Electronic Probe Themometer

TammyM said:

Thank you so much, Dave, you are so helpful. I did think about trying
the boiling water test, and didn't do it. I'll give this a try and
report back. I wouldn't want to unfairly malign the equipment.

Glad to be of help, Tammy. I'm not worried about you giving a bad report
about the device. I just thought that if it's a fixable problem, you won't
have to spend additional money for a new thermometer.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Quoted message said:

Sheldon said:

Quoted message said:

You really should look up the definition of "wet bulb thermometer."

Quoted message said:

I know what it is technically, works by evaporation rates... but for
simplicity in this venue that's what I call the type of thermometer
shown in the picture. .. anyone looks at the picture knows what I'm

In other words you just looked it up and found out what it really is.

Quoted message said:

talking about, except you. And there is nothing toxic inside that
device, it does not contain mercury. Mercury is rarely used in
thermometers anymore, but there are plenty of other liquids used.

Actually, you can't tell from the picture, but if the liquid in
the tube is silver then it's mercury. The only other liquid that
I have heard of being used is alcohol. If the liquid is red or
blue then it's almost certainly alcohol.

You idiot, I've posted that thermometer probably a half dozen times in
about twice as many years... and each time some nincompoop says it's
technically not a wet bulb and each time I replay the same response...
obviously this time it's you who are the only imbecile who cares.

Sheldon

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 10:40:25 -0800, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

Yesterday was the last straw for me. Used it on my turkey (and I
followed the AB 'Romancing the Bird' recipe). I carefully placed the
probe as Alton instructed.

Therein may lie your problem. If you placed the probe like alton did, then
put the turkey into the 500F oven, you fried the probe wires. That would
mess up the probe and give inaccurate readings. Lots of folk make the same
mistake -- I know I did. It is imperative that the probe not be taken to
temps above 380F..... even if it can take a higher heat. All probe
thermometers --- except thermocouples -- have this same weakness.

You can buy new probes to replace the faulty one.

Hmmmm. Maybe so. I can't remember if I parked the probe before I
covered the bosom with foil (500f) or after (350f) But ... the damned
thing didn't work before this either. Underdone pork chops, etc.

What temperatures were you setting them for - what constitutes "done"
for your chops? How thick were the chops?

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Maybe I got a faulty factory-fresh probe :-) Might be worth a try
replacing it rather than forking over the dosh for a new thermometer.
Will consider. Thanks for the input.

TammyM

Sheldon said:

Quoted message said:

Sheldon said:

[email hidden] wrote:

>You really should look up the definition of "wet bulb thermometer."

Quoted message said:

I know what it is technically, works by evaporation rates... but for
simplicity in this venue that's what I call the type of thermometer
shown in the picture. .. anyone looks at the picture knows what I'm

In other words you just looked it up and found out what it really is.

Quoted message said:

talking about, except you. And there is nothing toxic inside that
device, it does not contain mercury. Mercury is rarely used in
thermometers anymore, but there are plenty of other liquids used.

Actually, you can't tell from the picture, but if the liquid in
the tube is silver then it's mercury. The only other liquid that
I have heard of being used is alcohol. If the liquid is red or
blue then it's almost certainly alcohol.

You idiot, I've posted that thermometer probably a half dozen times in
about twice as many years... and each time some nincompoop says it's
technically not a wet bulb and each time I replay the same response...
obviously this time it's you who are the only imbecile who cares.

<LOL> Pure Sheldon at his finest...

He blunders and calls a person who points it out an idiot. Apparently
I'm not an imbecile since I also made mention of it (with citations for
definitions) and he singled out only one person.

Perfect character study. Moron Sheldon simply can't admit an error, even
when it's so blatantly obvious. He "replays the same response" every
time he's shown to be the blowhole he is.

