31.7.2014 Temperature (meat) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature_(meat) 1/3

Meat thermometer

Temperature (meat)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Temperature is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat isbased on the color, juiciness and internal temperature when cooked.The gradations of cooking are most often used in reference to beef(especially steak and roasts) but are also applicable to lamb, pork,poultry, veal, and seafood (especially fish).

Gradations, their description, and the associated temperature rangesvary regionally from cuisine to cuisine and in local practice and

terminology. The table below is from an American reference book[1]

and pertains to beef and lamb.

In lieu of gradations and ranges, the United States Department ofAgriculture recommends a temperature of at least 63 C (145 F) forbeef, veal, lamb steaks and roasts in order to prevent foodborne

illness.[2]

Temperatures for beef, veal, lamb steaks and roasts

Term (French) DescriptionTemperature

range[1]USDA recommended[2]

Extra-rare or Blue

(bleu)very red and cold

46

49 C

115

120 F

Rare (saignant) cold red center; soft52

55 C

125

130 F

Medium rare (point)

warm red center; firmer5560 C

130140 F

Medium (demi-

anglais)pink and firm

60

65 C

140

150 F

145 F and rest for at least 3

minutes

Medium well (cuit)small amount of pink in the

center

65

69 C

150

155 F

Well done (bien cuit) gray-brown throughout; firm 71 C+ 160 F+ 160 F for ground beef

The interior of a cut of meat will still increase in temperature 35 C (510 F) after it is removed from an ovenor other heat source. The meat should be allowed to "rest" before being served, which allows for the juices inthe center to return to the edges. The whole meat, and the center will also continue to cook slightly as the hotexterior continues to warm the comparatively cooler interior. The exception is if the meat has been prepared in asous-vide process, as it will already be at temperature equilibrium. The temperatures indicated above are thepeak temperature in the cooking process, so the meat should be removed from the heat source a few degreescooler.

Contents

1 Color

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meat_thermometer.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_muttonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vealhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafoodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodborne_illnesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

31.7.2014 Temperature (meat) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature_(meat) 2/3

Entrecte, medium

2 Drying

3 References

4 Further reading

Color

As meat is cooked, it turns from red to pink to gray to brown toblack (if burnt), and the amount of red liquid, myoglobin (not blood),and other juices decreases. The color change is due to changes in theoxidation of the iron atom of the heme group in the myoglobin protein:raw meat is red due to myoglobin protein in the muscles, nothemoglobin from blood (which also contains a heme group, hence thecolor). Prior to cooking, the iron atom is in a +2 oxidation state, andbound to a dioxygen molecule (O2), with a red color. As cooking

proceeds, it loses an electron, moving to a +3 oxidation state, andcoordinating with a water molecule (H2O), turning brown in the

process.

Searing raises the meats surface temperature to 150 C, yielding browning via different reactions:caramelization of sugars, and the Maillard reaction of amino acids. Raised to a high enough temperature, meatblackens from burning.

Drying

Well done cuts, in addition to being brown, are drier and contain little or no juices. Note that searing (cookingthe exterior at a high temperature) in no way "seals in the juices" water evaporates at the same or higher rates

as unseared meat.[3] Searing does play an important role, however, in browning, a crucial contributor to flavourand texture.

References

1. a b Green, Aliza (2005). Field Guide to Meat. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books. pp. 294295.

ISBN 1594740178.

2. a b "Beeffrom Farm to Table" (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/c33b69fe-7041-4f50-9dd0-

d098f11d1f13/Beef_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety

and Information Service. February 2003. Retrieved 2013-06-29.

3. ^ McGee, Harold (April 20, 1992). The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore. John Wiley & Sons.

p. 339. ISBN 0-02-009801-4.

Further reading

Burton, Susan (June 16, 2010), "Shoe-Leather Reporting: A history of well-done meat in America."

(http://www.slate.com/id/2256610/), Slate

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temperature_(meat)&oldid=607154723"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Perfect_Entrecote_(2454655127).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrec%C3%B4tehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxygenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning_(partial_cooking)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramelizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searing#Sealing_in_the_juiceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1594740178http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/c33b69fe-7041-4f50-9dd0-d098f11d1f13/Beef_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPEREShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Agriculturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_McGeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wiley_%26_Sonshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-02-009801-4http://www.slate.com/id/2256610/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(magazine)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temperature_(meat)&oldid=607154723

31.7.2014 Temperature (meat) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature_(meat) 3/3

Categories: Cooking Meat

This page was last modified on 5 May 2014 at 11:27.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms mayapply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered

trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cookinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Meathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_Licensehttp://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Usehttp://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policyhttp://www.wikimediafoundation.org/