Order The New AmazingRibs.com Temperature Guide Magnet

This unique guide shows you both USDA recommended temperatures for all your favorite meats as well as the temperatures recommended by chefs (they are not always the same). This 8.5" x 5.5" magnetic card can be attached to your fridge or grill, or both! Click here to see more of of the information packed into this indespensible guide.

How they work:

Thermocouples: The best instant read and all-purpose thermometers

Thermocouples are the good food thermometers because they're fast. Some thermocouples can read accurately in fewer than 2 seconds, faster than any other sensor. They're thin: They have 2 thin wires in the probe, so the tip can be very small and thin. The sensitive area is very close to the tip so you know just what you're reading and they can be used to check the temp in several locations easily. They're accurate: They're margin of error is less than 1%. Some can be calibrated. You can get thermocouples that are great for instant metering, or others that can be left deep inside a roast like a pork shoulder or a ham for hours.

Thermistors: Good for continuous readings for large roasts and oven thermometers

Thermistors are digital thermometers with a small resistor in the tip. They are not as quick as thermocouples, they tend to be thicker, but they can be very accurate. Some have a leave-in probe on a wire that allows you to insert it into the meat and get the readout from outside the oven so you can monitor the meat temp continuously.

Bi-metal dial thermometers: Just not reliable

Most bi-metal coil dial thermometers should be called heat indicators, not thermometers. These dial-and-needle readouts use two strips of metal bonded together and rolled into a coil. Each metal expands at a different rate, turns a shaft and this provides the reading on a dial.

They are slow and because the helix can be 0.5" long or more it is not as precise at reading a specific location as the tiny sensor in the tip of a digital. I don't recommend them for measuring food or air temp.

Most thermometers built into grills and smokers are bi-metal, but they are often low quality in order to keep the grill price down. Also, these grill themometers are mounted in the dome where the temp can be very different from the temp at the cooking surface making them both unreliable and misleading.

They can easily become unreadable if they fill with smoke and or water. If you get condensation or water under the glass of a bi-metal thermometer, put it in a zipper bag with a couple of cups of rice or dried pasta and seal it up. In about a week the grain will have absorbed the moisture and your thermometer should be back to normal.

Some bi-metal thermometers are rated as oven-safe and can be inserted into meat and left in during cooking, but the sensitive area may be up to one inch or longer, so they are useful only for meat thicker than 4", such as pork shoulders.

Now that I have slammed bimetals, I should tell you that there is one brand that a lot of the pros use on their big pits and they tell me it is pretty accurate. Tel-Tru. It comes with a wingnut, a range from 150°F to 700°F, 1.75" dial, and a 2.13" stem. As good as they are, that dial face is just not as accurate as a numeric readout that is precise to within a degree or two.

Other thermometers: Not recommended for cooking

Old-fashioned liquid filled thermometers are very accurate so they make good oven and refrigerator thermometers, but they cannot read a small area such as the center of a hunk of meat well, and they are very slow.

Don't trust popup thermometers

You want to take your turkey off the cooker when the thickest piece of meat is 160°F and let it rise to 165°F. You cannot trust the popup thermometer that comes inserted in the bird. According to How Stuff Works, the plunger that pops up is anchored in metal that melts at 185°F. At 185°F a turkey breast is more particle board than party. We do not want our meat to go above 165°F so that 20°F difference is the difference between succulence and sucky.

Bloody chicken problems

Food scientists are reporting that even when cooking chicken well past the safe temp there still may be red juices. Dr. O. Peter Snyder of the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management reports that the industry claims this is because "Chicken is so young - 6 1/2 weeks at slaughter - and the bones are too porous, even though the animal is large enough to be sold for food." He goes on to say that "Because the objective of the industry is to grow chickens as rapidly as possible, it is doubtful that this blood and color problem will be solved in the near future. It would be probably more efficient to teach consumers to eat bloody chicken, if cooks can convince consumers that they have a thermocouple and know how to use it to validate pasteurization." In other words, you cannot tell if chicken is safe by merely looking for clear juices as is said in most cookbooks.

I'll tell you where to stick it

Most grills come with cheapo thermometers that can be off by as much as 50°F. They are an afterthought to manufacturers and are usually bought bulk from cheap producers. To make matters worse, the probe is located high in the dome well above the food. You need to know the temperature at the grate, where the food is. So put the probe right next to the meat, being careful not to touch the meat (it is cold) or the grate (it is hot).

Place your digital thermometer probe 1 to 2" above the cooking surface but don't let the tip touch the metal of the grate which is hotter than the air surrounding it. Some thermometers, like the Maverick, come with a handy clip that does the job just fine. If you don't have a clip, use a small potato, a radish, or a wine cork. Make sure the tip, where the sensitive parts are, protrudes from the veggie. Don't use a wine cork in very hot parts of the grill, it can catch on fire and damage your probe.