<LOL>

Pastorio

On Thanksgiving, my 24 lb. turkey was fully defrosted after buying it
on Sunday. I opened it up Sunday morning and there was no skin around
the top and a good part of the sides of the breast. It looked like it
was cut away in a circle. So, at 9:30 on Thanksgiving we didn't have
a turkey we wanted to cook because god knows what caused this perfect
oval cut.

We called Waldbaum's where we got the, I think it was a Home Pride
turkey (it was from Wisconsin). I checked because they were on sale
for $.29 a pound if you spent $25 and I wanted to make sure it wasn't
from China) and they had only one fresh turkey left that was 19.9
pounds, so of course I took it.

When I went to pick it up, I discovered the Walbaum's my wife called
was on the same street but further south than the one I went to. That
Waldbaum's didn't have any fresh turkeys left and the meat manager
said he had a turkey just like ours come back the day before on
Wednesday.

I went to the other Waldbaum's and got the fresh Butterball. I brined
it for about an hour and did the Alton Brown method but I went to 165
degrees because I can't stand undercooked turkey. I used the Maverick
Redi-Chek and it worked great. Took it out at 165 degrees put in the
brisket to warm for 35 minutes and then started to cut the turkey, It
was so hot the slices were hard to hold (not that hard but they were
very hot). I didn't cover the turkey after it came out of the over,
was I supposed to? The turkey was perfect but the white meat near the
carcass was perfectly white but looked a drop soft or wet or just a
drop under cooked. It was only a few slices and as I said it was all
white, not pink.

So, I have a feeling I could have waited a little bit longer to slice
it but I have no complaints. The turkey went fast and only a few
slices were left and there was only 1 slice of the 5lbs brisket left
for 18 people. Next year we are having 41, which will be the topic of
my next thread.

In keeping with the thread, the Maverick worked fine. I was a little
worried about it because I took my temperature orally with the
Maverick Redi-Chek and the Costco Oregon Scientific. The Cost showed
97 degrees and the Maverick showed 95 degrees so I as afraid it was a
little under the temp. It still may be. I'll have to try the ice
water test and test boiling water (it must be difficult not to touch
the pot). I did notice that the probe for the Maverick had a tip and
I wonder if there is a sensor there, which would make it more accurate
for turkey and less accurate for humans.

Scott Peterson said:

Dee Randall said:

Tammy, Thermapen does nothing except:
Stick it in what you are cooking. It reads the temperature. No frills.
That's it.
Dee Dee

I also had bad luck with the Polders. I found different one that I
have been very happy with called the Redi-Check remote thermometer. It
has a transmitter with a probe and a receiver you carry. This has the
advantage that you can monitor the cooking from another room or while
you're doing something else. This is especially nice for grilling.

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6673637/>
<http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-1397912-7563023?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0000AQL24>

alan said:

I bought a remote electronic probe themometer in Costco. I didn't know
that it had preselected cooking temperatures only. For a turkey is is
180 degrees. Turkey, pork, hamburgers and chicken could only be
cooked well done and their well done. You could tell it your turkey is
a roast and it will give you 160 degrees but you cannot put an exact
time of 161 degrees for the white meat and while it sits it will rise
at least 5 - 10 more degrees.

Any suggestions?

For turkeys (and other large poultry) I use the poultry pop-up
thermometer that're inserted in roaster chickens. I save those from the
chickens I cut into parts/braise, just be sure to wash well... you can
also buy them for about a nickel each from any restaurant supply
emporium. With large poultry I use two, one on each side, and still,
after they pop I double check with an instant read thermometer (so far
after hundreds over many years the pop-up thingie has proven always
accurate, when it pops it's "Done"😉. With poultry, especially large
birds, I would never trust just the one probe from even the most
expensive electronic device... they are no better than where/how
inserted. Using the pop-up thermometers are also far less expensive
than using any of the electronic devices. For say the $30 you pay for
the typical electronic device I can buy 600 pop-ups... your
fancy-schmancy robot will likely be long expired before I'm half way
through my 600 pop-ups, and I won't need to buy batterys, replace
probes, nor will I cook a bird to death because a battery died
midway... AND the pop-up thermometer is reusable... but they're so
inexpensive I don't bother, I think it costs more to reset them than to
buy new.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/pop-up-timer1.htm

Sheldon

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 10:40:25 -0800, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hmmmm. Maybe so. I can't remember if I parked the probe before I
covered the bosom with foil (500f) or after (350f) But ... the damned
thing didn't work before this either. Underdone pork chops, etc.

