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New Episode - Thermometers!

Hugh
2008-10-29 08:39:00 UTC

It’s episode time! This week, I attempt to convert the other two to the Joy of Digital Thermometers.

Note – the video won’t appear on the Index page or the Episodes page immediately. That’s because I’m currently in Singapore and there’s a minor issue with access to the server that I’m sorting out. Expect to see it there later in the day.

We mention in the video that we’ll be listing some temperatures that you can use to cook with. Well, here we go…

(I’ve added Fahrenheit temperatures by popular request.)

Beef and Lamb (lean) – 53C/128F for rare, if you’re confident of your source (do sear them on the outside). 57C/135F for medium-rare. 62C/144F degrees for medium-well done. Above that for shoe leather. Remember to let your meat rest before serving!

Chicken and Turkey – Realistically, above 70C/158F degrees if you’re not cooking sous-vide. No, that won’t dry them out too much. I find that chicken thighs are perfect about 75C/167F, and if I’m cooking them bone-in, I’ll take them to 80C/176F just to be sure I didn’t miss a cool spot.

Venison – Nothing above 57C/135F for lean meat. Again, remember to sear.

Fish – VERY much a matter of taste. 44-49C/111-120F will taste gorgeous for many fish, although there’s a small danger of nasties in there – if you’re cooking something that’s likely to be parasite-tastic, like swordfish, go to more like 60C/140F degrees. In general, white fish can easily be taken to about 60C/140F, red fish to much lower. There’s a lot of argument over the perfect temperature for tuna, but everyone agrees it’s somewhere in the 44-49C/111-120F range.

Sausages and hamburgers – ground meat means high chance of bacteria, so don’t fuck around here unless you’re really, really confident of your source. There’s a reason e. coli came to be known as the “hamburger bug”. Take ‘em to 70c/158F at least. I tend to take grilled sausages to 80C/176F, as otherwise I find they’re a bit watery.

Pork – As we indicate in the episode, if you’re certain of your source (UK or US), you can and should cook pork rare-ish for the best taste. 58-62C/137-144F ish should do it.

Anything you think I missed? Or do you like cooking to a different temperature?

Comments

Fhtagn \| 2008-10-29 14:26:23 UTC I know this might disappoint you, but as a professional chemist … we do actually just whack the temperature up and judge if things are done by the colour and consistency about 50% of the time. It’s only after that that, when we have a vague feel for things, we can start refining them with more precise and careful techniques.
Hugh \| 2008-10-29 14:39:45 UTC Heh – that doesn’t surprise me, actually. It’s interesting to hear, though. I think this is the thing – it’s not about one uber-tool, it’s about having all of them together. And missing a thermometer is missing a really important trick. (Apologies if that made little sense – all kinds of jetlagged right now)
Judith \| 2008-10-29 15:15:36 UTC Here’s a little trick for you – if you go to Google and type “53C in F” it will return to you “53 degrees Celsius = 127.4 degrees Fahrenheit.” Your readers across the pond would appreciate your doing the conversion for them in the blog. And this requires almost no thought or intelligence. ;)
SpudTater \| 2008-10-29 20:25:41 UTC Judith: Or, you could start using Centigrade like any sane nation would. 8^)
Mark Sutherland \| 2008-10-29 20:47:16 UTC Hooray! Fullscreen in one click! You guys really do love me! wipes tear away Anyway, Alex was looking eerily like David Mitchell today, though that may have just been the Peep Show style camera-in-the-face stuff.
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 01:48:54 UTC 1-800-MY-EYES-ARE-EXPLODING Pure win, pure win. Wow, had the sudden urge to add ‘mates’ to that, but I feel that that would be rub-I’m not racist or anything, really. Great episode, as usual, and a bit informative. I’ve been meaning to buy a thermometer (I own a candy one, only because I made some marshmallows), but I can’t seem to find a good one at Smart Foods or other random shops. I dread going to Bed Bath and Beyond. Since you guys are using Celsuis (I thank Firefox for the spelling), I fear I’m going to actually have to learn how to convert those. That or use google. Yay google. Hobey ho, Allons-y~
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 01:49:54 UTC Double post, w00t! Just happened to notice AFTER I hit submit I didn’t happen to actually use the Firefox spell checker . . . ="D
Hugh \| 2008-10-30 06:08:59 UTC Added Fahrenheit by popular demand. Does it REALLY make more sense to people? I always find it a wierd, wierd scale – and I speak as someone who normally thinks in pounds and ounces here. Thermometers – hit Amazon.com. Seriously. They’ve got a couple of decent-looking digital probes.
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 21:59:48 UTC I’m not sure if it makes more sense to people or not, but when you grow up on Fahrenheit it’s a bit of a hassle to revert to Celsius. From word of mouth/multiple science classes, I do think Celsius is far more accurate, just a bit much to do the math.
Hugh \| 2008-10-31 17:16:22 UTC Right, yeah, I totally get that. What you’re used to and so on.
Matthieu Weber \| 2008-12-17 07:31:26 UTC I’ve been using a thermometer for cooking meat for several years now, and I find it very helpful, especially since you can’t tell from the outside of your piece of chicken if the inside reached 75 °C or if it’s already beyond 80 °C: it so much depends on how hot is the stove.

