I Swear By My Meat Thermometer — Even as a Professional Chef
This tool is the way to guarantee perfect steak, turkey and more every time.
Test Kitchen Pick: Food Network Kitchen staffers share the kitchen tools they can't live without — both at work and at home — plus, their tips and tricks for using them like a pro.
It’s not too often that technology and gourmet cuisine combine to make a product that is actually useful in the kitchen and can stand the test of time. Sure, there are new kitchen gadgets on the market every year, but finding the ones that really work — not to mention, that you actually need — is a feat. I’ve got one piece of tech that I wouldn’t want to cook without — frankly, everyone needs one of these. That gadget is my Taylor Gourmet Stainless Steel Thermometer.
This handy meat thermometer is attached to a silicone cord that sits outside the oven, resting on the counter top throughout the entire cooking process. This is ideal because you can instantly read the exact temperature of your meat without ever opening your oven door. This results in faster, more efficient cooking because you won’t lose heat every time you take a peek to check the temperature. It’s like you can see what’s happening in the oven without actually needing to look inside.
No counter space? No problem. This high tech thermometer even has a magnet on the back so you can stick it to the oven door. Better yet, there are even models with wireless capability, so you can make that silicone probe a thing of the past! The wireless models use Bluetooth to sync to your phone, so you never miss the meat being done.
I used to hem and haw over large cuts of meats. Cooking my roast to the perfect temperature was a guessing game of temperature, time and thickness that I could never get quite right. I never wanted my fabulous Thanksgiving turkey to be dried out, or even worse, pink and undercooked! This thermometer alleviates all that stress. It’s the perfect kitchen assistant for holiday meals and always leaves me feeling confident that our most precious meats are cooked to absolute perfection.
Are you hooked yet? Give it a try and I bet you won’t turn back. My advice for getting the most out of your meat thermometer? Always take the temperature from the thickest part of the meat, and make sure that you aren’t touching a bone. Always take a reading from different parts of the meat, especially on a well-marbled roast, in case you hit a pocket of fat or air that could misdirect your cooking.
Melissa Gaman is a recipe developer in the Food Network Kitchen. Her desert island food is a potato and she loves to bake and hone her skills on her charcoal grill. A resident of Jersey City, she spends her free time chasing after her 4-year-old son.
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