Cooking Temp of Steak: Internal Temperatures From Rare to Well Done

The cooking temp of steak is read in the center of the meat, and most cooks work to a band rather than a single number: roughly 120-125 °F (49-52 °C) for rare, 130-135 °F (54-57 °C) for medium rare, 135-145 °F (57-63 °C) for medium, 145-155 °F (63-68 °C) for medium well, and 155 °F (68 °C) and up for well done. Medium rare is the range most tender steakhouse cuts are aimed at, because it is warm enough to soften fat and collagen slightly without squeezing out much moisture. Two things complicate that chart. A steak keeps cooking after it leaves the heat, so the temperature you cook to is lower than the temperature you serve at. And the number only means something if the probe tip is sitting in the coldest part of the center. This page is an editorial reference to the ranges kitchens and recipe writers work to, not a report on measurements of our own.

Steak doneness temperatures at a glance

Doneness is a gradient, not a set of steps, which is why every chart shows bands instead of single values. Inside a band, the low end is juicier and softer, the high end is firmer and a shade drier. If your steak lands at 128 °F (53 °C), it is simply between rare and medium rare; the gaps between published bands are rounding, not forbidden territory.

All of these numbers refer to the center of the steak at its thickest point. The outer few millimeters are far hotter, and in a thick cut the temperature can differ noticeably from one end to the other, so a single reading in the wrong spot can be off by a whole doneness level.

Rare, 120-125 °F (49-52 °C): cool red center, very soft texture, fat barely rendered.
Medium rare, 130-135 °F (54-57 °C): warm red center that shades to pink at the edges; the usual target for ribeye, strip, sirloin and tenderloin.
Medium, 135-145 °F (57-63 °C): pink through the middle, firmer bite, more of the internal fat melted.
Medium well, 145-155 °F (63-68 °C): a narrow pink line at most; lean cuts start to feel dry here.
Well done, 155 °F (68 °C) and above: no pink, the muscle fibers have contracted and the steak feels tight and chewy.
Cold to the touch straight from the fridge is not a doneness level: a raw center is simply undercooked, however good the crust looks.

Pull temperature: the number you actually cook to

Heat stored in the outer layers of the steak keeps moving inward after you take it off the heat, so the center climbs for a while during the rest. This carryover is why experienced cooks pull a steak below the serving temperature rather than at it. The size of the climb depends on how steep the temperature gradient is: a thick steak seared hard over high heat has a very hot exterior and carries a lot of heat inward, while a thin steak or one cooked gently has far less to give.

For a typical thick steak off a hot pan or grill, pulling around 5 °F (3 °C) below the target is a sensible working rule. For a thin steak, the carryover may be close to nothing, so pull at the target. For a very thick bone-in cut, expect more, and check again during the rest rather than guessing.

Rest most steaks about 5 to 10 minutes, longer for very thick cuts. The rest evens out the gradient between a scorching surface and a cool core, so the steak eats more consistently. Rest on a rack or warm plate rather than sealed under tight foil, which keeps steaming the crust soft, and do not rest so long that the steak turns cold.

Decide the serving doneness first, then subtract the carryover for your cut and method.
Thin steak: pull at target. Standard thick steak from high heat: about 5 °F (3 °C) early. Very thick or bone-in: more, so re-check while it rests.
Take a second reading two or three minutes into the rest; that is the number your guest will taste.
If it is already past target when you pull it, move it somewhere cool and airy immediately instead of covering it.

Where to put the probe

A thermometer reading is only as good as its placement. The center of the thickest part of the muscle is the coldest point, and that is the number that decides doneness. For steaks, come in horizontally from the side rather than down from the top, so the tip can sit in the middle of the thickness instead of punching straight through.

Push the probe slowly through the steak and watch the display: the reading drops as the tip approaches the center and rises again as it moves toward the far surface. The low point of that sweep is the center. Take two or three readings in different spots and trust the lowest one.

Avoid bone, thick fat seams and gristle. Bone conducts heat differently and fat reads warmer than the muscle next to it.
Use an instant-read thermometer with a thin tip: it responds faster and leaves a smaller channel for juice to escape.
For thick cuts, a leave-in probe lets you track the climb instead of repeatedly opening the oven or lid.
Check a bone-in steak in more than one place; the meat next to the bone and the smaller tenderloin side of a T-bone will not match the thick strip side.
Verify the instrument occasionally: an ice-water slurry should read 32 °F (0 °C), and boiling water 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level, lower at altitude.
Wipe the probe between readings, and never leave a raw-meat reading unwiped before touching cooked food.

The right temperature depends on the cut

The same doneness temperature does not suit every steak. Fat and connective tissue need a little more heat to soften, while very lean muscle has nothing to spare and dries out quickly. That is why the target moves up or down depending on what is on the board.

