What Is The Temperature For A Medium-Rare Burger?

Burger Doneness Chart (°F and °C)

Here is the full doneness range people ask about, with the safety line clearly marked. For ground beef, the USDA considers everything below 160°F (71°C) undercooked, no matter how the center looks.

Ground poultry runs higher: turkey burgers and chicken burgers need 165°F (74°C).

Written by Ron Scott from Carnivorous Life

The temperature for a medium-rare burger is cooked to around 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit for that perfect pink center.

When your burger is cooked to medium-rare you’ll experience a tender and juicy bite that’s robust and beefy.

Are Medium-Rare Burgers Safe To Eat?

According to the USDA, medium-rare burgers are not safe to eat.

“Raw and undercooked meat may contain harmful bacteria. USDA recommends not eating or tasting raw or undercooked ground beef. To be sure all bacteria are destroyed, cook meatloaf, meatballs, and hamburgers to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C). Use a food thermometer to check that they have reached a safe internal temperature.”

Personally, choose to stay on the safe side and cook my burgers until there is nearly no pink color left.

However, I have plenty of friends who frequently eat medium-rare burgers.

It’s also common for people to cook their burgers until they think the burger is 160 °F and then cut into it only to find out that there is still some pink coloring left.

That’s why it’s a good idea to invest in a quality meat thermometer so you can check before you cut into your meat and turn off the stove or grill.

If you want a safer way to cook a burger to medium-rare you’ll have to grind the meat yourself. Grocery stores or butchers are more prone to bacteria growing in their working areas.

You can avoid this by grinding whole muscles in your kitchen; where you can keep the ground beef a lot cleaner.

At the end of the day, people have their own risk-tolerance levels, and this is a decision everyone has to make on their own.

Is Medium-Rare Temperature Different For Steaks?

No, the temperature for a medium-rare steak is the same as medium-rare burgers; 130-135°F.

Medium-rare is one of the most common ways to cook a steak. It’s safer to eat a steak at this level of doneness, in contrast with a burger.

How To Cook A Medium-Rare Burger

If you do want to cook your burger medium-rare here’s a step-by-step guide to achieve the best results.

1. Season your patty: Season your patty on both sides with salt, pepper, and your favorite spices.
2. Preheat your grill or stove: Bring the pan to medium-high heat or your grill to a temperature of 450°F. You can do this before you prepare your patty to save time.
3. Add butter or olive oil: If using a pan, add butter or olive oil as the pan is heating up. You can also use beef tallow. This is my favorite.
4. Add your patty to the pan: Once the pan is sizzling add your patty to the pan. For medium-rare doneness, cook it for 3 minutes.
5. Flip your patty: Flip your patty over and cook it for another 3 minutes.
6. Check the temperature: Check the internal temperature for 130-135˚F (54.4-57.2˚C). If it’s not quite there, keep cooking your patty.
7. Rest and enjoy: Once your patty has reached an internal temperature of 130˚F, let it rest for another 5 minutes. The burger will keep cooking until it reaches 135˚F. Make sure you turn off your pan or grill, craft your hamburger and enjoy.

What If I Cook With My Grill At A Higher Temperature?

If you crank up the heat on your grill, you'll notice a faster browning on your beef patty's exterior. This doesn't significantly alter the cooking time, but it does change the flavor profile.

This is how I like to cook my patty; I prefer a more charred surface from the grill.

How Does Thickness Affect Cooking Time?

The thickness of the patty greatly affects how long it'll take to cook. A thicker burger requires more time on the grill than a thinner one. However, the diameter of the burger will not affect the cooking time and the internal temperatures are the same for all burger patties. 

Is Medium-Rare The Best Doneness Level?

In my experience, a well-done burger does the job for me. It’s safer to eat and tastes great.

However, when it comes to cooking a steak I will always go for the medium-rare doneness. It offers a blend of flavors that is hard to beat. In my opinion, medium-rare is the best way to eat steak, but to each their own.

How Can You Tell If Your Burger Is Medium-Rare?

There are a few ways to confirm the doneness of your burger.

First, I always recommend a quality meat thermometer. This is the most convenient and safe way to check the internal temperature of your meat. 

Second, you can cut into your meat and look for how red the middle of the burger is. If it’s bright red it is probably too rare to eat. If there is no red or pink color then your burger is closer to being well-done.

This isn’t my favorite method because if my burger isn’t quite where I like it then I’ll have to add it to the pan or grill again. Also, cutting into the meat so soon can release some of the juices that make it so delicious.

Lastly, you can press into the meat with your fingers. Gently press your fingers on the meat. If it's soft to the touch and springs back quickly, it's still rare. 