What temperatures were you setting them for - what constitutes "done"
for your chops? How thick were the chops?

The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.

Thoughts?

TammyM

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 10:40:25 -0800, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hmmmm. Maybe so. I can't remember if I parked the probe before I
covered the bosom with foil (500f) or after (350f) But ... the damned
thing didn't work before this either. Underdone pork chops, etc.

What temperatures were you setting them for - what constitutes "done"
for your chops? How thick were the chops?

The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.

Thoughts?

Pork at 145° will still have a pink cast to it. It will leak pale pink
juices.

Why do you say yours were underdone? What were the criteria you used to
make that judgement? What did they look like? Eat like?

Pastorio

Sheldon said:

alan said:

I bought a remote electronic probe themometer in Costco. I didn't know
that it had preselected cooking temperatures only. For a turkey is is
180 degrees. Turkey, pork, hamburgers and chicken could only be
cooked well done and their well done. You could tell it your turkey is
a roast and it will give you 160 degrees but you cannot put an exact
time of 161 degrees for the white meat and while it sits it will rise
at least 5 - 10 more degrees.

Any suggestions?

For turkeys (and other large poultry) I use the poultry pop-up
thermometer that're inserted in roaster chickens.

"Turkey is done when it reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 degrees
Celsius). If you didn't have a pop-up timer, you could use a meat
thermometer to figure out the temperature of the meat." From the web
site Sheldon cited below.

That's overcooked. It's even higher that the baloney standards from the
government. 185°is when it pops up. Then it rests and goes another 10°
or 15° higher. Now you could have a 200°F turkey breast. Wonderful.
Think of it as a black hole for moisture.

Quoted message said:

With large poultry I use two, one on each side, and still,
after they pop I double check with an instant read thermometer (so far
after hundreds over many years the pop-up thingie has proven always
accurate, when it pops it's "Done"😉.

<LOL> So why not just use the thermometer and save the money for the
popups? Sheldon the gourmet likes his poultry cooked to more than 185°F
- up at 200° before carving? Great. How about give more advice on how to
properly cook birds.

<LOL>

Quoted message said:

With poultry, especially large
birds, I would never trust just the one probe from even the most
expensive electronic device... they are no better than where/how
inserted.

Applies to *every* method of taking temperatures. But the probe can be
tested. Popups have to be articles of faith. *Theoretically*, it'll pop
at 185°F. But you never know if it's accurate or how close to the
theoretical it actually is..

Quoted message said:

Using the pop-up thermometers are also far less expensive
than using any of the electronic devices. For say the $30 you pay for
the typical electronic device I can buy 600 pop-ups... your
fancy-schmancy robot will likely be long expired before I'm half way
through my 600 pop-ups, and I won't need to buy batterys, replace
probes, nor will I cook a bird to death because a battery died
midway...

How stupid.

You can *only* use those popups for poultry. The thermometer can be used
for virtually *everything* in the kitchen.

Quoted message said:

AND the pop-up thermometer is reusable... but they're so
inexpensive I don't bother, I think it costs more to reset them than to
buy new.

"One little-known fact is that these timers are reusable. If you dip the
tip in hot water it will re-melt the metal and you can push the pop-up
piece back into the metal. Then let it cool, and the pop-up piece will
be back in its original position -- ready to use again!" From the web
site Sheldon cited below."

Costs more to reset by sticking it in hot water than to buy a new one?
Really?

