Question: What temperature should your Thanksgiving turkey reach before it’s done? Answer: For it to be safe to eat, it should be 165-degrees in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. You do use a meat thermometer, don’t you??? And of course, you want it to be accurate, so check out which ones did well in Consumer Reports’ (CR) tests.
The Testing
CR looked at 11 meat thermometers – the ones you leave in food as it cooks, as well as those you poke in and read instantly.
Besides testing temperature accuracy, CR measured how quickly each meat thermometer adjusted to temperature changes. The fastest took 10 seconds or less; the slowest, more than 30 seconds. Also tested – the temperature range each thermometer could read. The widest was 0 to 450º F, which makes it more useful for things like deep frying; the narrowest was up to only 180º.
Bottom line
If you want a meat thermometer you insert before cooking, CR says try the digital Polder THM-360 ($30) – it has two probes that can track the temperature of two different foods.
If you’d rather check the temperature of cooking meat instantly, CR recommends the digital Taylor Weekend Warrior ($16) – it’s about half the price as the Polder and is very easy to use. It features a “hold” button that freezes the displayed temperature until you can remove the food from the oven, and a “max” button to show the highest temperature the thermometer has reached.
So, really… will you be using a meat thermometer this Thanksgiving?
Photo Credit: Consumer Reports
Thanks for the tips about the turkey temperature. I’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my parents next Thursday.
I don’t typically eat meat (except fish); but would like to keep the turkey tradition. So, I’m hoping to be able to find a turkey breast big enough to serve them both with a little for sandwich leftovers!
Wish me luck!
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Good luck!!
And don’t forget the thermometer…
Yep, I’m all about a meat thermometer. I stress about where to put the meat thermometer, though!
And don’t keep it unthawed long before cooking, or leftovers out of refrig too long after the meal.
Been there done that (someone else’s house)
We’ve bought frozen turkeys that already have the thermometer inserted. Actually, I don’t think it’s so much a thermometer as it is an indicator. A red button pops up when it reaches a certain temp. We’ve had great success with this so far!