Internal Cooking Temperatures

To properly and safely cook meat, it is critical to know internal temperatures for the protein at hand. Here is a quick guide, thanks to foodsafety.gov, to help keep your family and friends safe while keeping your protein nice and moist!

Ground Meat: 160ºF

• Turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, pork, and veal.

Poultry: 165ºF

• This includes whole chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese as well as thigh meat, breasts and stuffing. 

Steaks, Roasts and Chops: 145ºF

• This includes beef, veal and lamb.

Pork and Ham: 145ºF

Seafood:

• Fish: 145ºF or until flesh is opaque and flakes when touched with a fork.
• Shrimp: flesh should be opaque and tails curled.
• Lobster and crabs: flesh should be opaque.
• Clams, oysters, mussels: Once shells open during cooking. If shells are open before cooking, don’t use them!
• Scallops: Flesh color should be opaque and slightly firm to the touch.

Egg Dishes: 160ºF

Reheating Leftovers (including casseroles): 165ºF

Now that you understand the internal cooking temperature, let’s fire up our ovens and start cooking!

Cheers to starting a new tradition around the table together!

Sincerely,

Tiffany Lewis

Founder and true believer in the power of bringing people around The Table Together!