Quoted message said:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/pop-up-timer1.htm

"The soft metal (shown in gray in the diagram) is solid at room
temperature and turns to a liquid (melts) at about 185 degrees
Fahrenheit (85 degrees Celsius). When the metal turns to a liquid, it
frees the end of the red stick that had been trapped in the metal. The
spring pops the red stick up and you know the turkey is done!"

....should read "and you know the turkey is overdone to conform to legal
requirements that our law department says we have to observe to prevent
lawsuits."

Pastorio

alan <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I bought a remote electronic probe themometer in Costco. I didn't know
that it had preselected cooking temperatures only. For a turkey is is
180 degrees. Turkey, pork, hamburgers and chicken could only be
cooked well done and their well done. You could tell it your turkey is
a roast and it will give you 160 degrees but you cannot put an exact
time of 161 degrees for the white meat and while it sits it will rise
at least 5 - 10 more degrees.

I bought an Acu-Rite thermometer from Chaney Instruments. So far I've
used it 3 times...The first 2 times (pork roast, turkey) it seemed pretty
accurate. The third time on a pork roast, it seemed quite high. I'm
not sure if I inserted the probe all the way... (it curves at the end
before the lead). Also, since I was baking a shoulder roast with a bone,
some of the "sections" separated from each other, and exposed parts of
the probe to air...

I bought this brand because the lead can withstand up to 700 degrees F,
which allows me to use it on the grill.

http://www.chaneyinstruments.com/pgs/kdig.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
New Directions Engineering, Inc.

Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a reference
to [censored] or Nazis approaches 1.00.
Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.

"Andy Yee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

alan <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I bought a remote electronic probe themometer in Costco. I didn't know
that it had preselected cooking temperatures only. For a turkey is is
180 degrees. Turkey, pork, hamburgers and chicken could only be
cooked well done and their well done. You could tell it your turkey is
a roast and it will give you 160 degrees but you cannot put an exact
time of 161 degrees for the white meat and while it sits it will rise
at least 5 - 10 more degrees.

I bought an Acu-Rite thermometer from Chaney Instruments. So far I've
used it 3 times...The first 2 times (pork roast, turkey) it seemed pretty
accurate. The third time on a pork roast, it seemed quite high. I'm
not sure if I inserted the probe all the way... (it curves at the end
before the lead). Also, since I was baking a shoulder roast with a bone,
some of the "sections" separated from each other, and exposed parts of
the probe to air...

I bought this brand because the lead can withstand up to 700 degrees F,
which allows me to use it on the grill.

http://www.chaneyinstruments.com/pgs/kdig.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee

I never can get to first base on the PSP - although I keep thinking the next
edition will be more user friendly.
Dee Dee

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:34:27 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 10:40:25 -0800, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>
>wrote:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

>Hmmmm. Maybe so. I can't remember if I parked the probe before I
>covered the bosom with foil (500f) or after (350f) But ... the damned
>thing didn't work before this either. Underdone pork chops, etc.

What temperatures were you setting them for - what constitutes "done"
for your chops? How thick were the chops?

The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.

Thoughts?

Pork at 145° will still have a pink cast to it. It will leak pale pink
juices.

Why do you say yours were underdone? What were the criteria you used to
make that judgement? What did they look like? Eat like?

It still looked raw and bloody. I didn't eat it like that <g> I
cooked it some more, not bothering with the @(*#$!(*$# probe.

TammyM

Sheldon said:

You idiot, I've posted that thermometer probably a half dozen times in
about twice as many years... and each time some nincompoop says it's
technically not a wet bulb and each time I replay the same response...

OK, you keep repeating the same error over several years and that
makes me an idiot? Interesting logic. It's not a wet bulb
thermometer, simple fact, which you say you know so why keep
repeating the error? By the way, that's a rhetorical question,
I don't really need or care for an answer.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

TammyM said:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:34:27 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

>TammyM wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.

Thoughts?

