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Cook: Use a Meat Thermometer And Take the Guesswork Out of Cooking

Why Use a Meat Thermometer?
Which Type of Meat Thermometer Should You Buy?
How Accurate are Meat Thermometers?
Where to Place the Meat Thermometer?
When to Insert a Meat Thermometer
Other Safety Tips
Minimum Internal Cooking Temperatures

When to Insert a Meat Thermometer

When should the thermometer be inserted - at the beginning of the cooking time or at the end? When you insert the thermometer will be determined by the type, oven-proof or instant-read. The important thing is to use a meat thermometer, no matter how the food is prepared - roasted, broiled, fried.

  • An oven-proof thermometer may be inserted into the food at the beginning of the cooking time and remain there throughout cooking. The temperature indicator will rise slowly as the food cooks.

  • Instant-read thermometers are not designed to stay in the food during cooking. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, pull the meat or poultry out of the oven far enough to insert the stem about 2 inches into the thickest part of the food but not touching bone - the temperature should register in about 15 seconds.

Other Safety Tips

Reheating Foods: Reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165° or until hot and steaming. Soups and gravies should be brought to a rolling boil.

Serving Foods: When holding or serving a buffet, hot cooked foods must be held at 140° or higher. Cold foods should be held at 40° or lower.

Clean-Up: After each use, wash the stem section of the meat thermometer thoroughly in hot, soapy water.

Minimum Internal Cooking Temperatures

Now comes the part that is most important - the minimum INTERNAL temperatures that foods must reach to be considered safe to eat, no matter how you prepare them.

See the Heat It Up! table for recommended cooking times and temperatures.


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