--- title: "Safe Temperatures for Grilled Food: 145°F, 160°F, 165°F and a Food Thermometer" description: "USDA's minimum internal temperatures for steaks, burgers, poultry and fish, why a browned crust proves nothing, holding food at 140°F and the 2-hour limit." url: "https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safe-temperatures-for-grilled-food/" date_modified: "2026-09-26" --- Gas, fire and food at the grill # Safe Temperatures for Grilled Food: 145°F, 160°F, 165°F and a Food Thermometer The safe temperatures for grilled food come from USDA FSIS: beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops and roasts at 145°F with a 3-minute rest, ground meats at 160°F, all poultry at 165°F, fish at 145°F, all read on a food thermometer. Keep cooked food at 140°F or warmer and discard it after 2 hours out, or 1 hour above 90°F. By [BBQGrillRepair.center technical team](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/authors/technical-team/) Published September 26, 2026 ## At a glance. A grill browns meat long before the middle of it is done, which is why the color of a crust and the look of the juices prove nothing. USDA's answer is a number read on a food thermometer, and there are only a handful of them to remember. Read the whole guide ### Steaks, chops, roasts 145°F, then rest 3 minutes Beef, pork, veal and lamb, per USDA FSIS. ### Burgers and sausages 160°F USDA's figure for ground meats. ### Chicken and turkey 165°F All poultry, whole, pieces or ground. ### Out of the heat 2 hours; 1 hour past 90°F Discard food left out longer, FSIS says. In this guide 1. The safe temperatures for grilled food, from USDA 2. Reading the thermometer at the grill 3. Before the food reaches the grate 4. At the grill and after it 5. Step by step 6. Questions ## The safe temperatures for grilled food, from USDA USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service publishes one chart of safe minimum internal temperatures, and it asks for each to be measured with a food thermometer before the food comes off the heat. You may cook past them for taste; you should not stop short of them. The rest time on whole cuts is part of the rule, not a garnish: the meat sits off the grill for at least 3 minutes before it is carved or eaten. *USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperatures for food that often goes on a grill* | Food | Minimum internal temperature | Rest | | --- | --- | --- | | Steaks, chops and roasts of beef, pork, veal or lamb | 145°F | At least 3 minutes | | Ground beef, pork, veal and lamb, including burgers | 160°F | None | | All poultry: breasts, whole birds, legs, thighs, wings, ground | 165°F | None | | Fish and shellfish | 145°F | None | | Fresh or smoked ham, uncooked | 145°F | At least 3 minutes | | Fully cooked ham, reheated | 140°F if packaged in a USDA-inspected plant, otherwise 165°F | None | | Hot dogs and other fully cooked meats, reheated | 165°F or until steaming hot | None | ### Why the outside of the meat misleads FSIS points out that meat and poultry cooked on a grill brown very fast on the outside, which is exactly why it wants a thermometer used. A burger over a hot sear burner can be dark and crusted with a middle still well short of 160°F, while a chicken thigh cooked slowly over indirect heat can look pale and be fully done. Source: [USDA FSIS — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart) — 145°F plus 3-minute rest for beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops and roasts and for uncooked ham; 160°F ground meats; 165°F all poultry, leftovers and casseroles; 145°F fish and shellfish; reheat cooked ham to 140°F or 165°F; measure with a food thermometer before removing from the heat ## Reading the thermometer at the grill The dial on the grill lid measures the air under the lid, and a pellet grill's controller reports the temperature of its cooking chamber. Neither says anything about the inside of a chicken breast. The number that counts comes from a food thermometer pushed into the meat itself, before it leaves the heat. Read more than one piece when a grill is loaded, because heat is rarely even from one end of a grate to the other. The pieces over the hottest burner finish first and the ones near a cooler edge or a burner turned low lag behind, so the last piece checked is the one that decides when the platter is ready. ### When the grill itself is the problem If thighs on the left of the grate keep reading well below those on the right, or a cook that used to take twenty minutes now takes forty, the grill is telling you something. A burner partly blocked by rust or a nest, a