Foods & cuts · Beef

Beef burger

The same animal as a steak and a completely different safety proposition. Mincing takes bacteria that lived on the surface and distributes them through the interior, so the whole mass has to reach the endpoint.

What it is

Form: Burger patty
Typical weight: 110–200 g
Typical thickness: 10–25 mm
Cut: Not a cut of anything

This form carries interior contamination risk. Processing has moved surface bacteria into the middle, so the whole mass must reach the safety endpoint — unlike a whole cut of the same animal, whose interior was sterile before it was cut.

Why it behaves as it does

This is the single most important form distinction in the catalogue. Anybody applying steak logic to a burger is applying it to the wrong food. Two independent publishers now give overlapping times — AHDB 4–6 minutes a side at 1–2 cm, Weber 8–10 minutes total at 19 mm — which is a rare case of the timing being well supported AND the endpoint mattering more than the timing.

When is it done?

Food-safety endpoint

Food Standards Agency
In the UK, food should reach 70 °C held for 2 minutes, or an equivalent time-and-temperature combination, at the slowest-heating point.
- 80 °C (176 °F) held for 0 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 75 °C (167 °F) held for 1 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 70 °C (158 °F) held for 2 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 65 °C (149 °F) held for 10 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 60 °C (140 °F) held for 45 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
The rule and its source
In the UK, food is considered adequately cooked when it reaches 70 °C held for 2 minutes, or an equivalent time-and-temperature combination.
Well established
- Food Standards Agency — States this directly
  “70°C for 2 minutes”
  How it was measured:
  Temperature is that of the food itself, at the slowest-heating point.
  Equivalent to a six-log reduction in vegetative bacteria.
  Where it applies:
  England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland follows equivalent guidance.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- Food Standards Agency — States this directly
  “60°C for 45 minutes, 65°C for 10 minutes, 70°C for 2 minutes, 75°C for 30 seconds”
  The combinations are presented as alternatives, not as a scale of increasing safety.
  Long, low cooks may satisfy a lower-temperature combination many times over without ever reaching the highest figure.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Scotland
In Scotland, a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the food should read 75 °C or above, and minced meat products such as burgers, sausages and kebabs must be cooked thoroughly all the way through.
- 75 °C (167 °F) — measured at the thickest part of the food.
The rule and its source
In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland advises consumers that food is adequately cooked when a thermometer in the thickest part reads 75 °C or above.
Well supported
- Food Standards Scotland — States this directly
  “When inserted in the thickest part of the food, the thermometer should read 75°C or above.”
  Safety regime:
  Consumer guidance, addressed to people cooking at home.
  Where it applies:
  Scotland.
  A single core temperature where the FSA publishes 70 °C held for two minutes plus a ladder of equivalents. Two food bodies in one state giving different consumer advice, and neither is in error — the same shape as the FSA/USDA/MPI divergence the safety model was built around, arriving inside the United Kingdom.
  The page states no resting guidance.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-14
Food Standards Agency
A beef burger must be cooked through. Serving one rare or pink requires specific controls that ordinary domestic cooking does not provide, and which a whole cut of beef does not need.
The rule and its source
A beef burger cannot be treated like a steak: mincing moves surface bacteria into the interior, so serving one rare or pink requires controls that a whole cut does not.
Well established
- Food Standards Agency — States this directly
  The FSA publishes separate guidance for less than thoroughly cooked beef burgers, covering controls that reduce the risks of serving them rare or pink — controls that whole cuts of beef do not require.
  Written for food businesses and local authorities rather than for domestic cooks.
  Why it happens:
  Mincing distributes surface bacteria through the interior, so the interior of a burger cannot be treated like the interior of a steak.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
In the United States, ground beef should reach a minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71 °C).
- 71 °C (160 °F) — measured at the centre of the thickest part of the patty.
The rule and its source
In the United States, ground beef has a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71 °C) — higher than the whole-cut figure, because of mincing.
Well established
- United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service — States this directly
  USDA FSIS gives 160 °F (71 °C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground beef.
  Form:
  Ground/minced meat. Higher than the whole-cut figure precisely because of mincing.
  No rest time is specified for ground meats.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
The FDA Food Code requires a retail or food service business — a restaurant, caterer or shop — to cook non-intact and comminuted meat to 68 °C (155 °F) held for 17 seconds, or an equivalent combination. This is a requirement on businesses under inspection and is not the guidance published to people cooking at home.
- 68 °C (154 °F) held for 0 min — measured at all parts of the food, per the food code's cooking requirement.
- 63 °C (145 °F) held for 3 min — measured at all parts of the food.
- 70 °C (158 °F) — measured at all parts of the food.
The rule and its source
The FDA Food Code 2022 requires food businesses to cook non-intact and comminuted meat to 68 °C (155 °F) for 17 seconds, or an equivalent time-and-temperature combination. It is a model code for the retail segment, is not federal law, and does not replace the consumer guidance USDA FSIS publishes.
Well established
- United States Food and Drug Administration — States this directly
  “68oC (155oF) for 17 seconds or the temperature specified in the following chart that corresponds to the holding time for RATITES, and nonINTACT MEATS”
  A time-and-temperature PAIR, not a point. The same chart gives 63 °C for 3 minutes, 66 °C for 1 minute and 70 °C instantaneously as equivalents.