As it cooks, it'll get firmer. The ideal temperature for a medium-rare burger is when it's firm but still has a slight give. It's like pressing on the center of your palm.

Other Levels Of Doneness

Here are the cooking times and temperatures for other levels of doneness:

• Rare (125°F): This requires a total of 4-5 minutes of cooking time.
• Medium-rare (135°F): This requires a total of 5-6 minutes of cooking time.
• Medium (145°F): This requires a total of 6-7 minutes of cooking time.
• Medium Well (155°F): This requires a total of 7-8 minutes of cooking time.
• Well Done (165°F): This requires a total of 8-10 minutes of cooking time.

How Do You Cook Burgers by Method: Grill, Griddle, and Smash?

The target internal temperature never changes with the method: 160°F (71°C) for beef. What changes is how the heat gets there.

On the grill

Run the grill around 450°F, cook the patties over direct heat, and flip once. Do not press down on them; that squeezes out the juice you are trying to keep. Thickness, grill temperature, and how often the lid opens all change the timing, so cook to the internal number, not the clock.

On a griddle or cast iron pan

Medium-high heat with a thin film of oil or butter gives the whole patty face an even, deep crust. The same 160°F (71°C) target applies. Thick pub-style patties are the slowest of all burger cooks, and the easiest to overshoot or undershoot, which makes them the clearest case for a leave-in thermometer.

Smash burgers

Smash burgers flip the problem around: small balls of beef pressed thin on a ripping-hot griddle race past 160°F in just a couple of minutes, which is why crispy-edged smash patties are both fast and safe. They are too thin for a leave-in reading mid-cook, so give the first patty of the batch a quick temperature check and match the rest to it.

Burger Temperature FAQ

Is a pink burger safe to eat?

Not by color alone. Ground beef can stay pink after reaching a safe 160°F (71°C), and it can turn brown while still undercooked. Color is unreliable in both directions. The only way to know a burger is safe is a thermometer reading of 160°F in the center of the patty.

Why is medium-rare steak safe but a medium-rare burger is not?

Bacteria live on the surface of whole cuts, and searing a steak kills them even when the center stays rare. Grinding mixes that surface bacteria all the way through the meat, so the center of a burger has to reach 160°F (71°C) to be safe.

What temp for smash burgers?

The same 160°F (71°C) as any beef burger. Because smash patties are pressed so thin over very high heat, they typically pass 160°F in about two minutes, which is why they cook through by the time the crust forms.

What temperature is a medium burger?

A medium burger reads 140-145°F (60-63°C) with a warm pink center. That is still below the USDA safe minimum of 160°F (71°C) for ground beef, so it carries the same kind of risk as medium-rare, just less of it.

How long should you grill burgers?

Treat time as a planning estimate only. A patty's thickness, its starting temperature, and your grill's real heat can swing the cook by several minutes. Start checking a standard patty after a few minutes per side, and pull it when the center reads 160°F (71°C).

What temperature for turkey burgers or chicken burgers?

Ground poultry needs 165°F (74°C), a step higher than the 160°F (71°C) for ground beef. The same rule applies: grinding spreads bacteria through the meat, so the center has to hit the safe number.

Can I make a medium-rare burger safer at home?

Grinding whole cuts yourself just before cooking reduces the risk, because you control the surfaces and the time the ground meat spends warm. It does not eliminate the risk, and the USDA safe minimum remains 160°F (71°C) either way. That trade-off is a personal call.

Where do you put the thermometer in a burger?

Through the side of the patty, into the center of the thickest part. Going in from the side keeps the sensor in the middle of the meat instead of poking through, which is what gives you a true center reading.

What temperature for frozen burger patties?

The same 160°F (71°C) target. Cooking from frozen just takes longer and cooks less evenly, which makes checking the center temperature more important, not less.

Never Guess on a Burger Again

The whole burger-safety problem comes down to one thing: 160°F is a number you cannot see. Color lies in both directions, and cutting a patty open to peek lets the juice run out onto the grill. A wireless thermometer solves it. Insert the Stick through the side of the patty, set 160°F in the app, and it alerts you the moment the burger is safe, juicy, and ready to come off the heat.

For everyday burgers and weeknight grilling, The MeatStick V Core is the easy entry point: a truly wireless Stick with five internal sensors to find the true center of the patty, a battery that runs 50+ hours, and a dishwasher-safe build for when the grease settles. If you also want to watch your grill's temperature while the burgers cook, The MeatStick V Prime adds a built-in ambient sensor and connects over WiFi through its base, so you can follow the cook from anywhere in the house.