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Steak doneness checker: what doneness is my steak?
Take a photo of the cut face and Steakpedia tells you the doneness, from blue to well done, with the likely core temperature. Free, no app, no sign-up — and the photo is never stored.
interactive chart
Pick a doneness, see inside the steak
Slide the temperature or tap a level. The steak is cut open at its centre: the colour of every millimetre follows the heat that reached it, for your thickness and your method.
For a good reading
- Cut it through the thickest part
- Shoot the cut face straight on
- Within the first minute
- On a white plate
- In white light, not warm restaurant light
Training mode. We're training our own AI with real photos: results are approximate and get better every week. Visual estimate. It can't tell you whether it's safe to eat: the thermometer has the truth. Your photo is analysed and discarded: it isn't stored.
Medium-rare
129°F
Core after resting
Drag to turn
Loading 3D…
Jugoso in Argentina; the steakhouse default
- Centre
- Rose-red core fading to pink, warm throughout
- Texture
- Tender and springy; the fat starts to melt
- When sliced
- A narrow grey band; pink juice
At this temperature The fibres shrink and begin to press out water.
Best for
The safe choice when in doubt: almost every steak cut works here.
Colours are computed from a heat-transfer model and the temperatures in the chart below, not from a photo. Measure with a probe at the thickest point.
How it works
- Cut it and shoot the cut face. Slice through the thickest part and photograph the cut face straight on, in the first minute, ideally on a white plate and in white light.
- Our AI reads the colour. An AI vision model looks at the cut face — grey band, centre colour, juices — and our own model, trained on real steaks of known doneness, corrects its usual mistakes. Your phone also measures the colour of the meat itself.
- You see it on the 3D steak. The result jumps onto the interactive 3D steak: the doneness, the likely core temperature and, when the photo sits on the line, "between X and Y".
How accurate is it?
On photos it had never seen, it named the exact doneness 79 % of the time and was within one level 93 % of the time (October 2026). It is in training mode and improves every week as we add real steaks measured with a probe. It is a visual estimate: it cannot tell you whether a steak is safe to eat — a thermometer can.
Tips for a reading you can trust
- Cut through the thickest part, not the end
- Photograph the cut face straight on, filling most of the frame
- Do it in the first minute: the colour keeps changing as it rests and meets the air
- A white plate helps the camera get the colour right
- Avoid warm restaurant light and filters
Keep going
- Interactive steak doneness chart — Every level in 3D, with pull temperatures in °C and °F
- Cook it step by step — Timers, flips and the pull alarm for your doneness
- Steak cooking time — Minutes per side for your thickness
Add this interactive doneness chart to your site
Free for any website or blog. Copy the code: the chart adjusts its height on its own. Please keep the link below it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tell steak doneness from a photo?
Roughly, yes: the colour of the centre, the width of the grey band and the juices give it away. On photos it had never seen, this checker named the exact doneness 79 % of the time and was within one level 93 % of the time. A probe thermometer is still the only exact answer.
How do I know if my steak is medium-rare without a thermometer?
Cut it in the middle: a medium-rare steak has a warm, red-pink centre, a thin grey band under the crust and pink juices. Take a photo of the cut face and this checker will tell you, with the likely core temperature (52–56 °C / 126–133 °F).
Is my photo stored?
No. The photo is shrunk on your phone, analysed and discarded. Nothing is saved and you don't need an account.
Why does it say "between two levels"?
When the cut face sits on the border — for example between medium-rare and medium — it tells you so instead of guessing. The temperature range covers both.
Does it work with any cut?
Yes, with any steak cut through the middle: ribeye, striploin, tenderloin, picanha, flank, skirt… Thin steaks and very marbled wagyu are harder, because fat and a thin centre change the colour.