When handling food, regardless of whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family, or a dinner party, you must follow the necessary health and safety precautions and requirements.
Cooking chicken breasts, pork chops, and fish filets to the proper temperature using a meat thermometer is a useful kitchen tool that may help you get consistent results every time.
What Is the Function of a Meat Thermometer?
When it comes to measuring the interior temperatures of meats and other proteins, a meat thermometer is a tiny, prong-type instrument.
The minimum internal temperature for foods such as chicken, pork, and eggs is required in order to eliminate hazardous germs and prevent food-borne diseases from occurring.
With the use of a meat thermometer, you can determine these interior temperatures without cutting into the proteins, which can have a detrimental influence on the flavor and texture.
This indispensable kitchen equipment, which is available in both analogue and digital models, may also assist you in cooking protein to the desired level of doneness.
How to Use a Meat Thermometer
A meat thermometer is a straightforward culinary item to employ. To ensure that you obtain an accurate reading every time, follow the steps outlined below:
Check the accuracy of your thermometer.
Place the thermometer in a container filled with ice and water and wait 20 seconds for the temperature to be recorded on the thermometer.
If the thermometer’s display shows a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (or zero degrees Celsius), the thermometer has been calibrated correctly and is ready for use.
If the thermometer does not achieve the required temperature, the calibration is incorrect, and you may need to either recalibrate the thermometer according to the user instructions or purchase a new thermometer to correct the problem.
Check the temperature during the cooking process
Throughout the cooking process, keep an eye on the temperature. When you remove the meal from the heat source (your oven, stove, or grill) to test the temperature, you run the risk of getting an incorrect temperature measurement.
Insert the thermometer inside the protein while it is cooking on the heat source to obtain an accurate reading of the internal temperature. After verifying the temperature of the meal, remove the thermometer from the food.
Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the food.
To check the temperature of a big piece of meat, put the thermometer probe through the thickest section of the flesh, making sure to avoid any bones, fat, or gristle in the process. Allow around 10 seconds for the thermometer to detect the temperature of the meat after it has been inserted.
(After verifying the temperature of the meal, remove the thermometer from the food.) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the central portion of the meat must achieve a safe minimum temperature before it can be served.
The CDC provides a breakdown of items and the appropriate temperatures to cook them.
Read the thermometer
After you’ve taken the temperature using a digital thermometer, look at the quick digital reading to see if your meal is cooked through or not. You may check the reading of an analogue thermometer by looking at its little hand on its dial, which is located on the display’s dial.
In case the temperature has not reached the required minimum safe temperature, continue to cook and check the temperature of your meal until it does so.
