Splash-Proof Thermapen from ThermoWorks is pricier than most, but it will last forever and it more than meets all the essential criteria (see here) Folks often ask me whether it’s worth purchasing a probe thermometer You know, the kind that has a base that remains outside the oven and a probe on the end of a wire that you shove into your chicken or roast and leave in the oven as it cooks Good models even have an alarm that will tell you when you’ve reached a particular target temp Sounds great, right? No need to poke around in a hot oven The problem with these thermometers, however, is that it is nearly impossible to tell exactly where you should place the tip of the probe before you begin roasting What may seem like it’s going to be the thickest or coolest part of the chicken breast when you look at it in its raw state may not end up being the coolest—i.e., least-cooked—part of the chicken when it’s done What this means is that whether you use a leave-in probe or an instant-read, you’re going to have to poke around in there when the chicken is close to done to find the coolest spot For that reason, I use a leave-in probe as an early alarm system only, sticking with my instant-read to make the final call { ROASTING POULTRY } The problem with poultry, like many things in life, can be boiled down to two things: breasts and the government For some reason, years ago, poultry breeders got it into their heads that most people like white meat As a result, birds have been bred for larger and larger breasts (that stick out farther and farther from their bodies) At the same time, the government got it into its head that people didn’t want to kill themselves while cooking and started to recommend cooking poultry to the state beyond death known as “165°F.” In this chapter, we’ll find ways to circumvent both of these problems FACT: We love the taste of chicken According to the USDA, about nine billion chickens are consumed in the United States each year That’s thirty chickens a year for every human being in the country, or approximately one breast, one leg, one wing, and a drumstick per person per week That’s a whole lotta bird (but we still complain every time some delicious creature like rabbit, snake, or alligator just “tastes like chicken”—that’s hypocrisy for you) For all that consumption, though, how many times a year do you sit back during a meal and say to yourself, “Mmmmmm This is a tasty chicken”? If the answer is fewer than ... birds have been bred for larger and larger breasts (that stick out farther and farther from their bodies) At the same time, the government got it into its head that people didn’t want to kill themselves while cooking and started... recommend cooking poultry to the state beyond death known as “165°F.” In this chapter, we’ll find ways to circumvent both of these problems FACT: We love the taste of chicken According to the USDA,...{ ROASTING POULTRY } The problem with poultry, like many things in life, can be boiled down to two things: breasts and the government For some reason, years ago, poultry breeders got it into their heads