Steaks
Steak Doneness Levels: Temperature Table and How to Use a Probe
Six levels from blue to well done: when to pull the steak, what it reaches after resting, the colour of the cut and time per side for a 3 cm steak.
MYASYA team4 min readupdated
Doneness table
Blue
- Pull at
- 46-49 °C
- After resting
- 49-52 °C
- Cut surface
- crimson, barely warm
- Per side, 3 cm
- 1-1.5 min
Rare
- Pull at
- 49-52 °C
- After resting
- 52-55 °C
- Cut surface
- red, warm centre
- Per side, 3 cm
- 2-2.5 min
Medium rare
- Pull at
- 52-55 °C
- After resting
- 55-58 °C
- Cut surface
- pinkish red, hot
- Per side, 3 cm
- 3-3.5 min
Medium
- Pull at
- 57-60 °C
- After resting
- 60-63 °C
- Cut surface
- pink, clear juice
- Per side, 3 cm
- 4-4.5 min
Medium well
- Pull at
- 62-65 °C
- After resting
- 65-68 °C
- Cut surface
- faintly pink centre
- Per side, 3 cm
- 5-5.5 min
Well done
- Pull at
- 68-70 °C
- After resting
- 71 °C and up
- Cut surface
- grey-brown
- Per side, 3 cm
- 6-7 min or oven
Time per side is for a 3 cm steak that has stood at room temperature, on a properly heated pan or grill. A steak straight from the fridge will take longer, a thinner one less. So the time here is a guide; decide when to pull by the thermometer.
How to use a probe properly
You need a thin-needle probe that reads in a few seconds. A thick roasting probe won't do: by the time it shows a number, the steak has moved on to the next level.
Step 1. Insert from the side
Parallel to the surface, so the tip ends up right in the centre. From the top only for steaks thicker than 4 cm.
Step 2. Avoid bone and fat
They heat up differently from the meat, and a reading there will be off.
Step 3. Measure twice, no more
First a minute or two before the expected time, then right before pulling. Every puncture lets juice out.
Step 4. Check the probe before the shift
In a glass of ice water it should read 0 °C. Allow for an error of 1-2 degrees; if it's more than that, replace it.
Step 5. Wipe the needle between steaks
For hygiene, and so as not to carry heat over from the previous piece.
Why the touch test fails in a kitchen
Comparing the springiness of a steak with your palm works at home for one piece. A kitchen sends out fifty steaks a night, and there the method lets you down:
- Different cuts spring back differently. A marbled ribeye at medium is softer than a lean tenderloin at medium rare.
- Thickness and starting temperature change the feel. A 2.5 cm and a 3.5 cm steak, cold or room-temperature, feel different at the same level.
- Two cooks have two different hands. A thermometer shows a number both read the same way.
Which doneness suits which cut
The more fat inside the meat, the higher the temperature it needs for that fat to melt and give flavour. The leaner the cut, the closer to rare you should stop.
Ribeye
- We recommend
- Medium
- Why
- At rare the fat between the fibres stays waxy. At medium it melts, and the meat is still pink.
Striploin
- We recommend
- Medium rare
- Why
- The fat runs as a cap along the edge, not inside. Render the cap separately by standing the steak on its side for a minute.
Filet mignon
- We recommend
- Rare or medium rare
- Why
- There is almost no fat, so at medium and above tenderloin dries out quickly.
Ribeye, striploin and filet mignon: today's prices and a 5 kg minimum order.Steaks in the catalogue →
Ribeye cooked medium with green Argentinian chimichurri.Recipe →
How to explain it to a guest
Guests don't think in degrees. Describe it by colour: rare: red centre, medium rare: pinkish red, medium: pink, well done: no pink. And suggest a level for the cut: «we recommend ribeye medium, that's when the fat melts».
On the order ticket write the doneness in the same words as the table: not «medium-ish» or «a bit bloody», but medium rare. One language for the floor and the kitchen is already half the consistency.
How to keep results consistent all night
Step 1. Same thickness
Cut portions by height, not only by weight: 3 cm for every steak from the same cut.
Step 2. One starting standard
Either every steak comes out of the fridge 30-40 minutes before cooking, or none do.
Step 3. A probe at every station
Checked in ice water at the start of the shift. One probe for the whole kitchen means missed readings.
Step 4. Temperatures on a card by the stove
Not in the cook's head or in a chat, but in front of their eyes.
Step 5. Fixed resting time
4-5 minutes for a 3 cm steak on a warm plate. A steak waiting at the pass for ten minutes moves up a level.
Step 6. Don't overcrowd the pan
Six steaks at once drop the surface temperature, and the times in the table stop meaning anything.
How to thaw whole cuts so the steaks come out predictable.Read →