  Form:
  Applies to non-intact and comminuted meat, which is the category ground beef falls in.
  Addressed to food establishments operating a monitored process, not to a person cooking at home.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- United States Food and Drug Administration — States this directly
  “The retail segment includes those establishments or locations in the food distribution chain where the consumer takes possession of the food.”
  What it covers:
  Defines who the Code instructs. This is the fact that separates it from consumer guidance rather than putting it in competition with it.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- United States Food and Drug Administration — States this directly
  “The model Food Code is neither federal law nor federal regulation and is not preemptive.”
  A model for adoption. What binds a given establishment is whichever edition its own jurisdiction adopted, which may not be this one.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries
In New Zealand, meat should reach 75 °C or more at the middle of the thickest part, or an equivalent combination: 75 °C for 30 seconds, 70 °C for 3 minutes, or 65 °C for 15 minutes.
- 75 °C (167 °F) held for 1 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
- 70 °C (158 °F) held for 3 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
- 65 °C (149 °F) held for 15 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
The rule and its source
In New Zealand, meat should reach 75 °C or more at the middle of the thickest part, or an equivalent combination of 75 °C for 30 seconds, 70 °C for 3 minutes, or 65 °C for 15 minutes.
Well established
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  “the middle of the thickest part (where the temperature should be 75°C or more)”
  How it was measured:
  Middle of the thickest part, explicitly.
  Where it applies:
  New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  “75°C for 30 seconds, 70°C for 3 minutes, or 65°C for 15 minutes”
  These differ from the FSA's equivalents at the same temperatures — 3 minutes against 2 at 70 °C, 15 against 10 at 65 °C.
  Where it applies:
  New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Tenderised meat is grouped with minced meat rather than with whole cuts, and must be cooked through when barbecued.
Well supported
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  New Zealand Food Safety advises that chicken, tenderised meat and minced meat products need to be barbecued until they are cooked through, over 75 °C all the way through.
  Form:
  Groups tenderised meat with mince rather than with whole cuts — direct support for treating mechanical tenderisation as an interior-contamination form.
  Stated specifically in the context of barbecuing.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Health Canada
In Canada, ground beef, veal and lamb — including burgers, meatballs and sausages — should reach 71 °C (160 °F).
- 71 °C (160 °F) — measured at the centre of the thickest patty or piece.
The rule and its source
In Canada, ground beef, veal and lamb should reach 71 °C (160 °F) and ground poultry 74 °C (165 °F).
Well established
- Health Canada — States this directly
  “Ground meat, for example, burgers, meatballs, sausages 71 160”
  71 °C for ground red meat is the same figure USDA FSIS gives consumers.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-15
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Across Australia and New Zealand, cook chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly to an internal temperature of 75 °C, checked with a food thermometer. Steaks may be cooked to preference.
- 75 °C (167 °F) — measured at the internal centre of the food, checked with a food thermometer.
The rule and its source
Across Australia and New Zealand, FSANZ advises cooking chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly to an internal temperature of 75 °C, while stating that steaks may be cooked to preference.
Well established
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “Cook chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly, to an internal temperature of 75oC - check the temperature with a food thermometer.”
  Where it applies:
  Australia and New Zealand together. FSANZ's remit is bi-national, which is why a New Zealand reader is covered by this AND by MPI.
  Form:
  Names chicken, sausages and hamburgers — poultry plus the two commonest minced forms.
  Method:
  Stated in the context of sausage sizzles and barbecues specifically.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “Steaks can be cooked to preference”
  A regulator saying explicitly where its own rule stops. Most authorities leave this to be inferred; FSANZ writes it down.
  Form:
  The distinction is FORM, not species: the same animal appears on both sides of the sentence.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Use separate equipment for raw and cooked meat, and never put cooked meat back on a tray or plate that held it raw. Throw away leftovers unless there is refrigeration available to cool them quickly.
The rule and its source
At a barbecue, raw and cooked meat must be kept apart: separate equipment, and cooked meat never returned to the tray that held it raw.
Well established
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “never place cooked meat back on the trays that held the raw meat”
  The single most common barbecue food-safety failure, and one that no cooking temperature prevents.
  Where it applies:
  Australia and New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Agency
Wash a thermometer stem in hot soapy water before and after each use, and do not put the head in water.
The rule and its source
A thermometer stem should be washed in hot soapy water before and after each use, and the head should not be put in water.
Well established
- Clemson Cooperative Extension — States this directly
  “Make sure to clean the stem of your food thermometer with hot soapy water before and after each use. Do not immerse the head in water.”
  Before and after, not just after. a probe that went into an undercooked bird and then into the next one is a cross-contamination route BBQHQ's food-safety model already recognises between surfaces and hands, and has never described for the instrument that touches every piece of meat on the grate.
  The head exclusion is an equipment instruction rather than a hygiene one — electronics — and is recorded here because it is in the same sentence and separating them would misquote the source.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-21

