My mechanical meat thermometer is taking an average of the meat and air temperature
I have two "good cook" brand mechanical instant read meat thermometers. I use my small oven broiler to cook steak to medium rare. However, after cooking for a while, taking the meat out and measuring it with both thermometers, the temperature never reaches above 120. In the end, the meat is quite dry and obviously ruined.
I did a test with a boiling cup of water. If I only dip the probe tip into the water, the thermometer doesn't read 100 C but rather something much lower (consistent reading on both thermometers). If I immerse the entire probe in the boiling water, it would read close to 100C.
I suspect that these probes actually average the temperature over the entire length of the probe. But this would mean that I cannot really rely on these thermometers to diagnose welldone-ness. Had anyone else ran into this issue?
I suppose I could re-calibrate the temperature reading at which my steak is considered rare, most likely a reading of around 100 F on these thermos.
Best Answer
You are right that mechanical probes sense temperature along the length of the probe, so they are only accurate if they are almost completely embedded in the food. Electric probes on the other hand have a thermocouple at the tip of the probe, so they are much more accurate. I suggest you get a digital probe instead.
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Why is my meat thermometer inaccurate?
If you are using a dial thermometer and it is inaccurate or deviates from 32\xb0F, turn the thermometer over and adjust the gauge by twisting the nut using pliers. Calibrate the thermometer again to ensure its accuracy prior to use.How do I know if my meat thermometer is accurate?
Stick your thermometer into the center of the glass so the tip of the probe is submerged by about two inches. Hold it there for about a minute, making sure it stays in the center, and then check the temperature. It should read 32\xb0F or 0\xb0C, which, of course, is the temperature that water freezes at.How do you calibrate meat thermostat?
Your thermometer should read 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). The digital thermometer in the above picture went down to 33 degrees F, then just read \u201cLo\u201d. I'm calling that one good. This analog thermometer in the photo below didn't do quite so well.The Right Way to Use a Meat Thermometer
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Answer 2
I have always found mechanical thermometers hard to work with. The problem with them is as you noticed, unless a considerable portion of the probe is inserted it’s hard to get a reliable reading.
I’m not sure if recalibration could help. When you recalibrate, say using boiling water, your readings on the thermometer will also be affected by the ambient temperature around the probe (which will be somewhere between the room temp and 100C). However, when you use it in the oven, say while roasting some meat, the calibrated reading on the thermometer will account for the ambient temperature at the time of calibration, but your actual reading will be affected by the oven temperature.
Unless you calibrate it for different environments, I don’t think that’s going to be useful.
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