tired regulator or a pellet controller that has drifted can all leave one zone cool. Cook to the thermometer in the meantime, and book a look at the grill rather than trusting the lid dial. Source: [USDA FSIS — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart) — 145°F plus 3-minute rest for beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops and roasts and for uncooked ham; 160°F ground meats; 165°F all poultry, leftovers and casseroles; 145°F fish and shellfish; reheat cooked ham to 140°F or 165°F; measure with a food thermometer before removing from the heat Close on a thermometer reading in a chicken breast on the grates of a grill. ## Before the food reaches the grate FSIS asks for meat and poultry to be thawed completely before grilling so it cooks evenly, in the refrigerator or in sealed packages in cold water; microwave thawing is fine only if the food goes on the grill right away. Marinating happens in the refrigerator, not on the counter or the side shelf. If some marinade is wanted as a sauce, set that portion aside before raw meat goes into it, and boil any used marinade for a few minutes before brushing it on. Cold food stays at 40°F or below. Keep meat refrigerated until it is going straight onto the grill, and if a cooler carries it out, keep the cooler in the shade, open it as little as possible and pack drinks in a separate one from the perishables. - Only take out the meat that is about to go on the grill. - Store raw meat and poultry sealed at the bottom of a cooler, under other food. - If poultry juice leaks onto other meat, cook that meat to 165°F. - Use a clean platter and clean utensils for cooked food, never the ones that held it raw. Source: [USDA FSIS — Grilling and Food Safety](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/grilling-and-food-safety) — Grilled meat browns fast outside, use a thermometer; thaw fully; marinate in the refrigerator and boil used marinade; keep cold food at 40°F or below; poultry juice on other meat means cooking it to 165°F; never partially grill and finish later; keep hot food at 140°F or warmer; discard after 2 hours or 1 hour above 90°F; reheat hot dogs to 165°F ## At the grill and after it FSIS is firm on one habit: never partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking it later. Precooking in the microwave or indoors to shorten grill time is fine, as long as the food goes straight onto a preheated grill to finish. Once it is done, keep it hot at 140°F or warmer until it is served, by moving it to the side of the grate rather than over direct heat, where it would overcook. Leftovers go into shallow containers in the refrigerator promptly. Anything left out more than 2 hours is discarded, and on a day above 90°F that limit drops to 1 hour, a line easy to cross on a hot patio during a long meal. - Precooked food goes onto a grill that is already hot and stays there until done. - Finished meat waits at the edge of the grate, away from direct flame. - Leftovers are chilled promptly in shallow containers. - Anything out past 2 hours goes in the trash, and past 1 hour once the day tops 90°F. ### Low and slow on a pellet or gas grill Smoking cooks food indirectly and slowly, on a pellet grill, in a covered gas grill or in a dedicated smoker. FSIS asks for the cooker itself to be held at 250 to 300°F for safety, and for the meat to be checked with a food thermometer against the same chart. A pellet grill set far below that for many hours to build smoke flavor is outside what FSIS describes. ### Reheating on the grill Hot dogs and other fully cooked meats go back on the grill until they reach 165°F or are steaming hot. The same figure applies to leftovers and casseroles warmed up the next day. Source: [USDA FSIS — Grilling and Food Safety](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/grilling-and-food-safety) — Grilled meat browns fast outside, use a thermometer; thaw fully; marinate in the refrigerator and boil used marinade; keep cold food at 40°F or below; poultry juice on other meat means cooking it to 165°F; never partially grill and finish later; keep hot food at 140°F or warmer; discard after 2 hours or 1 hour above 90°F; reheat hot dogs to 165°F; [USDA FSIS — Grilling Food Safely](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/grilling-food-safely) — Hold the smoker at 250 to 300°F for safety and use a food thermometer; keep cooked meat hot to the side of the grill rack; refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers ## Where to stop A grill that cannot bring food to these temperatures in a normal time is a grill problem, not a recipe problem. If