pork tenderloin
AlamyHow have you been cooking your pork? Is it gray and tough like the sole of your shoe? We've all been cooking pork wrong. Up until Tuesday, USDA regulations had home cooks cooking pork until it had an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. But now the rules have changed. The new regulation allows a lower temperature of 145 degrees, which is actually the temperature chefs and serious foodies have been cooking pork at all along.

If you use an instant-read thermometer with a temperature guide, go ahead and chuck it. The temperatures listed there are pretty much for well-done meat. If you like your pork blushing pink and soft and tender, then cook it until it reaches 145 and let it rest for a few minutes before cutting in. You'll never have dry pork again!

Check out this simplified meat temperature chart for our recommended cooking temperatures.

Meat Temperature (F)
Beef, lamb, and veal (steaks, chops, and roasts) 135-140 degrees for medium-rare to medium
Pork (roasts, steaks, and chops) 145 degrees for blushing pink and juicy
Chicken and turkey 160-165 degrees for juicy moist and safely cooked through


For more on temperature guidelines, check out the site Amazing Ribs.

Related Video


Watch and learn how to make perfect grilled pork tenderloin from Food Network personality Alton Brown.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe