children, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone with a weakened immune system. Everything runs locally in your browser. The food and doneness you pick and the carryover you type are never uploaded, never logged, and never leave your device, and the numbers here are general guidance rather than a substitute for food safety advice.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.