Pork Chop Internal Temperature
Pork
Important — cook fully through
Modern USDA guidance allows pork at 63 °C145 °F with a 3-minute rest — a slight blush of pink is safe. Never serve pork raw or rare.
The pork chop is the cut most damaged by outdated advice. For decades the official target was 71 °C (160 °F) — a number written when trichinosis was a real concern — and generations learned to cook chops until they were grey and dry. In 2011 the USDA lowered the target to 63 °C (145 °F) with a 3-minute rest, and that changed everything: a modern chop pulled at 63–65 °C is juicy, faintly blush-pink at the center, and completely safe. If your mental model of pork chops is dry, the temperature is why. A pork tenderloin takes the same target temperature but far less time, being leaner and thinner.
Doneness
How to measure
Come in horizontally from the side of the chop so the probe tip rests in the center of the thickest section. On a bone-in rib chop, keep the tip a centimetre clear of the bone — it conducts heat differently and skews the reading. Chops thinner than 2.5 cm (1 inch) are genuinely hard to probe accurately; angle the probe diagonally through the side, or better, buy thicker chops in the first place.
Cooking methods
Pan-sear
Hot pan, thin film of oil, and a dry, well-salted chop. Sear 3–4 minutes per side for a 3 cm chop, adding butter, garlic and a thyme sprig for the last few minutes to baste. Pull at 63 °C (145 °F) and rest 3 minutes — the temperature keeps climbing about 3 °C while the juices settle, landing you at a perfect medium.
Grill
Two-zone fire. Sear over direct heat 2–3 minutes per side for grill marks, then slide to the cool side, lid down, until the probe reads 63 °C (145 °F). Lean chops dry out fast over constant direct heat — the indirect finish is what keeps them juicy.
Brine, then anything
Today's pork is bred so lean that a 30-minute soak in a 5% salt brine (50 g salt per litre of water) is the cheapest insurance you can buy — brined chops hold noticeably more moisture at the same temperature. Dry thoroughly afterwards or the surface won't brown. Works ahead of the pan, the grill, or the oven.
Common mistakes
- Cooking to the old 71 °C standard. That number was retired in 2011. At 71 °C a lean chop has already squeezed out most of its moisture — the modern 63 °C target with a rest is both safe and dramatically juicier.
- Skipping the 3-minute rest. For pork the rest isn't just about juices — it's written into the safety guidance. The temperature holds and climbs during those minutes, finishing the pathogen kill while the chop relaxes.
- Buying thin chops. A 1.5 cm chop goes from raw to overshot in the time it takes to build a crust. Thickness is control: a 3–4 cm chop gives you a window wide enough to actually hit 63–65 °C.
- Judging by juice color. 'Cook until the juices run clear' overshoots by design — juices can stay faintly pink at perfectly safe temperatures. The probe replaced that rule for good reason.
- Treating a blush of pink as danger. Pink at 63 °C after a rest is what correctly cooked modern pork looks like. Grey throughout means it went too far.
USDA guidance
USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 63 °C / 145 °F with a 3-minute rest before serving.
Frequently asked questions
Is pink pork safe to eat?
Yes — at 63 °C (145 °F) with a 3-minute rest, a light pink center is exactly what the USDA guidance produces. The trichinosis risk that created the old well-done rule has been all but eliminated from commercial pork, and the parasite dies below 60 °C anyway. Ground pork is the exception: it needs 71 °C (160 °F), fully cooked through.
Why did the USDA lower the pork temperature?
The 2011 revision reflected decades of change in how pigs are raised — trichinella in commercial US pork became vanishingly rare. The agency aligned whole-cut pork with beef and lamb at 63 °C (145 °F) plus rest, acknowledging the old 71 °C target was solving a problem that no longer existed.
Do I really need the 3-minute rest?
Yes, and it's not optional garnish — the rest is part of the safety math. Holding at temperature continues killing pathogens, and the USDA's 63 °C figure assumes those minutes happen. Conveniently, it's also exactly what the chop needs to redistribute its juices before you cut in.
Bone-in or boneless chops?
Bone-in rib chops are more forgiving — the bone slows heat transfer near it, buying you margin against overshooting, and the surrounding meat carries more fat. Boneless loin chops are leaner and less even; they benefit most from brining and a thermometer. Either way, thickness matters more than bone.
What's the difference between a rib chop and a loin chop?
Location along the loin. Rib chops (from the front) carry more fat and connective tissue — juicier, harder to ruin. Center-cut loin chops include a section of tenderloin and are leaner. T-bone-style chops give you both muscles, which cook at slightly different rates: probe the loin side, since it's the one that dries out first.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service gives 63 °C145 °F as the safe minimum for this cut.