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Internal temperature chart

The temperature inside the food decides the result, not the time on the clock. Here are the temperatures we cook to, and the ones the Hehku app suggests for you.

These are target temperatures

Each number is the temperature the food is ready at. Meat keeps warming after it leaves the heat, so it has to come off before it reaches the target. Wait until the thermometer shows the target and it will overshoot.

The Hehku app does this for you. Pick the food and the doneness, and the app estimates how much the temperature will still rise and alerts you in time to take the meat off the heat and start resting. The meat reaches the target while it rests.

How the app guides you

Pick the food and donenessThe target temperature is set for you. You can also adjust it yourself.
Follow it on your phoneSee the internal temperature live, with an estimate of the time left and when it will be ready.
Alert: take it off the heatThe app alerts you before the target. The estimate takes the cut, the target and the oven or grill temperature into account, and it sharpens as the meat cooks.
RestingThe app shows the resting time left and tells you when resting is done and the meat has reached the target.

Beef

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Steak or roast	Rare	51 °C
Steak or roast	Medium rare	54 °C	App default, the most popular
Steak or roast	Medium	58 °C
Steak or roast	Medium well	64 °C
Steak or roast	Well done	70 °C
Brisket	Smoked	95 °C	Long smoke, connective tissue melts
Pulled beef	Extra well done	96 °C	Pulling

Pork

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Pork chop or loin	Medium well	68 °C	App default
Pork chop or loin	Well done	71 °C
Pork roast	Medium	66 °C	App default
Ham and neck	Well done	72 °C	Measure the thickest part, away from the bone
Christmas ham	Well done	72 °C
Pork shoulder	Well done	75 °C
Pulled pork	Extra well done	96 °C	Long cook, pulling
Pork ribs	Smoked	88–91 °C

Poultry

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Chicken breast	Medium well	72 °C	App default
Whole chicken	Well done	74 °C	Measure the thickest part of the breast
Chicken leg, thigh and wings	Well done	78 °C	Juicier than at breast temperature
Turkey breast or whole	Well done	72 °C
Turkey legs	Well done	80 °C
Duck breast	Medium	58 °C	App default

Game

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Elk and venison	Medium rare	54 °C	App default. Very lean, do not overcook
Elk and venison	Medium	60 °C
Reindeer	Medium	54 °C	App default
Wild boar and bear	Well done	71 °C	Always cook through

Lamb

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Leg of lamb or rack	Medium rare	63 °C
Leg of lamb or rack	Medium	68 °C	App default

Fish

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Salmon fillet	Medium rare	44 °C	App default, juicy
Salmon fillet	Medium	48 °C
Salmon fillet	Medium well	55 °C	Default for a whole salmon
Rainbow trout and char	Medium well	58 °C	App default
Zander and perch	Medium	57 °C
Pike and cod	Well done	60 °C	App default

Minced meat and sausage

Food	Doneness	Target temperature	Note
Burger and meatloaf	Well done	75 °C	Always cook through. No preset, use the Simple mode
Sausage	Well done	72 °C	No preset, use the Simple mode

The temperatures are the Hehku app presets, and you can adjust them in the app to your taste. Always cook poultry, minced meat, wild boar and bear through.

How much does the temperature rise during carryover cooking?

These are rough figures. The rise depends on the size of the cut, the target and the oven or grill temperature. The app estimates the rise and follows the temperature while the meat rests, so you do not have to guess. Rest it at room temperature, loosely covered with foil.

Cut	Carryover rise	Resting time
Thin steak or fish fillet	1–2 °C	3–5 min
Thick steak or pork tenderloin	2–4 °C	5–10 min
Large roast, ham or whole bird	4–8 °C	15–30 min

Measure it right

The thickest part

Push the probe into the thickest part. The tip reads the internal temperature, so it belongs in the centre.

Not bone, not fat

Bone conducts heat and fat insulates, and both give a wrong reading. Keep the tip in the meat.

Thin cuts from the side

In a thin steak or fillet the tip will not reach the centre from above. Push the probe in horizontally from the side.

More than one piece

Pieces cook at different speeds. With the two probes of the Hehku Duo you can follow two pieces, or two spots in a large roast.

Questions about internal temperatures

Why take the meat off the heat before the target?

The surface is hotter than the centre, and the heat keeps moving inwards while the meat rests. In a large roast the rise can be several degrees. Take it off at the target and it overshoots.

How do I know when to take it off?

The Hehku app alerts you when it is time to take the meat off the heat and start resting. The alert does not come a fixed number of degrees early: the app estimates the rise from the cut, the target and the oven or grill temperature. Slow-smoked cuts such as ribs have no carryover phase, so for them the alert comes at the target.

Is a medium rare steak safe to eat?

In a whole cut the bacteria are on the surface, and searing cooks the surface. Minced meat is different because the surface is mixed through it. Always cook minced meat to 75 °C.

Why cook chicken legs hotter than the breast?

The leg has more connective tissue, which only softens at a higher temperature. The breast dries out when taken far past 72–74 °C, while the leg is at its juiciest at around 78 °C.

Do the temperatures work for smoking, grilling and sous vide?

Yes. The target is the same however you cook. In a slow cook the temperature rises less during carryover than it does after high heat.