Thermometer Tips

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about eating red meat. I talked about the wonders of the instant-read thermometer and how one can use it to make sure their meat is safe without having to overcook the meat.

This week, I taught my lab students how to use a meat thermometer. I taught them the appropriate temperatures for different meats and why, for instance, ground meat has to reach a higher temperature than whole cuts of meat.

I warned the students who were cooking to treat my instant-read well.

“Wash the thermometer thoroughly before returning it to the sheath,” I said. “Cause once that sheath gets dirty, it’s impossible to clean.”

And then I remembered a task I had left undone.

Last week, a reader asked what brand of thermometer I used, because hers kept giving up the ghost after a few weeks or months of use.

I’ve been puzzling over her predicament because I’ve never had the same problem.

Ecko Brand instant-read thermometerI use an Ekco brand instant read thermometer–and while mine is quite new, before that I used my sister’s (same brand) for years. As far as I know, hers is still working just fine in Columbus.

Between her question and my reminders to (and observations of) students, I thought I’d share a few more thermometer tips.

First, regarding the use of an instant read thermometer:
Instant read thermometers are not the same as a traditional meat thermometer. While a traditional meat thermometer is meant to be placed into a roast and stuck in the oven for the duration of cooking, the instant read thermometer is intended for only periodic use throughout the cooking process. As a product begins to near doneness, one should use the instant read thermometer to check the temperature. If the temperature is not yet appropriate, the thermometer should be removed from the meat and the meat should be returned to the heat.

Second, regarding the cleaning of an instant read thermometer:
While an instant read thermometer should be quite waterproof, I never quite trust it enough to submerge it in water. Instead, I clean the thermometer by wiping it off with a soapy rag and then by either dipping the probe portion or running the probe portion under very hot water or sanitizing solution (obviously, the sanitizing solution is more often used in a commercial food service setting–and is probably not practical for home use.) I always clean my thermometer before returning it to its sheath, because, as mentioned before, the sheath is almost impossible to clean once it gets dirty. If the sheath does get dirty, an old-fashioned(?) pipe cleaner, such as children use for craft projects, may be effective for cleaning the narrow interior of the sheath.

Third, on the calibration of an instant read thermometer:
After regular use (and sometimes abuse–I’m always dropping mine), an instant read thermometer can begin to give incorrect readings. You’ll note that your instant read is measuring the ambient room temperature as 60 degrees when really it’s warmer than that. Or maybe the difference is more subtle than that and you haven’t noticed. Nevertheless, an uncalibrated thermometer could lead to a food safety snafu. To avoid this, you can easily calibrate your instant read thermometer. I recommend doing so every couple of months.

Thermometer in ice water bathTo calibrate, prepare an ice water bath by sticking a few ice cubes in a glass of water. Let the water sit for three to five minutes so the water can equilibrate to freezing temperature (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Then, place your instant read thermometer in the ice water bath. Let your thermometer gauge come to a stop.

Hex nut on thermometerNow, you will want to adjust the temperature gauge so that it reads 32 degrees Fahrenheit. To do this, you will need to grasp the hex nut directly under the gauge with a pair of pliers. Then, while holding that hex nut steady, you’ll twist the circular gauge until the indicator points at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Your instant-read thermometer is now calibrated and ready to be used again to feed your family delicious, just-right-temp cooked meat!

Newly calibrated thermometer


Eating RED meat

Many in my family are of the mistaken notion that I only consume “fully dead” meat products.

They complain that I like my steak so dead that it has no flavor left.

I tell them that it’s not that I like my meat overcooked–it’s that I like to make sure that my meat is safe. Then I urge them to buy a instant-read food thermometer.

Why?

Because with an instant-read food thermometer, you can tell within moments that your meat is safe to eat and don’t have to rely on remarkably unreliable data about doneness–data like how pink a piece of meat is.

Last night, after my dad purchased an instant-read food thermometer, I ate a delicious steak that was cooked to an appropriate internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit (Whole cuts of beef and pork are considered safe if they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees for at least 15 seconds.)

Steak cooked to 150

See that?

Note the blood pooling on my plate?

That’s a safely cooked steak. I know because I temped it personally.

I also know that my dad pulled another steak off the grill, even though my internal temperature readings were only 140 degrees. He was sure the steak was done, that the thermometer was wrong.

Once he got inside and cut that steak open, he decided differently. The thermometer was right, the steak wasn’t fully cooked.

His options now? Eat it in its potentially dangerous present state or nuke the life out of it.

He chose to eat it as it was. I would have nuked the life out of it.

But that decision could have been avoided if he’d just trusted his thermometer.

Food thermometers–making RED meat safe for everyone!


For those who are interested in how to use an instant-read food thermometer, you’ll want to insert the probe at least an inch into the side of your piece of meat at the thickest point. Wait until the temperature on the dial stops increasing.

While many thermometers have temperature recommendations listed on them, these recommendations are not safety recommendations but preference-based recommendations. Often, the temperature listed on the thermometer is higher than the safe temperature. Instead of going with these recommendations, I prefer to know the safe numbers and to cook my meats to my own preferred level of doneness once I know they’ve reached a safe temperature.

So, without further ado, I offer you a handy table of safe meat temperatures.

Beef or pork steaks or chops 145 for 15 seconds
Beef or pork roasts 145 for 3 minutes
Ground beef or pork 155 for 15 seconds
Poultry, whether whole or ground 165 for 15 seconds
Leftovers or other reheated foods 165 for 15 seconds