I have a lot of skills. For example, I can stare at a frame on a wall and pretty quickly tell you if it’s off by even the slightest bit. Ask my husband, it drives him nuts. He’ll get out the level to dispute only to see I’m right. That’s years of scrutiny and my years in graphic design, staring at grids.
Guess what I can’t do — stare at a piece of meat and tell you indisputably it’s at the desired temperature. I’ve seen seasoned chefs press into a beautiful steak and be spot on with the doneness. Again, that took years of experience to nail, and I don’t have that experience. What I do have, is a digital thermometer, the ace in my pocket.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Features to consider
- Why where you stick it matters
- Quick read vs. leave-in styles
- Quick reference of meat temps
- Conclusion
Features to Consider
Here’s a quick rundown of features to consider when looking at digital thermometers:
- ·Read time: how quickly it gives you a temperature reading
- ·Accuracy: Aim for no more than +/- 2ºF
- ·Auto-rotating display: a screen that flips when you move it, making it easy to read at any angle
- ·Waterproof: Splashes (and steam) happen, don’t let it ruin your day
- Why does read time matter? If you need to open a smoker, grill, or oven to check a temperature, you’re letting valuable energy and heat escape. The faster you can get your reading and get that sucker closed, the better.
Higher end digital thermometers may allow you to calibrate or include a calibration certificate. When you’re starting out and may not be looking to make a huge investment you need to at least be in the ballpark. So how do you know? Two methods of thinking here.
- Ice bath method. You can screw this up, so you’ll want to follow these directions to the T. First, fill a glass completely with ice (crushed ice or smaller pieces of ice work best for this). Add just enough water to the glass to fill in between the ice. You don’t want the water to float the ice off the bottom, so aim at leaving the top about 0.5” just ice. Give the ice a stir and let it sit for a couple of minutes, so the cold really penetrates the mixture. Insert your digital thermometer about 2” and give it a gentle stir; you should get a reading of 32ºF. If you don’t and you followed the directions your thermometer may have a slight variance. Some thermometers may have instructions on how to calibrate, otherwise make a mental note of this variance to add or subtract when using your thermometer.
- Boil water method. This may have some variability depending on your location, which is why I mention the ice bath method first and gave it a little more attention. At sea level, when you submerge your thermometer about 2” into boiling water for at least 30 seconds your thermometer should read 212ºF (or 100ºC for my metric friends). However, higher altitudes can lower the boiling point, which can get a little tricky. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service [FSIS], you must use distilled water for true accuracy. They also recommend if you’re at higher altitudes to “check with the local Cooperative Extension System office or health department for the exact temperature of boiling water in your high-altitude area.”
Why where you stick it matters
You know when you were a kid, and if you really didn’t want to go to school that day you would bury that thermometer as deep under your tongue as you could to get the highest reading possible? Just me? When trying to get an accurate reading, if you’re too shallow or too deep your temps can mislead you. Too deep and you may break through, hitting the pan that’s been holding onto a ton of heat. Too shallow, and you may not be getting a good idea of how the center of that item is cooking compared to the areas closer to the edge that may have cooked faster.
Most thermometers will give you a guide of how deep to go, but if not, the FSIS says to check the stem of the thermometer for an indentation, or “dimple;” that should be the end of the sensing device within the stem. In the majority of items, you’re aiming for the thickest portion while avoiding bones, fat, or gristle. Pro tip — remove your item from the heat and then try to poke it. Less chance of you burning yourself or other mishaps.
Quick read vs. leave-in styles
Until my husband dove headfirst into smoking and BBQing, I was not aware of the magic of leave-in thermometers. I’m not talking about the little turkey pop-up things you see emerge during the holidays. Leave-in style thermometers are your ticket to being in the know throughout a long cook time. You can use these when roasting in the oven or on the grill or smoker. But wait, there’s more. Within this category you can also choose between wired or wireless; thank you Bluetooth. We’ll dive more into those in a second.
Quick read thermometers are just that — you probe, you wait a few seconds, you get a temperature reading, you remove them. These are not thermometers to be left in while cooking. We most frequently use quick read thermometers when we’re grilling chicken to make sure we don’t overcook and dry out the meat; with steaks to see if we’re a couple of degrees before hitting that perfect medium rare (because meat continues to cook once pulled from the heat); with larger fish fillets to make sure we’re where we need to be without going over.
When my husband is smoking a pork butt part of prep is inserting that leave-in probe so he can keep an eye on his temps. He likes to pull his butts at certain times to wrap, and this removes the guesswork. There’s your go-to wired probe, where you feed the wire out the damper or vents to a stationary device that tracks your temps; there’s also the wireless versions, of which we own the Meater Pro. These are 100% wireless probes that communicate through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to a device that tracks and displays your temps. Part of the reason Rob loves the Meater Pro is its ability to withstand live fire cooking temps (up to 1000ºF), it’s waterproof, charges quickly, and you can have it alert you at specific temps using the app. If we’re in the pool or entertaining, no worries about missing that window of perfect cooking; it’s going to pipe up and get our attention.
Meat temperature guide
Great, now you have your thermometer but how do you know your meat’s cooked properly? Here’s a quick guide, again from the recommendations of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
- Beef, pork, veal and lamb (steaks, chops, roasts): 145ºF, allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
- Unhooked ham, fresh or smoked: 145ºF, allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
- Fish and shellfish: 145ºF
- Ground meats: 160ºF
- Eggs: 160ºF
- All poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, and stuffing): 165ºF
- Casseroles: 165ºF
Conclusion
There’s a lot of things I’m willing to roll the dice on, but getting or giving someone food poisoning is not one of them. Until I have years of experience under my belt, and likely even then, I’ll rely on my trusty thermometers. No guessing, no games. Just good food. Whether you’re on a budget or ready to get bougie, there’s a thermometer for everyone.