one side stays cold, the flame is low or yellow, or a pellet grill will not hold its setting, stop relying on it for poultry and ground meat and book a visit; we check burners, the regulator, the valves and pellet controllers. Written by [BBQGrillRepair.center technical team](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/authors/technical-team/). Technicians who fix burners, igniters and pellet feeds on backyard grills, drawing on service calls and makers' manuals. Sources: [USDA FSIS — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart) · [USDA FSIS — Grilling and Food Safety](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/grilling-and-food-safety) · [USDA FSIS — Grilling Food Safely](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/grilling-food-safely) ## Step by step. Five steps, in the order worth doing them. 01 ### Thaw and marinate cold Thaw fully and marinate in the refrigerator, keeping raw food at 40°F or below until it goes on the grill. 02 ### Cook to the number Read a food thermometer in the meat: 145°F for whole cuts and fish, 160°F for ground meat, 165°F for poultry. 03 ### Rest the whole cuts Let steaks, chops and roasts rest at least 3 minutes off the heat. 04 ### Serve on a clean platter Move cooked food to a clean platter and hold it at 140°F or warmer. 05 ### Watch the clock Refrigerate leftovers promptly and discard food out more than 2 hours; 1 hour past 90°F. For the heart of your home. ## Questions owners ask. ### Is a pink center in a burger safe if it has reached 160°F? USDA's rule is the temperature, not the color. Ground meat is safe at 160°F measured with a food thermometer, and color on its own does not tell you whether that number was reached. ### Can I pull steaks off at 140°F and let them climb to 145°F while resting? FSIS asks for 145°F measured before the food is removed from the heat, followed by at least 3 minutes of rest. Pulling early is not what the chart describes. ### How long can grilled chicken sit out on the patio table? No more than 2 hours, and only 1 hour when the air is above 90°F. After that FSIS says to discard it. ### Does the thermometer on the lid tell me when the food is done? No. It reads the air under the lid. Only a food thermometer in the meat shows whether it has reached a safe temperature. ## The problems behind it. Each has a page of its own: what it usually means and the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Grill Not Getting Hot Enough to Sear 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Grill Uneven Heat: Hot Spots and Cold Corners on the Grates 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Pellet Grill Temperature Swings Far From the Set Point 6 causes, cheapest first ## When it needs a technician. The repairs on the right are where this guide ends when the checks do not settle it. ### Grill diagnostic visit One visit to find why the grill will not light, heat or hold its flame: gas supply, burners, igniters, valves and any controller, each checked. ### Grill burner replacement Rusted, split or blocked grill burners cleared or replaced, their venturi necks freed of webs and nests, and every flame set blue and even. ### Pellet grill auger and controller repair Jammed augers, dead hot rods, weak combustion fans, lying probes and failed controllers on pellet grills, traced and replaced with the maker's parts. ## More in gas, fire and food at the grill. What to do when you smell gas at the grill, when grease catches in the firebox, when flame shows behind the knobs, and how hot grilled meat and poultry must be before it is safe to serve. [The whole section](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) Gas, flame, grease and safe temperatures ### A Grease Fire in the Grill: Burners Off, Gas Closed, Lid Down If It Is Safe, Never Water How to tell a flare-up from a fire that will not stop, the order of the first moves, when it becomes a 911 call, and what to look over once the grill is cold. Gas, flame, grease and safe temperatures ### Flashback Behind the Grill Knobs: Flame at the Wrong End of the Burner Why a web in a venturi tube moves the flame behind the control panel, the sound and signs to know, closing the gas from a safe spot, and keeping the tubes clear. Guides ### All 18 guides Six sections, by what you are trying to find out. --- **[Read on the site: Safe Temperatures for Grilled Food: 145°F, 160°F, 165°F and a Food Thermometer](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safe-temperatures-for-grilled-food/)** **[Book a visit with BBQGrillRepair.center](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/schedule/)**