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Fhtagn \| 2008-10-29 14:26:23 UTC I know this might disappoint you, but as a professional chemist … we do actually just whack the temperature up and judge if things are done by the colour and consistency about 50% of the time. It’s only after that that, when we have a vague feel for things, we can start refining them with more precise and careful techniques.
Hugh \| 2008-10-29 14:39:45 UTC Heh – that doesn’t surprise me, actually. It’s interesting to hear, though. I think this is the thing – it’s not about one uber-tool, it’s about having all of them together. And missing a thermometer is missing a really important trick. (Apologies if that made little sense – all kinds of jetlagged right now)
Judith \| 2008-10-29 15:15:36 UTC Here’s a little trick for you – if you go to Google and type “53C in F” it will return to you “53 degrees Celsius = 127.4 degrees Fahrenheit.” Your readers across the pond would appreciate your doing the conversion for them in the blog. And this requires almost no thought or intelligence. ;)
SpudTater \| 2008-10-29 20:25:41 UTC Judith: Or, you could start using Centigrade like any sane nation would. 8^)
Mark Sutherland \| 2008-10-29 20:47:16 UTC Hooray! Fullscreen in one click! You guys really do love me! wipes tear away Anyway, Alex was looking eerily like David Mitchell today, though that may have just been the Peep Show style camera-in-the-face stuff.
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 01:48:54 UTC 1-800-MY-EYES-ARE-EXPLODING Pure win, pure win. Wow, had the sudden urge to add ‘mates’ to that, but I feel that that would be rub-I’m not racist or anything, really. Great episode, as usual, and a bit informative. I’ve been meaning to buy a thermometer (I own a candy one, only because I made some marshmallows), but I can’t seem to find a good one at Smart Foods or other random shops. I dread going to Bed Bath and Beyond. Since you guys are using Celsuis (I thank Firefox for the spelling), I fear I’m going to actually have to learn how to convert those. That or use google. Yay google. Hobey ho, Allons-y~
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 01:49:54 UTC Double post, w00t! Just happened to notice AFTER I hit submit I didn’t happen to actually use the Firefox spell checker . . . ="D
Hugh \| 2008-10-30 06:08:59 UTC Added Fahrenheit by popular demand. Does it REALLY make more sense to people? I always find it a wierd, wierd scale – and I speak as someone who normally thinks in pounds and ounces here. Thermometers – hit Amazon.com. Seriously. They’ve got a couple of decent-looking digital probes.
Hakuo0000 \| 2008-10-30 21:59:48 UTC I’m not sure if it makes more sense to people or not, but when you grow up on Fahrenheit it’s a bit of a hassle to revert to Celsius. From word of mouth/multiple science classes, I do think Celsius is far more accurate, just a bit much to do the math.
Hugh \| 2008-10-31 17:16:22 UTC Right, yeah, I totally get that. What you’re used to and so on.
Matthieu Weber \| 2008-12-17 07:31:26 UTC I’ve been using a thermometer for cooking meat for several years now, and I find it very helpful, especially since you can’t tell from the outside of your piece of chicken if the inside reached 75 °C or if it’s already beyond 80 °C: it so much depends on how hot is the stove.