Culinary doneness — a preference, not a safety figure

cooked through — 71–75 °C (160–167 °F)

Measure at: The centre of the patty, probing from the side.

Unlike a steak, a burger has no sterile interior: mincing distributes surface bacteria throughout. A rare burger is a different proposition from a rare steak and requires controls that domestic cooking does not provide.

Where this comes from

In the United States, ground beef has a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71 °C) — higher than the whole-cut figure, because of mincing.

Well established

United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service — States this directly
USDA FSIS gives 160 °F (71 °C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground beef.
Form:
Ground/minced meat. Higher than the whole-cut figure precisely because of mincing.
No rest time is specified for ground meats.
About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13

How long it takes

Beef burger, direct heat

Estimated cooking window

8 min–12 min

Moderate confidence

Why this is a range, not a number

Thickness varies between pieces
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
Individual animals and pieces differ

Cook to the endpoint, not to the clock. The window tells you when to start checking.

What this rests on

BBQHQ publishes a window for this cook.

Observations: 6
Documents: 6
Publishers timing this cook: 2

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · Weber-Stephen Products LLC

Also on this page, supplying endpoints or doneness rather than timings: Food Standards Australia New Zealand · New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries · United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service · United States Food and Drug Administration. They are not a second opinion about how long the cook takes.

Why confidence is not higher

At least one source does not state the cooker temperature.
No source states whether the food went on fridge-cold or rested.
No source states the weight of the food.

How the sources were combined

Two independent publishers with overlapping windows at compatible thicknesses: AHDB gives 4–6 minutes a side for a 1–2 cm patty and Weber 8–10 minutes total for a ¾-inch one. Combined as a union of 8–12 minutes. BBQHQ could give no duration here at all for a long time. The endpoints, meanwhile, remain separate jurisdictional figures — 71 °C in the US, 75 °C in New Zealand and across Australia and New Zealand under FSANZ, and the UK's time-and-temperature combinations — and they are deliberately not reconciled with each other, because they are different authorities' decisions rather than competing estimates of one fact. A fifth figure was added that is not a fifth jurisdiction: the FDA Food Code's 68 °C held for 17 seconds is the same country as the USDA's 71 °C and a different REGIME, addressed to food businesses rather than to the reader. It is held apart on that basis, it does not appear in the endpoints a reader is shown, and the US guidance here is unchanged.

What makes the window as wide as it is

Thickness varies between pieces
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
Individual animals and pieces differ

When it goes wrong

Burnt outside, underdone inside: Burgers or sausages charred outside and raw inside — 2 distinguishable causes.
Still raw in the middle: Burgers or sausages charred outside and raw inside — 2 distinguishable causes.
It stuck to the grate: Food sticking to the grate — 2 distinguishable causes.
It caused flare-ups: Flare-ups — 2 distinguishable causes.
The sauce or coating burnt: The sauce or glaze burnt black — 2 distinguishable causes.

Afterwards

Cooling, keeping and reheating what is left is general guidance for barbecue leftovers. Neither UK authority publishes anything specific to beef burger, and BBQHQ does not invent a distinction they do not make.