Your Guide to Meat Temperatures: Steak

All this week we have been talking about meat temperatures on social media. While we could just throw all of the different meat temperature guidelines into one blog post, it would be massive and no fun to read.

So in the interest of keeping things short, sweet, and to the point, we’re going to be doing a blog post series on meat temperatures.

First up: Steak!

We have some strong opinions at Char-Griller HQ about how steak should be cooked. While we do try to be as unbiased as possible, this is one area where we just can’t help it. So here we go, your guide to steak temperatures.

The Different Meat Temperatures

We all know that one person who tells us, “No, seriously. I just want the steak kissed by the grill. Quick sear on both sides and then off. I want to hear it mooing still.” Extra Rare steak means that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat is at 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes called Blue or Purple Rare, cooking steak to this temperature means it is barely warm in the middle.

Now we are hitting the ideal restaurant quality steak. Medium Rare is the temperature that waiters most commonly recommend when you order a steak at a restaurant. Cooked until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the steak is at 135 degrees Fahrenheit it’s a great way to get the ideal flavor and texture of a steak.

Pro Tip: If you are worried a restaurant is going to overcook your steak, ask for Medium Rare because you can almost guarantee that you will at least end up with Medium.

One of the most common meat temperatures, Medium steak is cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. It is still mostly tender but quickly approaching the almost dry stage. If you only like a little bit of pink in your steak, Medium is the way to go.

Now we are approaching the point of no return. Medium Well steak is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit. A lot of people feel like this is the only “safe” temperature for steak, but that’s just not true. That being said, it is the temperature you want to cook steak to when someone says they only want a tiny bit of pink in their steak.

We can’t really even justify this one with more than a sentence or two. But yeah…Well Done means your steak is really dead. It just can’t survive that 160 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature. God speed.

Quick Start Guide to Steak Temperatures