Is It Done? How to Safely Monitor Cooking Temps

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How many times have you carved into a steak or chicken to find it underdone, postponing a meal while you rush it back to the oven or grill? Not only is it disappointing, and even embarrassing when guests are involved, it’s not safe. Cooking foods to a safe internal temperature ensures harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness have been killed. Knowing these temps and how to accurately measure them can help keep you safe and optimize time and flavor by avoiding undercooked foods.

Use a Food Thermometer

The most accurate way to know if food is adequately cooked is by using a food thermometer. You may have used methods for measuring doneness like waiting for chicken juices to run clear or food looks done on the surface, but they can be difficult to judge. Internal temperature is the only way to know for sure that food is cooked all the way through.

There are many types of thermometers, but the easiest and quickest to use is an instant-read digital thermometer. They work with all types and thicknesses of foods, and some can attach to a cable to check temp while food is in the oven.

Keep a food temperature guide with minimum internal temps for food safety handy while you cook foods that can be potentially hazardous, including meats, poultry, fish, eggs and casseroles. When checking for doneness, insert the thermometer probe into the thickest or densest part of the food, and then try a few different places, as some parts may take longer to cook than others.

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If you’re cooking meat, avoid touching the bone, which conducts heat and can give an inaccurate reading. Allow the thermometer several seconds to read and hold the temp for each insertion, and be careful to wash the probe between checking partially cooked food and checking it again.

Temperature guide:

Use a food thermometer to cook to these internal temperatures.

-- Beef, lamb, pork, veal: 145 F -- Fish and shellfish: 145 F -- Ground meats: 160 F -- Poultry (including ground): 165 F -- Eggs: 160 F -- Casseroles: 165 F -- Leftovers: 165 F

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