You’ve been there. You spent forty dollars on a Prime-grade ribeye, seasoned it with flaky sea salt, and seared it until it looked like a million bucks. Then you cut into it. Instead of that warm, pink, succulent center you were dreaming of, you see a dull, grayish-brown slab of disappointment. It’s overcooked. Again. Honestly, the most frustrating thing about cooking meat isn't the seasoning or the pan—it's the carryover cooking. If you want to know what temp to pull steak for medium, you have to stop thinking about the final temperature and start thinking about the momentum of the heat.
Cooking is basically physics. When you take a steak off a 400-degree cast-iron skillet, the outside is screaming hot while the center is lagging behind. Once that steak hits the cutting board, the heat from the crust doesn't just vanish into the air; it pushes inward.
The Magic Number for Medium
If you want a true medium steak—which the USDA and most culinary pros like J. Kenji López-Alt define as a final resting temperature of $140^{\circ}F$ to $145^{\circ}F$ ($60^{\circ}C$ to $63^{\circ}C$)—you cannot wait until the thermometer hits 145 to take it off the fire. If you do, that steak is going to climb to 150 or 155 degrees while it rests. Now you’re eating medium-well. Or leather.
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You should pull your steak at $130^{\circ}F$ to $135^{\circ}F$ for a perfect medium finish.
Wait. 130? Isn't that medium-rare? On the heat, yes. But the "pull temp" and the "serving temp" are two different animals. Most home cooks get tripped up because they follow the charts on the back of the thermometer packaging which usually ignore the resting phase. You have to account for that 5 to 10-degree jump. If it’s a massive, thick-cut Porterhouse, it might even jump 12 degrees.
Why Carryover Cooking is a Thief in the Night
Think of heat like a wave. When the steak is on the grill, you're smashing it with energy. When you pull it off, that energy doesn't just "stop." It keeps moving toward the coldest part of the meat—the center.
The thickness of the cut changes everything. A thin, half-inch flank steak has almost no thermal mass. It cools down so fast that it might only gain 2 degrees after you pull it. But a two-inch-thick filet mignon? That’s a heat battery. It’s going to keep cooking for a long time. This is why professional chefs at high-end spots like Peter Luger or Keens often pull their steaks earlier than you’d expect. They know the internal "soak" is coming.
Does the Grade of Meat Change the Pull Temp?
Sorta. But not for the reason you think.
Fat conducts heat differently than muscle. A highly marbled Wagyu or a Prime ribeye has a lot of intramuscular fat. Fat is an insulator, but once it melts, it can actually speed up heat transfer. More importantly, medium is often the "sweet spot" for fatty cuts. While lean steaks like Filet Mignon are best at medium-rare ($130^{\circ}F$ to $135^{\circ}F$ final temp), a ribeye actually benefits from hitting that $140^{\circ}F$ to $145^{\circ}F$ range. Why? Because the fat needs enough heat to fully render. If you eat a ribeye too rare, the fat is waxy and chewy. At medium, it turns into butter.
Stop Using Your Thumb
You've probably heard of the "finger test." You poke the fleshy part of your palm and compare it to the steak. Stop doing that. It's a lie.
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Everyone’s hands are different. Some people have calloused, tough hands; others have soft ones. It’s a guessing game that leads to ruined dinners. If you’re serious about knowing what temp to pull steak for medium, buy a digital instant-read thermometer. A Thermapen is the gold standard, but even a twenty-dollar version from the grocery store is better than your thumb.
Stick the probe into the thickest part of the meat. Avoid the bone. Bone conducts heat faster than meat, so if your probe is touching it, you'll get a false high reading. You want the dead center of the muscle.
The Resting Ritual
Resting isn't just a suggestion. It's the law.
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If you slice a steak the second it comes off the grill, the muscle fibers are still tight and constricted from the heat. All the juice—the stuff that makes it "medium" and not "dry"—is under pressure. Slice it now, and those juices will flood your cutting board. You’re left with a gray, dry piece of meat.
By letting it rest for at least 10 minutes (or half the total cooking time), those fibers relax and reabsorb the liquid. The temperature stabilizes. That’s when the magic happens.
Pan-Searing vs. Reverse Sear
The method you use changes your pull target slightly.
- The Standard Sear: You're using high heat (450+ degrees). The "thermal gradient" is steep. The outside is way hotter than the inside. Pull at $130^{\circ}F$.
- The Reverse Sear: You cook it low and slow in the oven first, then sear it at the very end. This creates a very even temperature throughout the meat. Because the exterior isn't significantly hotter than the interior, you’ll see less carryover cooking. For a reverse sear, you can pull it at $135^{\circ}F$ or even $137^{\circ}F$ because it won't jump as much.
Common Misconceptions About Medium Steak
"Pink meat is bloody." No. It's not. The red liquid you see on the plate is myoglobin, a protein that delivers oxygen to the muscles. It's mostly water. There is no blood in a butchered steak. If you’re pulling at the right temp for medium, that myoglobin stays trapped in the cells, giving you that beautiful rosy hue without the "bloody" look of rare meat.
Another myth? That you should bring your steak to room temperature before cooking. Actually, Greg Blonder and the team at AmazingRibs.com proved this doesn't do much. A steak left out for an hour only rises a few degrees, which isn't enough to change the internal cooking dynamics. Just take it out of the fridge, season it, and hit the pan.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Steak
- Buy a digital thermometer: Seriously. This is the only way to be 100% sure.
- Aim for the gap: For medium, target a pull temp of $133^{\circ}F$. It gives you a safety buffer.
- Account for thickness: If the steak is under an inch thick, pull closer to $138^{\circ}F$. If it’s over two inches, pull at $130^{\circ}F$.
- Tent it loosely: Use foil to keep it warm while resting, but don't wrap it tight or you'll ruin the crust you worked so hard to build.
- Slice against the grain: Once you’ve hit that $142^{\circ}F$ rested temp, find the direction the muscle fibers are running and cut perpendicular to them. This makes the steak feel even more tender in your mouth.
Nailing the pull temp is the difference between a "good" home cook and someone who people actually want to come over and eat with. It takes practice to trust the thermometer when it says the meat is ready, even if the outside looks like it needs more time. Trust the physics, respect the rest, and you'll never have a gray steak again.