How do I know when my meat is done? Tips

Your kamado bbq temperature, meat on it. Now what? Your delicious piece of steak doesn’t turn around automatically when the time is right, let alone calling out “Yo, I’m medium rare now! That’s why we’re giving you a few handy tips and tricks to prevent this disgrace. This way you won’t be laughed at by friends and family.

Forget the time

Often you will see with dishes, 3 minutes of cooking in turns. How so? How does the recipe maker know how thick the meat is or what temperature the meat is when you put it on the bbq? So forget the time. There is another trick; that you feel with your fingers how soft the meat is. A celebrity chef might be able to pull this off, but grilling enthusiasts like you and me are better off being on the safe side and using a meat thermometer.

Which meat thermometer?

Go digital or old-school analogue, both are fine thermometers, it just depends on what you want to spend and what kind of requirements you have for the convenience of bbq’ing, As long as they indicate the right temperature. You can easily test this yourself, for those of you who studied physics in school, you may remember that boiling water reaches a maximum of 100 degrees. Anyway, if you then hold your thermometer in that boiling water and it reads 100 degrees, then you know you’re good. Does it differ slightly? Then you can adjust most thermometers a bit.

By the way, don’t go in with a traditional home, garden, kitchen or ear thermometer of your child or dog. That’s not only a bit crazy or even dirty, but these thermometers can never handle the high temperature of your kamado bbq.

So when is your meat done?

Of course, that depends entirely on the type and weight of your meat. And of course your personal preference. Below we have a list of various meats and their core temperatures. You see, red meat needs less heat and can therefore be grilled for a shorter time. Poultry like chicken can be kept a bit warmer, also because then you don’t get nasty diseases of course, so cook that chicken well!

Category red meat:

Beef, meat with bone or a steak

• Rare: 50 to 52 degrees
• Medium rare: 55 to 58 degrees
• Medium: 60 to 63 degrees
• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Minced Beef

• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Minced beef steak

• Medium rare: 55 to 58 degrees
• Medium: 60 to 63 degrees
• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Rollade

• Rare: 50 to 52 degrees
• Medium rare: 55 to 58 degrees
• Medium: 60 to 63 degrees
• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Beef sausage

• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Lamb and goat

Lamb

• Rare: 50 to 55 degrees
• Medium rare: 55 to 60 degrees
• Medium: 60 to 63 degrees
• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Minced lamb

• Well done: 70 to 73 degrees

Goat

• Medium: 60 to 63 degrees
• Medium Well: 65 to 67 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 80 degrees

Minced goat

• Well done: 70 to 73 degrees

Poultry

Chicken and turkey fillet

• Well done: 70 to 72 degrees

Chicken and turkey thigh, leg and flank

• Well done: 85 degrees

Duck

• Medium: 65 degrees
• Medium Well: 70 to 75 degrees
• Well done: 79 to 82 degrees

Fish

Salmon

• Medium rare : 55 degrees

Cod

• Well done: 60 degrees

Tuna

• Medium rare : 52 degrees

Other whitefish

• Well done: 64 degrees

Last but not least:

Pig

Pulled pork (prosecutor)

• Well done: 89 degrees

Rollade

• Medium: 62 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 90 degrees

Meat on the bone

• Medium: 62 degrees
• Well done: 70 to 90 degrees

Shoulder

• Well done: 70 to 90 degrees

Ribs (e.g. spare ribs)

• Well done: 70 to 90 degrees

Minced meat

• Well done: 70 to 72 degrees

Finally, peace and quiet

Well, your meat is done, finally eating… Or is it? No, for the best results you should leave the meat alone for a while. Wrap it in aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Why? Because then the moisture that is directly under the skin after grilling will divide through the meat again, making it nice and tender and juicy, just the way you like it. Some larger pieces of meat like a T-bone you better let rest for 10 to 12 minutes, really big pieces of pork sometimes up to 30 minutes.

Also take this into account

Nagging, yes a bit like hanging out on the couch with a hangover in the morning. But different. Take a beefsteak for example, at the moment you remove the meat from the grill with a core temperature of 60 degrees, it will warm up 2 to 3 degrees more. This is called re-cooking, so keep this in mind a bit. Again, the larger the piece of meat, the longer it will take to cook, about 5 to 7 degrees.