Do I need a digital instant-read meat thermometer?
Do I need a digital instant-read meat thermometer?
For $10-25, you'll have the most foolproof way to ensure that the meat you cook is done to how you (and the people you're feeding) like it. It's simply the most reliable way to get meat right.
Here are the temperatures to aim for. If you're going to let the meat rest before serving it (which is a good idea), take it out 3F (single pieces of meat) to 5F (roasts and whole birds) cooler than the temps listed below:
Pork
slightly pink: 150F
Poultry (chicken, turkey, cornish hen)
160F
Beef
rare: 125F-130F
medium-rare: 130F-135F
medium: 135F-150F
Lamb
rare: 125F
medium-rare: 130F
medium: 135F
Duck
Whole duck: 170F in the thigh
Breasts:
rare: 130F
medium-rare: 135F
medium: 140F
Sausages and ground meat:
170F
Note that trichinosis (which used to be danger with under-cooked pork) is killed at 137F. Salmonella is killed at 160F. If you're worried about salmonella, cook everything to 160F.
Tongs are the most useful tool in the kitchen.
Having a good pair of tongs is like having a heatproof robotic arm in the kitchen. Consider a partial list of things you can do with a pair of tongs: stir something in a sizzling pan; flip something in a sizzling pan; move something around in a sizzling pan; spear something in a sizzling pan; push something in a sizzling pan to check for doneness; hold something above a sizzling pan to taste it; take something out of a sizzling pan. And that's just around a sizzling pan. Standing around a grill or reaching inside an oven, tongs are critical.
You can spend a small fortune on specialty tongs, but you don't have to. OXO's Good Grips stainless steel tongs are inexpensive and probably as special as you’ll ever need.
So here's our public service announcement - buy tongs now.
