"Instant" Read Thermometers..... Do You Use Them? And Why?

[sweet_magnolia]

I don't use a thermometer when cooking for just us, but when there are family or friends involved, I definitely use my pink Thermapen with chicken, pork loins and tenderloins. And like Brian said, it helps you know how much time you have left to get everything else ready. When I am cooking steaks I go by look and feel.

[Ryan]

I've got the knock off thermo wand. Works great and for a 1/3 of the price of the thermo pen. The wife uses it more than me. I only use it for chicken and sausages. Steaks and chops I go by touch.

[HawgHeaven]

I use my ultra-fast orange Thermapen all the thyme. I like the safety value of knowing what temps actually are. I'm happy with using it.

[PitRow]

my wife has serious phobias about undercooked meat. I used to just cook the snot outta stuff until I was sure they were done. Resulting in everything from dry crumbly hamburgers to chicken with the consistency of worn out cowboy boots. With my thermometer I can get them "fully done" without over doing it and still get good tasting meals.

[THUMPERRRR]

yes I do...
I have the knock off thermowand as well as a thermo-pop...

tell ya what,,,
its really improved the eatin around here immensely...
especially chicken,,, burgers chops and loins...
it lives stuck by its built in magnet on our range hood...

folks here had worries about pork an chicken doneness and routinely overcooked them...
now we can go to safe temperatures and man o man thats a whole new world...
we can now reheat(even nuke)and eat left over chops
and their still reasonably tender,,,
whereas we used to have to dice the poor overcooked tough ass chops small an use in burrito's an such...

before I got the thermo's I never would have dreamed of nuking up a leftover chop,,, completely out of the question...

[Bearcarver]

Yes I do, but I gotta teach Mrs Bear too!!

Last night instead of smoking Boneless skinless Chicken breasts, she wanted to make them.

So she breaded them & baked them, and then put sauce & Mozzarella on them, and put them back in the oven to melt the cheese.

Just for S & G, I put my Thermapen in the center of the biggest one-------195° !!!!

I wonder why they were dry?!?!

I still love her though!!!


Bear

[chefrob]

i guess it deepens on what i'm cooking on (or in), for who and what it is i'm cooking.....also what else am i doing. sausages, large birds or prime ribs i'll temp to hit a certain target.......butts, ribs or briskets and chucks.......they are done when they are done.

[Wahoo95]

I wouldn't dream of stepping out to the smoker without my lightning-fast white thermopen. Mine also reads surface temp, so it comes in handy to make sure your butt is to to 140° before you put in a probe.

Please give me more info on this practice as I'm still learning.

I got a Thermapen for Christmas and I've been very happy with it.

[Snarlingiron]

I discovered after I started using it that I was overcooking the shit out of pork chops and chicken breasts. Things come out much juicier now that they are cooked to the proper temp.

Bingo! I cooked for many many years without benefit of thermometers. Always prided myself on my ability to tell the doneness of a steak by touch. However, since I got me thermopen, (the extra superior ultra fast one with flames on it) a couple of years ago I don't think I can cook without it anymore. I use it when cooking frozen items, for example, my wife and I are particularly fond of Costco's frozen tortilla crusted Tilapia filets for a quick easy meal. Thing is, when I checked the temperature when cooked to the box instructions I discovered an internal temperature of only about 130°. Not safe. I have found that a lot of frozen foods prepared per the package instructions are under temperatures. Probably for the sake of speed. I find I just like to know the actual internal temperatures of what I am cooking and I believe Chicken and frozen items are actually safer now that I use it. And as mentioned, pork chops cooked to the new lower temperatures are a delight. When cooked to 160° as previously recommended they were dry and unappetizing.

[curious aardvark]

Oh yeah they're great for fish.

Shrimp, scalops etc. All very easy things to over or under cook.

[Richtee]

I used to just cook the snot outta stuff until I was sure they were done.

You could ALWAYS microwave it just to be sure, Bud.



Wait...who am I running from??

[lcruzen]

I use my hypersonic black Thermapen mostly for chicken butt for other things as well.

When I tell people what they cost I get a lot of funny looks.

[frog1369]

I use my faster than light white Thermapen mostly because like others, I was overcooking a lot of things like chicken breast, pork chops and especially fish. So much better with the right temp. I also have an IR Laser I bought just for fun but find I use it a lot on the grill grates and cast iron cookware to know what the temp is before I add the food. I was surprised at how low a temp I was starting food at before I really knew.

[dcarch]

---- I also have an IR Laser I bought just for fun but find I use it a lot on the grill grates and cast iron cookware to know what the temp is before I add the food. I was surprised at how low a temp I was starting food at before I really knew.

I am sure everyone knows. But just in case:

The remote IR temp thing, the red dot is not measuring anything.

Just like with the rifle the laser beam is not the bullet.

dcarch

[frog1369]

I am sure everyone knows. But just in case:

The remote IR temp thing, the red dot is not measuring anything.

Just like with the rifle the laser beam is not the bullet.

dcarch

So all this time that I've been shutting it off right away in fear of lasering a hole into my cast iron pan it didn't really matter?