Pork at 145° will still have a pink cast to it. It will leak pale pink
juices.

Why do you say yours were underdone? What were the criteria you used to
make that judgement? What did they look like? Eat like?

It still looked raw and bloody. I didn't eat it like that <g> I
cooked it some more, not bothering with the @(*#$!(*$# probe.

It sounds like the thermometer did exactly what you hired it to do. Set
it at 155°F for a more done appearance. 145° is medium and the pork came
out like beef would, warm and red in the center. The pork would be warm
and pink in the center because of the different basic color of the flesh.

It's perfectly safe to eat it pink if the temp got over 145°.

Pastorio

TammyM said:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:34:27 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

>TammyM wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.

Thoughts?

Pork at 145° will still have a pink cast to it. It will leak pale pink
juices.

Why do you say yours were underdone? What were the criteria you used to
make that judgement? What did they look like? Eat like?

It still looked raw and bloody. I didn't eat it like that <g> I
cooked it some more, not bothering with the @(*#$!(*$# probe.

It sounds like the thermometer did exactly what you hired it to do. Set
it at 155°F for a more done appearance. 145° is medium and the pork came
out like beef would, warm and red in the center. The pork would be warm
and pink in the center because of the different basic color of the flesh.

It's perfectly safe to eat it pink if the temp got over 145°.

Pastorio

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 01:05:03 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM said:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:34:27 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

TammyM wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 23:59:26 -0500, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>
>wrote:
>
>
>>TammyM wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>The chops were the VERY thick ones from Costco. Not on the bone. I
>brine since most commercial pork these days is so lean. I use Bruce
>Aidells' _The Complete Book of Pork_ as my reference book (and also
>_The Complete Book of Meat_ which he co-wrote). Although I don't
>remember specifically the temp at which I set the probe, I'm thinking
>that it was about 140. Certainly no more than 145.
>
>Thoughts?

Pork at 145° will still have a pink cast to it. It will leak pale pink
juices.

Why do you say yours were underdone? What were the criteria you used to
make that judgement? What did they look like? Eat like?

It still looked raw and bloody. I didn't eat it like that <g> I
cooked it some more, not bothering with the @(*#$!(*$# probe.

It sounds like the thermometer did exactly what you hired it to do. Set
it at 155°F for a more done appearance. 145° is medium and the pork came
out like beef would, warm and red in the center. The pork would be warm
and pink in the center because of the different basic color of the flesh.

It's perfectly safe to eat it pink if the temp got over 145°.

Bob, I'm well aware what it's supposed to look like when it's medium.
I'm well aware that medium pork is not only perfectly safe to eat, but
very moist and far preferable (to me) to pork cooked to the much
higher temps recommended for years. I'm trying to convey that my chop
was well underdone, well UNDER medium, even though the probe indicated
a temp of 145.

That's all.

According to the same thermometer, my 11 pound turkey had reached a
temp of 161F (probe in the breast, not touching bone) after a little
over an hour. I didn't trust it then, and I won't trust it again.

End of story.

TammyM

Dee Randall said:

I looked at your thermometer at the above site and does it do more than
presets? It says:
"The thermometer is programmed for specific USDA-approved temperature
settings for meat and poultry."
versus individual settings, like 161?

The alarms are on presets, but the monitor shows you the exact
temperature.

In article said:

Sheldon said:

You idiot, I've posted that thermometer probably a half dozen times in
about twice as many years... and each time some nincompoop says it's
technically not a wet bulb and each time I replay the same response...

OK, you keep repeating the same error over several years and that
makes me an idiot? Interesting logic. It's not a wet bulb
thermometer, simple fact, which you say you know so why keep
repeating the error? By the way, that's a rhetorical question,
I don't really need or care for an answer.

But it did prompt me to spend few seconds doing a Google search to find
out what they were:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/glossary/wetbulb.shtml

Doesn't seem to have any direct application to cooking, but I like to
learn about this stuff.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA