🌡️ Doneness & Food Safety

Doneness chart

Pick what you're cooking and how done you like it. Take it off the heat at the first temperature; it keeps cooking as it rests and finishes at the second. Temperatures are measured in the thickest part.

The safe minimums come from the USDA's safe temperature chart. Rare and medium-rare beef, lamb and fish are below them: many people eat them that way, and the chart says so rather than hiding the choice.

Using a thermometer

Color and cooking times are guesses; an instant-read thermometer is the only reliable way to know. Times depend on thickness, starting temperature and your equipment.

• Push the tip into the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle, which read differently.
• For a whole chicken or turkey, check the thickest part of the thigh near the body and the thickest part of the breast. Every spot needs to reach the safe temperature.
• For thin pieces (chops, chicken breasts, burgers), go in from the side so the tip sits in the middle.
• For big roasts, check in a couple of places and go by the lowest reading.
• Wash the probe between raw and cooked checks.

Carryover and resting

Meat keeps cooking after it leaves the heat, as the hot outside warms the middle. Thick roasts and whole birds rise about 5–10°F (3–6°C); steaks and chops about 5°F (3°C); thin cutlets and fish barely at all. Pull food early to land on your target, which is what the chart's first number does.

Resting also lets the juices settle so less runs out when you cut. Rest steaks and chops about 5 minutes and roasts and whole birds 15–20 minutes, loosely covered with foil. The USDA asks for at least a 3-minute rest for beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops and roasts.

For safety, the chart never pulls poultry, ground meat or a safe doneness below the USDA minimum: carryover is too uneven to count on.

The danger zone

• Keep the fridge at 40°F (4°C) or colder and the freezer at 0°F (-18°C).
• Keep hot food at 140°F (60°C) or hotter until serving.
• Cool leftovers fast: divide big batches into shallow containers and refrigerate them within 2 hours. It's fine to put warm food straight into the fridge.
• Eat refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, or freeze them.
• Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C), and bring sauces, soups and gravies to a boil.

Thawing safely

• In the fridge (best): plan ahead. Small cuts take about a day; a whole turkey takes about a day for every 4–5 lb (2 kg). Thawed meat keeps a day or two more in the fridge.
• In cold water: seal the meat in a leak-proof bag, submerge it, and change the water every 30 minutes. About 30 minutes per pound (half-kilo). Cook it right away.
• In the microwave: use the defrost setting and cook right away, since parts of it start to cook.
• From frozen: it's safe to cook meat without thawing; it takes about 50% longer.

Avoiding cross-contamination

• Use a separate cutting board and plate for raw meat, poultry and fish, and never put cooked food back on the plate that held it raw.
• Wash hands with soap for 20 seconds after handling raw meat, and wash boards, knives and counters with hot, soapy water.
• Don't rinse raw chicken or meat: it splashes bacteria around the sink and counter, and cooking kills them anyway. Pat it dry with paper towels instead.
• Marinate in the fridge, not on the counter. To use a marinade as a sauce, set some aside before it touches raw meat, or bring it to a rolling boil first.