USDA Pork Temperature Guidelines

[BadRabbit]

New recommended cook temp is 145.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43150921/ns/health/

That's still a little higher than I cook mine but it's much better than the old sawdust guideline.

Where do you cook yours?

Edited May 24, 2011 by BadRabbit (log)

[emannths]

Official press release from the USDA.

I'm still going to cook my tenderloins no hotter than the 130s.

[inductioncook]

145F (63 Celsius) has long been a suggestion from a lot of great chefs, for example, Eric Ripert, who is used to finding the optimal temperature for things that need only be barely cooked. 130F is awfully low for your tenderloins -- is that with a gradient so it is only that cool in the center and will continue to cook as it rises?

Now that better thermometers and the sous vide movement have made people in the US so much more conscious of precise temperatures it sure would be nice if we would join the World and start using Celsius!

[TheNoodleIncident]

very happy to see this! everytime i cook pork, i practically have to argue with my wife over when the meat is done....she grew up thinking that it had to be snow white to be done, otherwise it was "raw"....still not sure if this will recondition her after years of being told otherwise, but it cant hurt

[qrn]

Don't remember where I read it but I have been using 137deg for a long,long time....(may have been a note in USDA stuff...)

Bud

[BadRabbit]

Don't remember where I read it but I have been using 137deg for a long,long time....(may have been a note in USDA stuff...)

Bud

I shoot for high 130s too. I'll pull a bigger piece (e.g. loin roast) at 135.

[rotuts]

the most delicious pork Ive cooked (not SV) is less than 130.

its rare in the middle and sliced micro thin in a sandwich is to die for.

and yes its a risk but not for the trichinosis

[OliverB]

I stick to 140, I cooked some SV to 130 and that was just too - uh - alive (?) - for my taste. I don't want rubber, but cooked to 140 is just about right for my taste, no longer pink, but nice and juicy. I shoot for the same on the bbq, might take it off a bit earlier if I cue on high heat, if smoking at ~200F I go to 140, not much rise after taking it off.

Not so much a safety issue, more a personal preference, at 130 I find it "tastes" undercooked.

[gfweb]

Pork crudo is undesirable. I like pink but not bloody.

[Borgstrom]

The USDA press release also mentions a rest time of 3 minutes for whole cuts of meat. This is apparently the fist time that time-at-temperature has been used in general consumer guidance from USDA for cooking meat. I guess USDA figures we're all smart enough now to measure two things!

A "rest time" is the amount of time the product remains at the final temperature, after it has been removed from a grill, oven, or other heat source. During the three minutes after meat is removed from the heat source, its temperature remains constant or continues to rise, which destroys pathogens.

But it's not really clear why they didn't go all the way and give time-at-temp guidelines for ground meat or poultry. Perhaps USDA's perception of consumer IQ will continue to grow and we'll get another guideline update in a few years...

This change does not apply to ground meats, including ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which should be cooked to 160 °F and do not require a rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 °F.

[Chris Hennes]

According to the New York Times:

Pork is safe at a cooking temperature of 145 degrees rather than the previously recommended 160, the Department of Agriculture said this week, a change that's not really news to most chefs. "Finally, people from the USDA start cooking themselves, and they realize that if you have a lean piece of meat it gets tough and dry," at the higher temperature, said chef Jacques Pepin.

The article even quotes Nathan Myhrvold (member "nathanm" here) whose recent Modernist Cuisine eviscerated the USDA's attitudes and regulations. Now, when are we going to get our chicken standard fixed?

Edited to add: USA Today article that doesn't require a log-in at the Times.