Some probes come with a metal clip that holds it just above the grate. After I lost my clip drilled a hole in a cork to hold the probe. It works fine for low and slow cooking but it has an annoying tendency of catching on fire under high heat, so I often jam the probe through a small potato or radish. Just make sure the tip of the probe in not touching the cork/potato/radish/meat/grate or you won't get an honest read. Also be careful that the tip is not within 1" of the meat. The air surrounding it is cooler than the rest of the oven.

Listen to this email from a reader "I had been clipping the probe on the underside of the upper rack. That had the probe about 3" to 4" above the top of the meat. My food was taking much longer to cook than your recipes say. So I tried the probe in that location for about 1/2 hour and then moved the probe to the cooking surface, clipping it to the cooking grate about 4" to 5" below the previous location. The difference in temperature was about 25 to 30°F cooler at the cooking grate location! I never would have believed it! So in actuality, when I thought I was cooking at 225 to 230°F, I was actually cooking at 195 to 200°F! No wonder everything was underscooked!"

Get grommets (but no Wallaces)

One of the problems with a lot of grills is that you have to thread thermometer cables under lids and hoods and then find a way to attach the probe to the grates without letting the tip touch the metal. The lids often crimp or cut the cables.

On a Weber Kettle or Smokey Mountain you can dangle them through the vent hole, but you're never quite sure where the tip of the probe is and if it is touching meat or metal. Then you forget about it, lift the lid, and you thermometer goes flying into the neighbor's yard.

I put this problem to the folks at Maverick. I told them it would be nice if I could drill a hole in the side of a grill, like a Weber Kettle, and insert a probe. Within a day they wrote back and said you can order two temperature resistent silicone grommets, little silicone rings, perfect for the job. Just drill a hole in the grill, insert the grommet which fits snugly to the inside of the hole, and then push the tip of the probe through the hole. It will stay in place and hover above the lower grate at just the right height. To order 2 grommets, one for each grate on a WSM, send $6 (shipping included) to:

Maverick Industries, Inc.
94 Mayfield Ave.
Edison NJ 08837
Attention: Nijmeh

Our consulting physicist, Dr. Greg Blonder, says "The steel is very hard. Create a dimple to help center the drill by hammering a concrete nail or center punch into the side. I also cut a small block of wood to fit behind the spot you are drilling, clamped or held tight. Helps prevent shredding on the inside of the drilled hole, and drops vibration while drilling. Use a newer, sharp high speed bit."

Just how hot is it?

Insert the tip of the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat and go past the center. Slowly pull it out. Read the coldest temp. Here's are two other tricks for taking the temp of a thick cut of meat.

1) Line up the probe tip on the outside of the meat (that's a brisket below) until the point is past the middle. Then slide your finger tip until it touches the top of the meat (top photo). Now slide the probe into the meat until your finger touches the meat. The tip will be past the center (bottom photo). Now pull it back slowly and read the lowest temp. If any modeling agencies need a hand model my wife is available. Ain't that a purty finger?

2) Another option is to insert the probe from the side as in the porterhouse below. Use your finger to locate the center of the meat as above. Stay away from the bone which heats at a different rate than the muscle.

Thermometer calibration

Thermometers are essential tools. Buy good ones and take care of them. Here are some tips on caring for them.

Calibration. You should check a thermometer's accuracy soon after you buy it, then once every year, and again if you drop it. You can check your thermometer's accuracy with boiling water and with ice water.

• Boiling water. Bring a pot with about 3" of water to a boil and insert the probe. It should read about 212F. Notice the key word "about". The exact reading can vary slightly with air pressure (factory calibration is based on one atmosphere, about 30" of mercury). Minerals in tap water can cause minor variations, so use distilled water if you want to be absolutely precise. I just use tap water. Remember that water boils at lower temps at high altitudes. The ThermoWorks website has a nifty calculator that helps you determine what your boiling point is.
  
  
• Ice water. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes, not crushed ice, add cold water, and let it sit a minute. Insert the probe and make sure it is not below the ice or touching the ice. The temp below the ice can be several degrees above 32F (0C) and the temp of the ice can be below 32F. The experts at ThermoWorks say "Make sure the probe is in the middle of the ice water mixture and then gently stir for best results." The ice water test does not vary with altitude.

Malfunctions, troubleshooting, and some important warnings

Lately I have been noticing comments on Amazon from disgruntled thermometer buyers complaining their units have failed. They are mostly about thermometers with flexible cables. As I read their comments carefully, I have come to the conclusion that most of the problems are because the owners did not read the instructions or mistreated the cables.

Failures are usually probe or cable failures rather than electronics failures. With proper care, probes should last years. I have numerous braided cable thermometers (I test a lot of thermometers) and only one has failed and then it was after several years of abuse. I was able to buy a replacement at a reasonable price.

Refrigerator and freezer thermometers

CDN Refrigerator & Freezer NSF Professional Thermometer. You need to keep your fridge between 35°F and 38°F to prevent frost buildup and keep your food safe. A liquid filled thermometer is the way to go here. They are pretty darn accurate, don't need batteries, and you don't need the speed of a digital. The CDN is low profile and has hooks to hang on the wire racks. Get two, one for the freezer, too.

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The first thing to do is season and calibrate your grill or smoker by doing a few dry runs without food.