Marbled cuts such as ribeye and a well-marbled strip: the upper end of medium rare into medium, so the intramuscular fat has time to soften rather than sit waxy.
Lean tender cuts such as tenderloin, sirloin and lean round steaks: rare to medium rare. Past medium they lose juiciness fast because there is little fat to compensate.
Coarse-grained cuts such as flank, skirt, hanger and flap: medium rare, then slice thin across the grain. Taken to well done they turn stringy and tough.
Thick bone-in cuts such as porterhouse and tomahawk: accept a gradient across the steak, probe the thickest section, and carve so each portion gets a mix.
Thin steaks under about 3/4 in (2 cm): the center passes through medium rare in seconds and a probe is hard to place. Cook these by time, heat and appearance rather than chasing a reading.
Very cold steak straight from the fridge reaches the same final target, but the gradient is steeper and the outer layers overcook more before the center catches up.

How the cooking method changes the target

Method decides how much heat is stored outside the center, and that is what determines both the pull temperature and how even the finished steak looks when you cut it.

A hard sear in a pan or over live fire builds the steepest gradient and the largest carryover, so it needs the lowest pull temperature. A low, slow approach produces a center that is nearly uniform edge to edge, with far less residual climb. A water bath is the extreme case: since the bath temperature is a ceiling the meat cannot pass, it sets the doneness directly, and almost all of the remaining rise comes from the sear afterwards.

Hot sear throughout: pull lowest, rest properly, and expect a visible gradient from crust to center.
Reverse sear: bring the steak up in low heat to roughly 10-15 °F (5-8 °C) below the serving target, then sear fast and hot to finish the crust and the last degrees.
Two-zone grilling: build the crust over the hot side, then finish over the cool side and probe with the steak off the flame, since radiant heat skews readings.
Sous vide: hold the bath at the doneness you want, dry the surface thoroughly, then sear briefly so the center barely moves.
Any method: probe away from direct heat and hot metal, and give the thermometer a couple of seconds to settle before reading.

Safety, color and the steaks that need more heat

On a whole-muscle steak, contamination sits mainly on the surface, and searing the outside addresses that surface. This is the reason a rare or medium rare center is conventional for steak while a rare burger is not. Ground meat has had its surface mixed all the way through, so it needs a higher internal temperature, commonly 160 °F (71 °C) for beef patties.

The same logic applies to steaks that have been mechanically tenderized, needle- or blade-tenderized, or injected with marinade: the process carries surface bacteria into the interior, so these should be cooked to a higher internal temperature and according to the instructions on the package. If you cannot tell how a steak was processed, treat it as the stricter case.

Public food-safety advice for whole cuts of beef generally lands around 145 °F (63 °C) followed by a short rest, which is well above the medium rare most people cook to. Anyone cooking for young children, pregnant people, older adults or someone immunocompromised should follow that stricter target rather than the steakhouse range.

Finally, do not judge doneness by color. Meat can look brown in the middle while still at medium rare, or stay stubbornly pink well past well done, depending on pH, packaging, how long it has been stored and whether it was frozen. The hand or touch test can work for a cook who makes the same cut every day, but it drifts with thickness, fat content and starting temperature. Temperature is the one signal you can act on consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ideal cooking temp for steak?

For most tender cuts, medium rare at 130-135 °F (54-57 °C) is the common target: warm enough to soften fat and collagen slightly, cool enough to keep the meat juicy. There is no single correct number, though. A heavily marbled ribeye often eats better at the top of that band or just into medium at 135-140 °F (57-60 °C), while a very lean tenderloin is usually better nearer 130 °F (54 °C).

At what temperature should I take the steak off the heat?

Below your serving target, because the center keeps climbing during the rest. For a standard thick steak seared over high heat, pulling around 5 °F (3 °C) early is a reasonable rule. A thin steak carries over very little, so pull it at the target. A very thick or bone-in cut carries over more, so check the reading again a couple of minutes into the rest.

How long should a steak rest?

About 5 to 10 minutes for a typical steak, and longer for very thick bone-in cuts. The rest lets the temperature even out between the scorching surface and the cooler center, which is why the steak eats more consistently afterwards. Rest it on a rack or warm plate rather than wrapped tightly, so the crust does not steam soft, and do not extend the rest until the steak goes cold.

Is 145 °F too hot for a steak?

It is medium to medium-well territory, so the center will be pink at most and the steak noticeably firmer and drier than medium rare, especially in lean cuts. It is also the stricter food-safety target often given for whole cuts of beef. If you or your guests need that margin, cook to it and choose a well-marbled cut, which tolerates the extra degrees better than a lean one.

Can I check steak doneness without a thermometer?

Only roughly. Color is unreliable, since a steak can look brown at medium rare or stay pink past well done depending on pH, packaging and storage, and the touch test drifts with thickness, fat content and how cold the meat was to start. Without a thermometer, keep to thin steaks where timing is forgiving, or cut into the thickest part to look, accepting the juice you lose in the process.