Steak Doneness Table
| Doneness | Pull at | On the plate | Center look | Probe feel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rare | 115 F | 120-125 F | cool red | soft, jelly give |
| Medium-rare | 125 F | 130-135 F | warm red | springy, slight give |
| Medium | 135 F | 140-145 F | pink, juicy | firm with a little give |
| Medium-well | 145 F | 150-155 F | thin pink line | firm, barely gives |
| Well done | 155 F | 160-165 F | no pink | very firm |
| Cut thickness | Approach | Ripping-hot pan, per side |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 inch | hot pan, watch closely | 2-3 min; expect little carryover |
| 1 inch | hot pan, flip once | 3-4 min |
| 1.5-2 inches and up | reverse sear, then sear | 1 min per side after a 225 F oven |
Every doneness level is a band, not a point, and the band is what saves your steak: pull the meat 5 degrees before the number you want, because a steak keeps cooking off the heat while juices redistribute. A one-inch ribeye climbs about 3 to 5 degrees during the rest; a two-inch cut can climb 8 to 10. Pick the doneness, read the pull temperature, and the table hands you the finish line before the pan does.
One honest line runs underneath the whole chart: the USDA home standard for whole cuts of beef is 145 F with a three-minute rest, which lands in the medium band. Everything below that - rare, medium-rare - is the restaurant world riding on one fact: an intact steak carries its bacteria on the surface, and a hot sear kills them there. Ground beef breaks that rule because grinding drags the surface through the middle, which is why a burger has no rare option.
How to use
- Pick the doneness you want - the row shows the pull temperature, the final plate temperature and what the center will look like.
- Pull the steak off the heat at the pull number, tent it loosely, and let the carryover finish the climb during the rest.
- Verify with a probe in the thickest part, angled from the side - the feel test is tradition, the thermometer is the verdict.
Frequently asked questions
Is rare or medium-rare steak safe to eat?
For an intact steak, the risk profile is genuinely different from other meat: contamination lives on the surface, and searing at pan temperature destroys it. That is why restaurants can serve rare. Two hard limits remain - never rare-feed a ground-beef patty, since grinding spreads surface bacteria through the middle, and skip rare entirely for steaks that were mechanically tenderized, which pins surface bacteria into the interior. USDA's official home line stays 145 F with a rest, so the lower bands are a choice, not a standard.
Why do I pull the steak below the final temperature?
The exterior is hotter than the center, and after the steak leaves the pan the two equalize: the center keeps climbing. Thin cuts under an inch gain only 2 to 3 degrees, a standard 1-inch steak gains 3 to 5, and a two-inch or thicker cut can gain 8 to 10 - which is exactly why thick steaks should be reverse-seared and pulled even lower. Pulling at the target number means the carryover overshoots it, and a 135 target that lands at 143 is how medium-rare orders turn into medium.
Can I trust the touch or palm test for doneness?
Treat it as folklore with a direction, not a measurement: the fleshy base of your thumb firms up as you touch fingers together, and the analogy tracks rare through well-done roughly. What it cannot do is read a specific temperature - hand firmness varies with age, hydration and how hard you squeeze, and pan-seared exteriors mislead the probe too. A five-dollar instant-read in the side of the steak beats both tests, and the chart's feel column exists to describe what you already cooked, not to replace the probe.
What is reverse sear and when does it win?
Reverse sear inverts the order: hold the steak in a 225 to 250 F oven or on the cool side of the grill until it runs about 10 degrees under the pull temperature, then finish in a ripping-hot pan for roughly a minute a side. It wins on thick cuts of an inch and a half or more, where a pure pan sear burns the crust before the center moves, and on any steak you plan to cook below medium - the low approach dries the surface, which is what makes a hard sear possible. Thin steaks should skip it; there is no interior to protect.
Which doneness should I pick for a group?
Cook to medium-rare and you feed the most people honestly: it is the band most chefs consider the flavor optimum, and a medium-rare steak reads as medium to anyone who wanted more - carryover plus a plate rest push it up a band anyway. The reverse does not work: a well-done steak cannot walk back down. For mixed crowds, pull steaks individually off the same pan in sequence - rare out first at 115, medium out at 135 - rather than cooking to a compromise.