A good thermometer is still one of the best grilling tools you can buy. You can have the finest cut of meat in the world and the most expensive grill, but if you guess at the internal temperature it’s still easy to turn a nice ribeye into shoe leather or serve chicken that isn’t done.
Here’s my updated guide to internal temperature for meat, chicken, lamb, game, and fish — plus how you actually use the thermometer at the grill.
Doneness and Safe Temperature Are Not the Same Thing
This one matters. A temperature for rare, medium, or well done mainly describes how you want the meat to turn out. Food safety is a separate question.
Ground meat and poultry should be cooked through. The Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) points to 158°F as an important benchmark, since most disease-causing bacteria die off quickly at that point. On whole cuts, any bacteria normally sit mainly on the surface, which is one reason a whole steak can be served pink once the surface has had proper heat.
Internal Temperature for Beef
| Doneness | Internal Temperature |
|---|---|
| Rare | about 122–126°F |
| Medium rare | about 129–133°F |
| Medium | about 136–140°F |
| Medium well | about 144–149°F |
| Well done | about 154–158°F+ |
For ribeye, striploin, and beef tenderloin, I personally like to stay somewhere around medium rare to medium. Remember that the temperature often keeps climbing a couple of degrees after the meat comes off the grill — the carryover effect covered in more detail below.
Burgers and Other Ground Meat
Different rules apply here than for a whole steak. When meat is ground, bacteria from the surface can get mixed through the entire batch. That’s why the Food Agency recommends cooking ground meat through and points to 158°F as a benchmark. Don’t just go by color — a burger can look brown and done long before it’s actually hot enough.
Internal Temperature for Pork
| Cut | Good Target Temperature |
|---|---|
| Pork tenderloin | about 145–154°F |
| Pork chop | about 145–154°F |
| Pork collar, grilled whole | about 154–162°F |
| Pulled pork / long-cooked pork collar | about 194–203°F, go more by tenderness than an exact temperature |
The old advice that all pork must be cooked to 158–167°F regardless of cut is too broad a rule. USDA’s current safety guidance for whole cuts of pork is a minimum of 145°F followed by at least three minutes of rest. Ground pork, on the other hand, should be cooked through.
Internal Temperature for Lamb
| Doneness | Internal Temperature |
|---|---|
| Rare | about 126–129°F |
| Medium rare | about 131–135°F |
| Medium | about 136–140°F |
| Well done | about 149–158°F |
Internal Temperature for Game
Moose, deer, and roe deer are lean meats and dry out quickly if you push the temperature too far.
| Doneness | Internal Temperature |
|---|---|
| Rare | about 126–129°F |
| Medium rare | about 131–135°F |
| Medium | about 136–140°F |
Game calls for a bit of common sense around sourcing and handling. Treat ground game like any other ground meat and cook it through.
Internal Temperature for Chicken and Turkey
We don’t take chances here. Poultry should be cooked through. A simple rule of thumb at home is roughly 165°F in the thickest part. The Food Agency states that poultry and ground poultry should be cooked through and that most disease-causing bacteria die off quickly at 158°F. USDA/FSIS states 165°F as the safe minimum for poultry.
| Cut | Target Temperature |
|---|---|
| Chicken breast | about 165°F |
| Chicken thigh / drumstick | about 167–180°F — a higher temperature often gives better texture |
| Whole chicken | at least about 165°F in the thickest part, check both breast and thigh |
| Turkey | about 165°F in the thickest part |
Internal Temperature for Fish
Fish is a bit different, since the desired result varies a lot by species. A fatty salmon can be fantastic while still juicy and slightly translucent in the middle, while other fish are often served more fully cooked.
As a practical grilling target I usually think roughly 122–131°F for juicy fish, but adjust for species, quality, and who you’re serving. For more detail, see our temperature guide for fish.
How to Measure Internal Temperature Correctly
- Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat.
- Avoid letting the tip touch bone — it can give a misleading reading.
- On larger cuts and whole poultry, take readings in more than one spot.
- On thin steaks, it’s often easiest to insert the thermometer from the side.
- Clean the thermometer between raw and cooked food.
Don’t Forget Carryover Cooking
Meat doesn’t stop cooking the instant you lift it off the grill. The temperature can keep climbing a few degrees while the meat rests. How much depends on size, temperature, and cooking method.
On a thick steak or a reverse-seared cut, I usually pull the meat a degree or two before my target temperature. On really large cuts, the temperature rise can be bigger.
If you want to understand the difference between direct and indirect grilling, low and slow, and other setups, I’d also recommend our guide to grilling methods.
Which Grill Thermometer Should You Choose?
You don’t need to buy the most expensive thermometer on the market, but do buy one that’s fast, consistent, and easy to read.
In practice I use two types:
- A fast instant-read thermometer — perfect for steaks, fish, burgers, and quick checks.
- A wireless or wired probe — perfect for brisket, pulled pork, whole chicken, and other longer cooks where you want to track temperature without opening the lid.
Old, slow-reading grill thermometers still work, but today’s faster models make life a lot easier. The most important thing is still the same as when I wrote the first version of this guide: stop guessing and start measuring.
Quick Cheat Sheet
- Beef, whole cut: pick your doneness — roughly 126°F rare, 131–135°F medium rare, 136–140°F medium.
- Ground meat: cook through, around 158°F.
- Pork, whole cut: often good around 145–154°F depending on the cut.
- Chicken and turkey: about 165°F in the thickest part.
- Lamb: roughly the same doneness levels as beef.
- Fish: often around 122–131°F for a juicy result, depending on species and desired doneness.
Food safety: the figures above separate desired doneness from safe cooking. The Food Agency recommends cooking poultry, ground poultry, and ground meat through. Current safety guidance has been checked against the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) and USDA/FSIS.