New USDA guidelines for cooking pork

Can I really eat pork pink?

Yes, indeed. Last month, the USDA issued new guidelines stating that pork can be taken out of the oven when its internal temperature reaches 145 degrees and that, after a three-minute rest, it is ready to eat. This represents a temperature drop of 20 degrees from the old recommendation of 165 degrees. The lower temperature is in line with what professional chefs have been doing for years.

Your 145-degree pork will likely be a bit pink and juicy, but believe me: It's better that way. Pork has less intramuscular fat (i.e. marbling) than beef or lamb and, for that reason, it is more prone to being tough, dry and unpalatable; 145 degrees gives it a fighting chance.

Pork has been historically held to a higher temperature standard than beef or lamb because of the fear of trichinosis, caused by a parasitic worm found in pigs. Decades ago, when pigs were fed an ad hoc diet of table scraps and garbage, this was a real problem. But modern hog farmers feed their pigs a diet of commercially processed grain, and trichinosis has virtually disappeared.

With grilling season upon us, it's a good time to review the whole issue of meat doneness. The USDA wants all poultry cooked to 165 degrees; no argument there. (In fact, I prefer dark meat cooked to 175.) But when the talk turns to beef and lamb, it gets more complicated. The Feds' "Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures" call for steaks, chops and roasts of beef, veal or lamb to be cooked to 145 degrees, but I have never met a professional chef (or a good home cook) who adheres to those guidelines.

By me, an internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees is rare, 125 to 130 is medium-rare, 140 is medium, 150 is medium well, 160 is shoe leather.

All meat should rest off the heat before serving. During this time, the juices will stabilize (so they stay in the meat) and, more importantly, the heat from the exterior areas will penetrate the interior, making a more evenly cooked piece of meat. This migration of heat will also raise the internal temperature of the meat by anywhere from 5 degrees (for a thin steak) to 10 to 15 degrees (for a large roast), so if you want your steak medium-rare, take it off the heat at 120 degrees. Wrapping cooked meat with aluminum foil will raise its temperature even more. I once took a roast out of the oven at 100 degrees, wrapped it in foil, and over the course of an hour, the temperature ascended to 129 degrees.

How can I perceive the internal temperature of meat?

There's only one foolproof method: Use a meat thermometer. I am a tireless advocate for instant-read thermometers, which are perfect for steaks and chops on the grill. For roasts, consider a digital probe thermometer. You stick the probe into the center of the roast before cooking it. The probe is connected via a thin, heatproof cord to a digital display that sits on the counter (or sticks, magnetically, to the oven or grill). Set the thermometer for your desired temperature, and it beeps when the meat is ready. Taylor's "Classic" digital cooking thermometer sells for about $15 at amazon.com. Most cookware stores stock similar items.