Hi all,
I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
or test when you think it might be done?

Sorry for the idiotic question..this is one of those things i've always
wondered about..;-)

--
blue

AzuReBlue writes:
>
>I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
>sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
>My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
>or test when you think it might be done?

Depends which type of thermometer... instant read thermometers should not go
into the oven.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

AzuReBlue wrote:

> I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
> sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
> My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
> or test when you think it might be done?

I finally got a meat thermometer that works reliably. It is a digital deal
with a probe and cable that I can stick into the meat and set the head on the
counter top and set it for the desired temperature.

In article >, penmart01
@aol.como says...
> AzuReBlue writes:
> >
> >I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
> >sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
> >My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
> >or test when you think it might be done?
>
> Depends which type of thermometer... instant read thermometers should not go
> into the oven.
>
>
> ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
> ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
> Sheldon
> ````````````
> "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
>

Sorry..should have clarified this. I have an el cheapo one that's not
digital. I have read recipes that state to insert the thermometer and
place into oven...but I did this once and it ended up reading 350 deg
very quickly. (The mysteries of getting an accurate internal temp. have
eluded me so far!)

Thanks!

--
blue

AzuReBlue writes:

>penmart01 says...
>> AzuReBlue writes:
>> >
>> >I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
>> >sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
>> >My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
>> >or test when you think it might be done?
>>
>>Depends which type of thermometer... instant read thermometers
>>should not go into the oven.
>
>Sorry..should have clarified this. I have an el cheapo one that's not
>digital. I have read recipes that state to insert the thermometer and
>place into oven...but I did this once and it ended up reading 350 deg
>very quickly.

If your thermometer reads 350 degrees F. then what you most likely have is an
Oven Thermometer, not a meat thermometer.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"AzuReBlue" > wrote in message
. com...
> In article >, penmart01
> @aol.como says...
> > AzuReBlue writes:
> > >
> > >I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
> > >sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
> > >My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the
oven,
> > >or test when you think it might be done?
> >
> > Depends which type of thermometer... instant read thermometers should
not go
> > into the oven.
> >
> >
> > ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
> > ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
> > Sheldon
> > ````````````
> > "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
> >
>
> Sorry..should have clarified this. I have an el cheapo one that's not
> digital. I have read recipes that state to insert the thermometer and
> place into oven...but I did this once and it ended up reading 350 deg
> very quickly. (The mysteries of getting an accurate internal temp. have
> eluded me so far!)
>

If you have a standard meat thermometer (usually about the size of a pen
with red liquid inside it) it should be inserted into the meat so the center
of the thermometer is in the center of the thickest part of the meat. It
should not be touching any bone or fat. You leave it in the meat and check
it periodically. If it is an instant thermometer (which doesn't have to be
digital) you remove the meat from the oven and insert the stem into the meat
as above. You leave it in the meat for about 20 seconds and then read the
dial. The instant thermometers do NOT go in the oven. You can pick up an
instant read thermometer for under $10, so being cheap doesn't mean
anything.

Your thermometer may be defective or may need to be calibrated. Bring some
water to a boil and measure the temperature, If it isn't 212F then you have
a problem.
It would help if you looked at this site to see if you can determine exactly
what kind of thermometer you have:
http://www.taylorusa.com/consumer/thermo/kitchenth.html

Vox Humana wrote:

> Your thermometer may be defective or may need to be calibrated. Bring some
> water to a boil and measure the temperature, If it isn't 212F then you have
> a problem.

While reading a meat thermometer is not a science, inserting them properly seems
to be something of an art. You need to get them into the thickest part of the
roast, but not too close to bones. One thing that people new to meat
thermometers should realize is that the temperature of roasts rises quite slowly
at first, but as they get hotter, the temperature raises quickly. I usually do
chickens and capons to 200 F. It may take 2 1/2 hours to get to 120, and
another 40 minutes to get to 180, but only another 15 minutes to hit 200.

"AzuReBlue" > wrote in message
. com...
> Hi all,
> I have a meat thermometer and quite a few recipes I read say "make
> sure meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 deg" for example.
> My question is do you insert the thermometer when it goes into the oven,
> or test when you think it might be done?
>
> Sorry for the idiotic question..this is one of those things i've always
> wondered about..;-)
>
> --
> blue

I think it's best to figure the shortest time based on the recipe and insert
the thermometer then. For example if the recipe says "cook for 2 to 2 and
1/2 hours" stick it in at about 2 hours.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

In article >,

> While reading a meat thermometer is not a science, inserting them properly
> seems
> to be something of an art. You need to get them into the thickest part of the
> roast, but not too close to bones.

Now, everybody says this, but I don't understand why it matters. How can
the bone be a different temperature from all the meat that surrounds it?
I do not believe that heat would conduct in from the "ends" of the bone
to any noticable extent.

Isaac

Isaac Wingfield > wrote in
:

> In article >,
>
>> While reading a meat thermometer is not a science, inserting them
>> properly seems
>> to be something of an art. You need to get them into the thickest
>> part of the roast, but not too close to bones.
>
> Now, everybody says this, but I don't understand why it matters. How
> can the bone be a different temperature from all the meat that
> surrounds it? I do not believe that heat would conduct in from the
> "ends" of the bone to any noticable extent.
>
> Isaac
>

The bones do not heat up as fast as the meat because they don't
conduct heat as well as the moist flesh....they are colder...whereas the
fat heats quicker so it would be warmer.

Does it really matter...What you want to eat is the meat so get that to the
correct temp and don't worry overly about bones and fat.

As to type of thermometer...take the meat out of the oven stick in the
thermometer and if inside of 10 seconds you get a reading is probably an
instant read...especialy if it will fit in your shirt pockect and comes in
a carrying case about the size of a pen. Other, leave in the meat types,
have huge dials usually, redily readable thru the window in the oven.