Thermapen Unboxing and Review

So, as I alluded to a while ago, I bought myself a Thermapen instant-read thermometer!

First I’d like to talk about buying a Thermapen in Canada, from where yours truly hails. In short, you can try to buy locally (as I always prefer) or import them from either the US or the UK. Preferring to buy locally, I looked around…and around…and around, and only found one supplier, and they came in at a significantly higher cost than anywhere else I could find on-line. Ultimately, I decided to order from ThermoWorks.com, as they were having a sale on at that point which included an oven probe-type thermometer (more on that some other time) and they have a great shipping deal.  Shipping is often a major cost consideration in Canada, as it can often be 50-100% of the item you’re importing! Shipping to Canada via FedEx was $19, including all taxes and duties.  You just can’t do better than that!  I really have to commend ThermoWorks for finding such a great price.

Anyway…on with the unboxing!

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Updated cooking temperatures guide.

A while ago I stared a chart of internal ‘doneness’ temperatures for beef, pork, chicken, and fish.  You can find the original post here.

In addition to several useful doneness temperatures, I’ve also included a very handy Celsius/Fahrenheit scale that you can use to convert from one temperature scale to another, that covers a range of -30°C to 370°C (-22°F to 700°F)!  So I guess if your freezer goes lower than that, or your oven goes higher,  you’re just out of luck.

Free download!

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Are we there yet?

(Find part 2 of this post here!)

Just a quick post today.  I’ve been looking for a simple kitchen “doneness” chart that uses realistic food temperatures, and not the USDA’s overly strict, cook-everything-until-well-done guidelines.

I’d rather have mainly safe chicken than dry tasteless chicken, and because I shop at a local butcher who knows his animals and their farmers, I feel that my risk is reduced anyway.

So, unable to find what I was looking for, I’ve started developing my own quick-reference chart.

(The sub-text says: These temperatures are ideal peak temperatures. Meats should be removed from heat 5 to 10°F (2 to 5°C; more for larger cuts) lower and allowed to rise during resting.)
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