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Barbecue meat temperature UK: what the centre must reach

Updated: 23 October 2026

The chicken skin is blackened, the lid dial sits in the hot zone, and you are about to carve. That is the usual barbecue miss. The temperature that matters is the middle of the food, held for a time. Peter F. took the figures from the Food Standards Agency’s cooking guidance, the FSA barbecue checklist, and the GOV.UK burgers note, and set them against the amazon.co.uk listings in our [grill thermometer comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/grill-thermometer) on 20 October 2026. We did not invent a grate temperature. Where to put the tip is on the [how to use a meat thermometer](/hub/grill-accessories/grill-thermometer/sub/grill-thermometer-how-to-use) page. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The chicken skin is blackened, the lid dial sits in the hot zone, and you are about to carve. That is the usual barbecue miss. The temperature that matters is the middle of the food, held for a time. Peter F.

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On this page
  1. 1.The number that matters
  2. 2.Chicken and pork, mince, and steak
  3. 3.A hot lid is not a cooked centre
  4. 4.Presets and the no-thermometer fallback

The number that matters

Thorough cooking, in the FSA’s public table, is 70°C for 2 minutes in the middle of the food. Equivalents on the same page are 60°C for 45 minutes, 65°C for 10 minutes, 75°C for 30 seconds, and 80°C for 6 seconds. Time is part of the target. A glance as the digits pass 75°C is not the 30-second line. The grate can be roaring while the middle of a thigh is still unsafe. Use one equivalent and stay with it. A gentler joint at 65°C still needs those 10 minutes on the probe. The buying guide is where you pick a probe that can take this reading. A dial in the lid cannot.

Chicken and pork, mince, and steak

Poultry and pork are cooked through: chicken pieces, a whole bird, pork chops, and a pork joint. Pink juice in a chicken thigh, or a pork chop that is cool in the middle, is the checklist’s charred-outside warning in another form. Burgers, sausages, kebabs, meatballs, rolled joints, and offal follow the same through-cook. GOV.UK’s burgers note for home cooks is steaming hot all the way through, with no pink centre and clear juices. Whole cuts of beef and lamb may be pink in the middle if the outside is properly seared. Once that meat is minced, rolled, or threaded on a kebab, cook it through, because surface bacteria have moved into the centre.
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A hot lid is not a cooked centre

The number on the dome is cooker air. It can tell you the kettle is steady. It cannot tell you the thigh is at 70°C. The YOTOM pack is two analogue pit dials with no food probe, scaled in Fahrenheit in the spec field. The ProTemp S1 is a Wi-Fi dial replacement, food probes are sold separately, and this ASIN excludes Big Green Egg. Take the food reading in the thickest part, clear of bone. For a bird that is the thigh. For a burger, come in from the side. A wireless probe that is only half in a thin patty is not taking that test. If you do not trust the digit, do not serve the poultry. The FSA checklist says use separate utensils and plates for raw and cooked meat, and do not baste with marinade that has touched raw meat. Wash the probe between a raw chicken and the cooked burgers.

Presets and the no-thermometer fallback

The TempPro TP17 and the Inkbird advertise USDA presets. Those labels are a US menu, not the Food Standards Agency table. Read the centre against 70°C for 2 minutes or one published equivalent, and use the alarm as a reminder. Which listing beeps without a phone is on the best meat thermometer page. If you truly have no thermometer, the FSA checklist falls back to sight: piping hot in the centre, juices running clear, and no pink meat when you cut poultry, pork, or a burger. That check is weaker than a probe. Keep raw meat cold until it goes on the grate. If someone is ill after a meal you are unsure about, contact NHS 111 or urgent care.

Common questions

What temperature should barbecue chicken reach?
The centre should meet the Food Standards Agency table: 70°C for 2 minutes, or an equivalent such as 75°C for 30 seconds, 65°C for 10 minutes, 80°C for 6 seconds, or 60°C for 45 minutes. Check the thickest thigh, off the bone. A glance as the digits pass 75°C is not the 30-second line.
Are pink burgers safe at home in the UK?
GOV.UK tells home cooks to serve burgers steaming hot all the way through, with no pink centre and clear juices. Mince, sausages, and kebabs follow that through-cook. Keep raw mince at 5°C or below. A restaurant serving rare burgers is under different controls.
Can a steak be pink?
A whole steak, or another whole cut of beef or lamb, may be pink in the middle if the outside is properly seared. Pork and poultry stay on the through-cook table. Once you mince, roll, or skewer that beef, cook it through.
Does the lid thermometer mean the meat is done?
A dome gauge reads air in the cooker. The YOTOM dials have no food probe, and the ProTemp S1 includes food probes only if you buy them. A hot lid can sit over a cold centre. Use a probe in the meat for chicken, pork, and mince.
What about sausages and kebabs?
Cook them through, as you would a burger. Sausages, kebabs, and offal are on the FSA list with mince and rolled joints. Probe the middle, clear of the skewer, and hold one time-and-temperature equivalent. Do not baste the cooked sausage with raw marinade.
Is pork the same rule as beef?
Pork is cooked through, like poultry. A whole beef steak may stay pink after a sear. A pork chop may not, and a rolled pork joint may not, because the roll moves the surface into the middle. Use the same FSA equivalents.
Are USDA app presets the UK rule?
USDA presets on the TP17 and the Inkbird are an American menu, not the Food Standards Agency table. They can remind you to look. Check 70°C for 2 minutes, or a listed equivalent, in the centre of a home burger.

Related pages

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Grill thermometer

Best meat thermometer UK: short list by cooking job

Grill thermometer buying guide: pen, cable, or dial

How to use a meat thermometer: tip, wait, then wash

Sources

Public UK sources used for the cooking rules and the IP codes. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. Retrieved 21 October 2026.

  1. Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Food Standards Agency: Bank holiday barbecue checklist (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: Burgers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Cooking your food (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Safer Food, Better Business: cooking safely (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. ETI: What is a calibration certificate? (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. CSA Group: IEC 60529 IP testing (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. BBC Good Food: best meat thermometers 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)