IMO, the single biggest improvement you can make to any meat (turkey included) is to cook to temperature instead of time.

The reason for the post is that there is still time to purchase an accurate leave in Thermometer on-line and have it in time for Thanksgiving. The Tuesday or Wednesday before every Thanksgiving the past 11 years there have been posts on people wanting a thermometer but it's too late to get a reliable and accurate one. Don't be that guy/gal this year.

The pop-up thermometer that comes with turkey should be thrown away for two reasons:

it's inaccurate

it's unreliable

if it pops, it is supposed to pop-up at 185F but the both the USDA safe cooking temperature and recommended cooking temperature for turkey is 165F. The result is you waited an extra hour for dry turkey.

Here are a few digital leave in thermometers that are Gold Medal rated at Amazingribs.com and fellow Sigforumites have recommended in past threads (Priced low to high):

$39 ThermoWorks DOT TX-1200

$59 ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (TX-1100-XX)

$69.99 Maverick ET-733. This has a wireless receiver you can carry around with you, and is the one I own.

$99 ThermoWorks Smoke. This has a wireless receiver you can carry around with you, and if I were buying one today this is the model I'd buy.

Once the temperature alarm goes off on your leave in thermometer, it's prudent to spot check temperature on both breasts (goal is 165F) and a few places with dark meat (goal is 170F). You'll want a fast, handheld, digital thermometer for this. Here are a few that are Gold Medal rated at Amazingribs.com and fellow Sigforumites have recommended in past threads (Priced low to high):

$29 ThermoWorks ThermoPop (TX-3100-XX). 3 to 4 seconds speed and ±2.0°F accuracy.

$79 ThermoWorks ThermaPen Classic. This is the one I own. 2 to 3 seconds speed and ±0.7°F accuracy.

$99 ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk 4. 2 to 3 seconds speed and ±0.7°F accuracy.

This $70 to $198 two thermometer set-up has many more uses than just Thanksgiving. I used mine at least twice a week for the last several years on steaks, chicken breast, pork chops, pork roasts, beef roasts, and turkey.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Agreed. We use thermoworks chef alarm. Always turn out moist and delicious.

Thanks for the reminder, this is something I can definitely use.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
IMO, the single biggest improvement you can make to any meat (turkey included) is to cook to temperature instead of time.

Exactly. Any meat, cooked by any method.

I use thermometers religiously, especially when grilling and smoking, and people rave about the food. It's really no big secret... Most folks just overcook their meat because they're not using a thermometer.

Great post.

Spot on. I have a Thermoworks ChefAlarm, Maverick ET733, and Thermopop. Some of the best (if not THE best) cooking dollars I've ever spent!

Also, you can place bags of crushed ice on the breasts for awhile before the bird goes in the oven/roaster/smoker. That way, you can push the temp up a little on the thighs and drums without killing the breast meat, which should finish at a lower temp than the dark meat.

I thought you were going to say "fry it".



(I agree re thermometers)

I bought the Thermoworks Thermapen MK 4 awhile ago, mainly for steaks on the grill, my wife has laid claim to it now and uses it all the time, plus on the grill.

Great product!

Good information. I use the Maverick and the Thermopen.
May seem expensive but the set up lets you get meals perfect. No more overdone steaks for example.

Yep... I have a thermapen and a thermopop and I love them both.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: parallel,

We have always used a meat thermometer on Thanksgiving turkey. But we found the thermometer works better on Thanksgiving prime rib.

I don't worry about it, I just go to my sister's place for Thanksgiving. We don't always have turkey, sometimes it's ham or even prime rib. But my BIL is a wizard with his Traeger and it always turns out great.

Took your advice, Todd, and just bought the Thermoworks Smoke. Makes a lot of sense to quit guessing about degree of doneness (assuming that’s a word), and oven temp for that matter. Appreciate the heads-up
T

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Took your advice, Todd, and just bought the Thermoworks Smoke. Makes a lot of sense to quit guessing about degree of doneness (assuming that’s a word), and oven temp for that matter. Appreciate the heads-up
T

I'm green with envy. May it bring you many years of perfectly cooked meat.

Monday bump

Thermoworks had a blog on just this a week or so ago. In it they were recommending a pull temp of 157 deg, then during the "hold" time the temp rises to 165. There are techniques to address the dark meat temp as they need to go to 175 to be done. Don't have the link right now as I'm at work.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Took your advice, Todd, and just bought the Thermoworks Smoke. Makes a lot of sense to quit guessing about degree of doneness (assuming that’s a word), and oven temp for that matter. Appreciate the heads-up
T

Just got a smoke a couple months back, haven't used it yet. Used MK4 this weekend on a shoulder that got turned into delicious pulled pork. Had a few neighbors over, they all liked it.

quote:

Originally posted by JimTheo:
Thermoworks had a blog on just this a week or so ago. In it they were recommending a pull temp of 157 deg, then during the "hold" time the temp rises to 165. There are techniques to address the dark meat temp as they need to go to 175 to be done. Don't have the link right now as I'm at work.

All parts of the turkey are safe to eat at 165F (USDA testing to kill 9,999,999 out of a colony of 10,000,000 pathogens in 1 second), but chef recommended temp on the dark meat is a matter of opinion (some say 165, 170, or 175).

Regardless, nearly impossible to hit pull temp (temperature when you pull from oven/smoker/grill to account for temp rise as it rests prior to carving), safe temp, or chef's recommended temp unless you have both a good leave in thermometer and instant read thermometer.

Totally agree.

For turkey a close second would be brine.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by JimTheo:
Thermoworks had a blog on just this a week or so ago. In it they were recommending a pull temp of 157 deg, then during the "hold" time the temp rises to 165. There are techniques to address the dark meat temp as they need to go to 175 to be done. Don't have the link right now as I'm at work.

All parts of the turkey are safe to eat at 165F (USDA testing to kill 9,999,999 out of a colony of 10,000,000 pathogens in 1 second), but chef recommended temp on the dark meat is a matter of opinion (some say 165, 170, or 175).

Regardless, nearly impossible to hit pull temp (temperature when you pull from oven/smoker/grill to account for temp rise as it rests prior to carving), safe temp, or chef's recommended temp unless you have both a good leave in thermometer and instant read thermometer.

I was presuming a "leave-in" therm