Plate.
The belly behind the brisket. Plate short ribs, skirt steak and hanger. Rich, fatty, and two very different cooking personalities.
Beef plate is done when it is probe tender, usually between 200 and 205 F. The number is a checkpoint. USDA FSIS calls beef safe at 145 F with a 3 minute rest. Tenderness comes later.
Where it comes from
Plate short ribs (dino ribs) are collagen cuts smoked to probe tender like brisket. Skirt steak is a thin, coarse-grained steak that wants very high heat for a very short time and a thin slice across the grain.
USDA FSIS primal: plate (Beef Board primal; below the rib). Nine regions, matching the Beef Board retail chart convention where the loin is shown as short loin and sirloin.
- Best methods:
- smoke (short ribs), grill hot and fast (skirt, hanger)
- Slice:
- Skirt: thin, across the grain, at an angle. Short ribs: served on the bone or sliced across.
- Rest:
- Short ribs 30 minutes; skirt 5 minutes.
Scores are Pit Log editorial, anchored to FSIS tenderness notes.
What you will see at the counter
| Cut | Methods | Finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plate short ribs | smoke | probe tender, 200 to 205 F (craft) | Probe tender between the bones; the meat pulls back a finger's width from the bone ends. |
| Skirt steak | grill | Your doneness, 145 F + rest USDA floor | Beef Board (inside skirt): robust flavour, marinate and grill hot for fajitas. Slice thin across the grain. |
| Hanger steak | grill | Your doneness, 145 F + rest USDA floor | One per animal. Remove the centre membrane. |
Safe. Then done.
145 F (62.8 C), then rest at least 3 minutes before carving or consuming
Steaks, chops and roasts (whole muscle). Food thermometer in the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle, read before removing from the heat source. This is a food safety floor, not a preference. Where any other number on this page is lower, this one governs.
Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart, page updated 2025-04-14, read 2026-09-02.
200 to 205 F, probe tender
Chuck and short ribs follow brisket logic: pull when probe tender, commonly 200 to 205 F. The Beef Board describes chuck short ribs as tender when slow-cooked and brisket as a low-and-slow primal because it is a working muscle.
- Probe where:
- between bones on short ribs; centre of a chuck roast
- Pit:
- 250 to 275 F
- Planning time:
- chuck roast roughly 1.5 hours per pound; plate short ribs 6 to 8 hours at 250 to 275 F. Approximate.
- Stall:
- Same evaporative plateau as brisket, usually shorter.
beef industry
Steaks and roasts, final temperature after rest. Culinary preference, as published by the industry body cited below.
| Doneness | Internal temp | Vs. USDA 145 F |
|---|---|---|
| Medium rare | 145 F, rest at least 3 minutes | At or above the minimum. |
| Medium | 160 F | At or above the minimum. |
| Well done | 170 F | At or above the minimum. |
Carryover: Roasts rise 5 to 15 F after leaving the heat; allow 15 to 20 minutes standing time.
beef convention
Steaks, steakhouse and pitmaster convention, pull temperatures. Culinary preference, barbecue convention.
| Doneness | Internal temp | Vs. USDA 145 F |
|---|---|---|
| Rare | 120 to 125 F | Below the minimum. Preference, not safety. |
| Medium rare | 130 to 135 F | Below the minimum. Preference, not safety. |
| Medium | 140 to 145 F | Below the minimum. Preference, not safety. |
| Medium well | 150 to 155 F | At or above the minimum. |
| Well done | 160+ F | At or above the minimum. |
Carryover: Craft convention: 5 to 10 F rise on a steak during a 5 to 10 minute rest.
Rare, medium-rare and medium figures are culinary preference ranges that fall below the USDA FSIS safe minimum of 145 F with a 3 minute rest. USDA does not consider them safe. Where the two differ, the USDA minimum governs.
More on the beef temperature page and the full chart.
Smoke
- Oak: Balanced, clean, dependable. The all-purpose smoke and the Central Texas standard (post oak).
- Hickory: Bold, savoury, bacon-like. The classic pork and rib smoke; heavy-handed on poultry.
- Mesquite (skirt, hot and fast only): Intense, earthy, fast-burning. Best for hot-and-fast beef; turns harsh over a long cook.
What ruins it
- 01Cooking skirt past medium; it turns to rope.
- 02Slicing skirt with the grain.
Cook it
- Pepper-Bark Beef Short Ribs: in the test kitchen. Not published yet.
- Leave-in probe / wireless thermometerFSIS: use two thermometers, one for the pit air and one for the food. Every low-and-slow page.
- Cast iron skillet / griddleReverse sear finish for ribeye, tri-tip, chops, rack.
- Slicing knife (brisket knife)Slice-against-the-grain pages: brisket, tri-tip, flank, leg of lamb.
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Then write down what happened
Pit temp, wood, wrap, final temp, rest, result. The chart says what usually works. Your log says what worked for you.