Meat Thermometer

If you just look at the color of the meat juice to tell whether the chicken is well cooked, you won’t have your desirable taste of the meat. You can hardly tell the difference between a medium rare and well-done steak, what’s more, the difference between the moist tender fish and dry chalky fish is even harder to tell by just looking.

And what of your salmon filet which will also have  different ends with different temperatures, the thin end will be a little hotter than the thick one. The only way to make the temps same, deliver properly cooked meat to the table, enjoy the outdoor cooking and protect the people eating your food from food poisoning and the likes, is to control the temperature by using a meat thermometer.

If you get a good meat thermometer, you can say goodbye to overcooked or undercooked meat and sticking the chicken in the microwave instead of taking it to your guests’ plates. It can tell you the temp in seconds when you poke a thin probe into the meat.

A meat thermometer is common in the barbecue. You may have many other ways of figuring out whether your food is done the cooking, but a thermometer will make it easy to tell the temps of your turkey, ribs and other meats. In the market, there are so many kinds of thermometers which have different models and types, the simplest being the digital thermometer with an alarm. They usually can be used in all kinds of cooking, from the kitchen to the outdoor cooking and from the oven to the fireplace cooking.

Knowledge Points on Meat Thermometer

What is a meat thermometer and why use it anyway? Undercooked meat is a primary source of bacteria such as salmonella. This can be avoided by cooking meat to the proper temperature through the use of a meat thermometer. A meat thermometer is basically a sharp stainless steel skewer which is inserted into the thickest part of a cooking piece of meat.

The tip measures the internal temperature of the meat, and the heat is shown as a reading on a thermometer gauge or digital display. You don’t have to cut your meats open to check, the meat thermometer which takes the guess-work out of your cuts of meat that is critical.

The cuts of meat will get dried out and tough if they are overcooked; they will be full of harmful bacteria if undercooked, especially poultry and pork. A good thermometer can let you figure out the perfect time to pull out your meats out of the oven or off your grill.

Getting into the habit of using a meat thermometer is one of the best things a new cook can do. Aside from checking the temperature of meat, it comes in handy for egg dishes and casseroles.

A meat thermometer can come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, prices, and colors. Meat thermometers can be purchased at most retail stores and online stores.

Categories of meat thermometers

• Digital Meat Thermometer

A digital meat thermometer isn’t designed to go into an oven but is used instead to verify the proper temperature of the meat after it is out of the oven. Nowadays, the thermometer always features a LED-backlit display and comes equipped with a magnetic backing for ease of storage. With this meat thermometer, you can get the temperature almost any time with the backlight button.

You can get your food and liquid temperature readings instantly with extreme accuracy. Instant read thermometer measures temperature in 3 seconds, and with an accuracy of +/-1 degrees with a wide range of -58°F -572°F. Do not need to wait any longer near the hot plate, grill, and barbecue. Find out the exact temperature of your food in a second! For maximum measurement accuracy, a calibration function is provided.

Instant read thermometer is lightweight and has a thin probe. Do not leave these thermometers in the meat for more than 30 or 40 seconds (some are only heat resistant). Insert the probe into the thickest part of the meat (avoiding bone) and wait 30 seconds for it to register accurately. If the beef or lamb is within 5 to 10 degrees of your aim, begin checking it around every 5 minutes.

What’s more, the grill thermometer makers can offer a large temperature range and scratch resistant exterior for durability and guaranteed to last a lifetime. Some of these thermometer’s bodies are made of strong ABS plastic, if you drop, it will not break. The collapsible probe of stainless steel will not break if it is bent and easily folds into the case if necessary. Also, the tip of the probe has an antibacterial coating to prevent bacteria from getting into the meat being cooked.

The cooking thermometer has a magnet inside, so it can not only be easily attached to the refrigerator but also it can be hung on the hook. A waterproof digital thermometer can be washed easily without fear of soaking water inside. Some kinds of the thermometer have a long folding probe which can help you quickly and safely get the internal temperature of any cooked food – beef, chicken, pork, fish, lamb, or turkey.

Besides, digital meat thermometer works great with deep frying, making candy, baking, and beverages like beer, wine, milk, water etc. The tip of the probe is very thin and traces will not be visible on food. When the probe is closed, the food thermometer switches off automatically.Apparently, the thermometer needs batteries to support its work. Although some of them have heat-proof wires, it’s better for your safety to leave them outside the oven or grill during cooking.

• Wireless Meat Thermometer

Place a thermometer needle in the meat with a wire coming out of your oven or grill, then let the wire connect to a digital transmitter. You can sit on the sofa and enjoy your favorite TV program while your food is cooking and you won’t worry about the temperature change. Otherwise, you may be standing in front of the oven or the grill to check the temperature all through the cooking process.

Besides, you can’t open the grill to check the temperature with a digital one, because if you do that the heat will be lost and slow down the cooking process. Some good thermometers even have alarms which can remind you when the temperature reaches the desired point. Never worry about missing the exact time to take your meat off the grill because these kinds of thermometers are equipped with alarms and the receivers will also flash when the temperature goes above/below your programmed range.

