Getting your steak spot on can be tricky—each cut varies in size and fattiness, making every cook different. They also typically cook very quickly; your steak can go from perfection to cremation in an instant.
Thankfully, there’s an easy way to know exactly what’s going on inside your steak as it cooks: meat thermometers. With a super speedy probe and a little temperature knowledge, you’ll easily whip your steak off the heat at the optimal moment, every time.
Read on for everything you need to know about cooking the perfect steak.
Pull Temperature vs Done Temperature
The first thing to know before deciding which temperature to cook your steak to is that it continues to cook after you remove it from the heat. This is because the heat from the outside of the meat continues to move inwards as it rests.
So, how much does steak temperature rise when resting? Typically, around 2-4 °C. This means that you need to remove it 2-4 °C before it reaches your desired doneness. Thicker steaks tend to carryover cook more than thinner ones.
How to Achieve an Evenly Cooked Steak
Start at room temperature:
Take your steak out of the fridge around 30-45 minutes before cooking. Cold steak straight from the fridge will cook unevenly, with the outside overcooked before the centre is done.
Reverse sear thicker steaks:
Cook the steak slowly on a lower heat, then sear in a hot pan or on the grill for 60-90 seconds per side for a deep brown crust. This prevents the outside from burning before the inside reaches the right doneness.
Flip often:
The myth that you should only flip once isn’t true. Flipping every 30-45 seconds helps distribute heat more evenly.
Try sous vide:
Cooking steak sous vide (in a temperature-controlled water bath) ensures perfect doneness edge to edge. Simply set your sous vide to the desired temperature, cook for 1-3 hours, then finish with a quick high-heat sear for a crispy crust.
Use a meat thermometer:
Frequently check the temperature of your meat using an instant-read thermometer. The faster and more accurate it is, the more spot-on your finish will be.
Rest before slicing:
Resting allows the temperature of the steak to even out and finish cooking, as well as helping it retain more juices.
Steak Doneness Chart
| Pull Temperature (remove from the heat) |
Final Temperature (peak temperature as it rests) |
|
| Rare |
48-50 °C (118-122 °F) |
52 °C (126 °F) |
| Medium Rare | 52-54 °C (126-129 °F) | 56 °C (132 °F) |
| Medium | 56-58 °C (132-136 °F) | 60 °C (140 °F) |
| Medium Well | 61-63 °C (142-145 °F) | 65 °C (149 °F) |
| Well Done | 67-69 °C (153-156 °F) | 71 °C (160 °F) |
Download our steak temperature chart to keep it on hand in the kitchen
Best Doneness Levels for Popular Steak Cuts
Different steak cuts are best cooked to different levels of doneness. Leaner cuts benefit from being cooked on the rarer side, whilst fattier cuts are best taken to a higher temperature to render the fat.
Rump: Medium Rare (56 °C/130 °F)
Rump is lean and best cooked to medium rare to preserve its tenderness and rich flavour.
Ribeye: Medium Rare to Medium (56 °C/130 °F to 60 °C/140 °F)
Ribeye has a higher fat content, so medium rare or medium allows the fat to fully render, enhancing juiciness and flavour.
Filet Mignon (Fillet): Rare (50 °C/122 °F or Medium Rare (56 °C/130 °F)
This lean, tender cut is best cooked to rare or medium rare to retain its delicate texture and buttery flavour.
Sirloin: Medium Rare to Medium (56 °C/130 °F to 60 °C/140 °F)
Sirloin is lean but still retains good flavour. Medium rare to medium is the perfect balance to keep it juicy while allowing it to remain tender.
T-Bone: Medium Rare (56 °C/130 °F)
T-Bone includes both tenderloin and strip steak, and medium rare ensures the tenderloin stays juicy while the strip steak develops a rich crust.
How Long to Let Steak Rest
Resting is the final phase of the cooking process—you should never skip it. Aim to rest your steak for at least 5-10 minutes. For larger cuts like tomahawks, they'll need a longer resting time.
Temperature is a good indicator of whether a steak has finished resting. Once the temperature has stopped climbing and begun to decline, you’re good to go.
Summary
When choosing a cooking temperature for your steak, there are a couple of things to take into consideration. Think about the cut and whether a rarer finish will prevent it from drying out, or if a more medium finish will allow the fat to render for a juicier result.
Make sure to remove it from the heat 2-4 °C early, with larger cuts needing to come off earlier than smaller ones.
Finally, always rest your steak for at least 10 minutes. Check the temperature to ensure it has finished carryover cooking and has started to cool.
