Meat Temps When Done Table

[Wayne Copeland]

The following chart indicates at what temperature meat is completely cooked and ready to be served. The only reliable way to check meat temps is to utilize a meat thermometer during the cooking process...not your Momma's candy thermometer! Go to your nearest Wal-Mart or cooking store and get a heat-safe digital probe type thermometer. They are very accurate and vary in price from about $12-50.00 But before you use your new toy, check it out first....place the probe in a pan of water (just at the point the water starts to boil) and it should read 212 degrees. If you can afford it, get a couple of them just in case your wife likes your little heat guage and hides it from you!

Boston butt-195-205 degrees if pulled--170-185 to slice
Pork tenderloin-160 degrees
Pork sausage-165 degrees
Brisket-190-200 degrees
Chicken-165 degrees
Turkey-165 degrees

For ribs, they are ready when the meat has shrunk down about 3/4 inch from the end of the bone and the meat pulls away from the bone with just a little resistance...usually 5-6 hours for a 3 lb. slab.
When checking meat temps, be sure to insert the probe into the thickest part of the meat, but be sure it doesn't go all the way through or you will not get an accurate reading...Just Food for Thought

[Wayne Copeland]

If you utilize aluminum foil during the last part of the cooking process, remember that foil wrapped meats will generally continue to cook themselves a few degrees higher. This is especially true if you wrap the foiled meats in newspaper and put them with other meats in a cooler after they are done. Ribs and chicken will get to the higher brisket/butt temps if left in the same cooler for more than a short period of time, so try to keep them in separate coolers if you need to keep them stored for a while before serving

[Wayne Copeland]

After you have determined that your meat has attained the right temp. for serving, remember that the ambient temp will have some affect on the over-all program. If you are cooking in the middle of August in Texas where its not unusual for temps to hit 106 degrees in the late afternoon, plan accordingly! If you are cooking in Michigan the first week of January, you might want to think about how to keep that temp. consistent if the meat is in the cooler and you have 2 hours to go before turn in/serving. This is just a common sense idea that requires you get back to the basics and plan your cooking for all the contingencies that will arise!! That simply means that you use your notebook to keep tract of time for cooking meat and times of on/off (and allow for the outside temps.) Keep on cookin' and enjoy being the Master of BBQ!!!

[Wayne Copeland]

One more thing...clean the meat probe in soapy water when you are through with it, but do not immerse the wire portion in the water! Also, the probe is designed to accurately test the temp of meat when inserted...it is not designed to stay inside your cooking chamber for the entire time you are cooking.