How To Use A Digital Meat Thermometer

Using an internally installed meat thermometer on your grill or smoker takes a lot of guesswork especially when it comes to grilling and roasting your food. Even though there are plenty of techniques to help you figure out ways to improve cooking with an internal thermometer, but unfortunately, the only true way of getting the best cook is by using an external thermometer.

There are many different kinds of thermometer available in the market. Some of these are simple, yet others are fancy and digital in nature with alarms on them.

A lot of thermometers can be used to help you in cooking all kinds of meat, fish, poultry and vegetables. But a good thermometer is a thermometer that has a lot of tolerance and accuracy before you can use it. One of these good thermometers is Digital Meat Thermometers.

Digital Meat Thermometers

A digital meat thermometer is available in many forms and sizes. There are thermometers that only come with a digital readout and elsewhere there are fancier versions of digital thermometers which also come pre installed with timers, wireless control and alarms.

These require batteries to operate and most of them are heat proof so you can easily leave them inside a smoker or grill and set an alarm to let you know when the desired internal temperature has reached.

Using A Digital Thermometer

Learning how to use a digital thermometer is quite easy. All you need to know is the basics of how to use one. You’ll need to learn the perfect cooking and internal temperatures of different meats and their thickness, which we will cover below:

1. First of all, insert the needle of the digital thermometer inside the deepest part of your meat. If you are cooking meat, pork roast or steak, the midpoint is usually the center part of the meat. For poultry, you can put the needle at the depth of the inner thigh or the deepest section of the breast can also be a good point. Just make sure your thermometer doesn’t hit the bones anywhere because this will throw the readings to the roof.
2. Give at least 30 seconds before to read the temperature. Accurate reading only appears after at least 30 seconds have past from the point you inserted the needle in your meat. A good thermometer will take less than 3 seconds to read the internal temperature, so shop for thermometers which have fast reading times.
3. You will need a chart or table which tells you the perfect internal temperature of the meat when it’s perfectly cooked. Most recipes already mention this perfect temperature. Once your meat has reached the desired internal temperature, then you should take out the thermometer and start preparing the meat for serving.

Cooking Food to Safe Temperatures

If you are cooking a large piece of meat, then it is advised that you take out the thermometer at least 5 degrees before it reaches the perfect temperature and let the meat rest on a platter covered in foil for about 15 minutes to get the perfect taste.

References and Resources

• IsItDoneYet.gov – Information about proper internal temperatures for meats and other foods
• Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency – USDA article includes information about food safety during power loss
• Food Thermometers Are Key to Food Safety – USDA article