Other types of the thermometers may have sensor probes, although the sensor probes are always rigidly produced, after a long-time period of use, a few amount units could experience an incorrect temperature reading problem. This may be caused by the careless or improper use of sensor probes. A cooking thermometer is programmed with preset temperatures for various cooking levels recommended by USDA – Program, ground beef, ground poultry, veal, chicken, pork, poultry, lamb, fish; All prepared programmed temperatures can be reprogrammed to set cooking temperatures to suit your personal taste.

• Bluetooth Meat Thermometer

With the development of science and technology, now we have the Bluetooth meat thermometer that takes the place of the wireless one. It gave me a bit more freedom when I smoked meat. I could play with my child and monitor the temperature at the same time.I am impressed with this invention. I have used it for smoking meat and I find it to be the perfect thermometer for smoking.

First, as far as I can tell, the accuracy is good. I have compared it to another digital meat thermometer I have at various temperature ranges and it always measures +/- 1 degree F. Second, I am really impressed by the Bluetooth range. As a reference, I have the smoker about 30 feet away from the house, it won’t constantly be losing signal, not like the digital one and wireless one who have a small range to work.

Next, the free app is great; Very user-friendly interface and display of information. It allows you to set alarms so you know when your food is done or when your smoker/oven gets above or below the preset temperature.

All the Bluetooth meat thermometers available at the market can work with both Android (4.4 + above) and IOS software. Most of the thermometers do not utilize batteries and the stainless steel cable (silver wire) are not waterproof. So the cables should not be at any time immersed in water otherwise, it will show incorrect temperature. Do not put the sensor/the steel cable in fire or in a place with temperature is higher than about 300°C/570℉. This will break the sensor and the cable.

• BBQ thermometer

A wireless BBQ meat thermometer is the newest on the market. The internal measuring unit is separate from the external heat-reading unit, which is placed on the outside of the barbecue or smoker so heat does not escape while checking the meat.

 The Best meat thermometer for your needs

For juicy, succulent roasts, the best meat thermometer and the best oven thermometer are necessary for a kitchen. They ensure your cooking is up to the right temperature. So if you’re looking forward to a medium-rare fillet of beef, that’s exactly what you’ll get. For occasions, like Christmas, you can ensure that your poultry is thoroughly cooked without worrying whether it’s safe to eat and knowing the meat will still be tender and moist.

Here comes some of the newest technology of some thermometers in the market today. All these thermometers are in the test run and need more improvement. What we are looking for as the best thermometer are the ease of use, accurate readings, ease of storage and some added features.

Superfast Thermapen 4, long battery life (3000 hours), waterproof, wide temp range -49.9 to 299.9 C, available in degrees C only and C or F (models vary), backlight. Originally designed for a professional kitchen, this is a durable choice for a confident cook.

There are no bells and whistles, just a superfast (three second) temperature reading. The thin probe means that you don’t get a big hole where you’ve inserted, ideal for dishes like beef Wellington. The wide temperature range means that it can be used to test jams, sugar, and oil as well as chilled dishes. The probe folds down like a penknife for easy storage (which also turns it off) and the antibacterial casing comes in a variety of colors.

Oxo Good Grips leave-in meat thermometer, in-oven probe, probe cover for storage, temperature/meat guide, degrees C.You can stick the probe into the meat before cooking and then check as and when. We liked the shaded tip that helps judge how far to insert the probe and most of all, the handy plastic case which has a quick reference guide to the temperatures for different meats, from medium-rare to well done. It is inserted into the thickest part of the roast and remains in the meat during cooking. The probe shouldn’t touch bone or fatty areas (which hold more heat). This meat thermometer is available in supermarkets and kitchenware stores.

How To Use the Meat Thermometer Correctly

There is quite a science behind the degrees of which the meat is well prepared and it all comes down to internal temperature. That is the beauty of the meat thermometer as it is an accurate way of measuring that internal temperature of the meat during cooking.

When you finish cooking, you should insert the thermometer needle into the deepest part of the meat. Anyway, avoid contacting bone. Besides, avoid inserting the needle too far as this can be far away from the other side of the meat. It couldn’t be better if it is in the middle. Read the temperature on the thermometer. It usually stops going up after about 30 seconds, and after that, you can check what the temperature is. However, it depends on the type of the thermometer.

It can be difficult to judge the readiness of odd-shaped meat as the heat doesn’t reach all areas at the same time. If necessary take two readings of the beef or lamb in different places with a meat thermometer.When it reaches close to your desired internal temperature, you can remove the food.Stuffed and rolled meats require longer roasting times as they have more layers of heat to penetrate. These are easy to be well cooked.

Special note: Before larger roasts reach your desired temperature, you should remove it from the oven maybe 5 to 10 degrees below the desired temperature. The internal temperature will continue to rise several degrees when the meat rests on a warm platter covered with an aluminum foil which helps the temperature and juices redistribute. If this process last for about 5 to 30 minutes, the meat will be more delicious and taste good. If you cook a large roast, take a little more time, or a little less time.