Steak Doneness Chart: Pull Temps, Final Temps & Times

The steak doneness chart — 1-inch steak, high-heat sear

The table below gives every doneness for a 1-inch steak cooked on high heat: the temperature to pull it at, the temperature it finishes at after rest, what the centre looks like, and how long per side. The pull temperature is the number to cook to — the steak gains about 5°F while it rests, so pulling at the final temperature overshoots it. Rest 5 minutes before cutting (5–10 minutes for well done), and the juices settle instead of running out onto the board.

Steak doneness — printable reference

Why the pull temperature is 5°F below the final temperature

A steak is not one temperature — it is a gradient. The outside, where the pan touches it, is far hotter than the centre, and when the steak comes off the heat that stored heat keeps moving inward. On a 1-inch steak the centre gains about 5°F during a 5-minute rest: pull at 130°F and it finishes near 135°F, pull at 140°F and it finishes near 145°F, pull at 150°F and it finishes near 155°F. The rest does a second job too: while the steak cooks, the heat squeezes moisture toward the centre, and resting lets it spread back out — cut into a steak straight off the pan and the juices run out onto the board; rest it 5 minutes and they stay in the meat. The rule is simple: pull 5°F early, rest 5 minutes, then cut.

Every branch, checked

Rare: pull 120°F, final 120–130°F, cool red centre, about 2–3 minutes a side. The centre is cool and red — this is the least cooked doneness on the chart, and the one where a thermometer matters most, because a minute too long moves it into medium-rare.

Medium: pull 140°F, final 135–145°F, warm pink centre, about 4–5 minutes a side. The centre is pink rather than red, and warm all the way through — the most common order after medium-rare, and the one where the pink is still clearly visible.

Medium-well: pull 150°F, final 145–155°F, slightly pink centre, about 5–6 minutes a side. Only a faint blush of pink is left in the very middle — one step from well done, and the last doneness where any pink remains.

Well done: pull 160°F, final 155–165°F+, little or no pink, about 6–7 minutes a side, rest 5–10 minutes. The centre is cooked through, and the longer rest matters more here than anywhere — a well-done steak dries out fastest if it is cut too soon.

Reverse — 145°F after rest: 145°F sits at the top of medium's final range (135–145°F), so it is medium — pull at 140°F next time.

Reverse — 120°F after rest: 120°F is the bottom of rare's final range (120–130°F), so it is rare — pull at 120°F next time.

The thickness rule

The chart is for a 1-inch steak. A thicker steak needs more time per side, because the heat has further to travel to reach the centre: add 1 minute per side for each extra 1/2 inch. A 1.5-inch steak at medium-rare is 4–5 minutes a side instead of 3–4; a 2-inch steak is 5–6 minutes a side. The pull temperatures do not change with thickness — only the time does — because doneness is a temperature, not a time: a thick steak and a thin steak are both medium-rare at 130°F, and the thick one simply takes longer to get there. For steaks much thicker than 2 inches, the sear-and-oven method works better than the pan alone: sear both sides on high heat, then finish in a hot oven until the thermometer reads the pull temperature.

Food safety: the 145°F line

The USDA safe minimum for steak is 145°F with a 3-minute rest. That line falls inside medium: a medium steak finishes at 135–145°F, so its centre may sit just below the safe minimum if it is pulled at 140°F and finishes at the low end of its range. Rare and medium-rare finish below 145°F by design — that is what makes them rare — and eating steak below the safe minimum is a personal choice, not a recommendation: the risk is low for a whole cut of beef, because bacteria live on the surface and the sear kills them, but the risk is not zero, and it is higher for anyone pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised. Whatever doneness you choose, measure it with a thermometer in the thickest part of the steak, away from bone and fat — the times on this chart are approximate and vary with the heat of your pan and the steak's starting temperature, and only the thermometer tells you the truth.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The first-time steak cook: wants medium-rare and learns to pull at 130°F, rest 5 minutes, and expect 130–135°F with a warm red centre — and that the pull temperature, not the final one, is the number to cook to.
• The thermometer owner: has a probe thermometer and learns where to put it — in the thickest part, away from bone and fat — and that the USDA safe minimum is 145°F with a 3-minute rest.
• The thick-steak buyer: buys a 1.5-inch ribeye and learns the pull temperatures do not change — only the time does — adding 1 minute per side for the extra half inch.
• The reverse checker: cuts into a steak, reads 145°F on the thermometer, and learns it is medium — and that next time, pulling at 140°F gets the same result on purpose.

Accuracy & limitations

The pull temperatures and final ranges on this chart are the widely used convention for a 1-inch steak on high heat, and the carryover figure of about 5°F is typical for that thickness — but both are approximate, not exact. The times per side are the loosest numbers on the page: they vary with the heat of your pan or grill, whether the steak started at room temperature or straight from the fridge, and how often you flip it. The carryover grows with thickness — a 2-inch steak gains more than 5°F while it rests — so the pull-5°F-early rule is a starting point, and the thermometer is the truth: measure in the thickest part, away from bone and fat, because bone and fat read hotter than the meat. The USDA safe minimum is 145°F with a 3-minute rest — rare and medium-rare finish below that by design, and eating steak below the safe minimum is a personal choice. Treat every figure here as a cooking guide for a 1-inch steak on high heat, not a food-safety guarantee — when in doubt, trust the thermometer over the clock.