Printable version Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures
Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures
Follow the guidelines below for minimum cooking temperatures and rest time for meat, poultry, seafood, and other cooked foods. Make sure to use a food thermometer to check whether meat has reached a safe internal temperature that is hot enough to kill harmful germs that can cause food poisoning.
Safe Cooking Temperatures Chart
| FOOD | TYPE | INTERNAL
TEMPERATURE (°F) |
| Ground meat & meat mixtures | Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb, | 160 |
| Chicken & Turkey | 165 | |
| Fresh
Beef, Veal, Lamb, Venison, Bison |
Steaks, Roasts, Chops
(Rest Time: 3 minutes) |
145 |
| Bison *(look above for steak & Roast cooking temp.) | Ground Bison | 160 |
| Poultry | All Poultry
(breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets & stuffing) |
165 |
| Pork & Ham | Fresh pork, including fresh ham (Rest Time: 3 minutes) | 145 |
| Precooked ham (to reheat)
NOTE: Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants |
165 | |
| Eggs & Egg dishes | Eggs | Cook until yolk & whites are firm |
| Egg dishes (such as frittata & quiche) | 160 | |
| Leftovers & Casseroles | Leftovers and Casseroles | 165 |
| Seafood | Fish w/ fins | 145 or cook until flesh is opaque & separates easily w/ a fork |
| Shrimp, lobster, crab & scallops | Cook until flesh is pearly or white and opaque | |
| Clams, oysters & Mussels | Cook until shells open during cooking |
Last updated: 3/2020
Cooking w/ Author, K.G. Petrone 