Thermometer placement in steak, roasts or loin

[radtek]

Wondering about indwelling thermometer probe placement in a 2.5# bone-in rib-eye. Only one bone on this steak. Last couple times I inserted the probe into the middle of the steak like this at the bone end- parallel to the bone. 

 

I do this for stability reasons for when I turn and flip the steak. As using an indwelling probe is probably not all that common with steaks I figured you guys were the best folks to ask whether it could affect the reading going in along the long axis of the steak like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Norm Matthews]

I always use a probe thermometer when roasting a rib-eye in the oven. I usually check it with boiled water to check for accuracy first.  They can get quite a bit off sometimes.  It is such a prime piece of meat, I want it to be just right and I keep an eye on it with the probe.  It seems to me that 2.5 # is going to be big enough to use a probe.  Going in the side is the way I've seen pros do it.  The center is the best place to put it, IMHO. You can brown it in the skillet, insert the probe and finish it in the oven.  If not that, then you can check it with an instant read thermometer.  Sometimes, with practice, you can tell how done a steak is by feel.  The flabbier it feels, the rarer it is. 

 

Hope this is helpful. 

Edited May 16, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[radtek]

Indeed it does!

 

My first view of such a technique was on Good Eats years ago but AB inserted probes at an angle from the top of roasts and loins... Not that he is a impeccable source of inspiration but it doesn't really jibe with practicality if the meat is to be moved at any point.

 

 

It's my birthday-steak and I make sure to do it right. At 2.5# and 2.75" thick it ought to take 45 minutes to cook mid-rare to just below medium which is just how I like it. Actually a proper Pittsburgh-rare if done properly is hard to beat, IMO.

[dcarch]

Forget it. Don't do it. I know famous chefs do it, but I can't understand why.

 

In physics, there is a phenomenon called the "Observer Effect", which means the act of observation changes the nature of the observed.

 

Do this experiment with your best thermometer. You can even do it with your famous Thermapen.

 

Wrap a piece of paper towel just a little above the measuring tip of the probe. Now pour some boiling water over the paper towel. You will see how fast  heat from the paper towel can travel to the tip in a few seconds thru the metal shaft. 

 

Assuming you can in fact insert accurately the tip  of the probe inside the meat at the exact center of the thickest and coldest part, leaving the probe inside for a long time will completely distort the temperature you are trying to measure because the metal shaft of the thermometer will even out the temperature along the shaft by thermal conduction.

 

IMHO, get a fast and thin probe, measure quickly and in several places to get a better idea of what you are trying to measure. Don't leave the probe in the meat.

 

dcarch

 

 

[radtek]

Thanks dcarch!

 

I've wondered about this very aspect to the process, which was the crux of my question. Well I'm always open to new techniques or modifications to existing ones. Continual experimentation and discarding that which does not work or is grossly inefficient works quite well for me.

 

What I'll do today is leave the probe in as usual as a rough guide, but to start testing with my Thermapen as the meat approaches 15-20 degrees of my target temp. 

[radtek]

Turned out really well. As you can see the probe's entire shaft was inserted and secured. Performance and accuracy was acceptable. Steak took 50 minutes at 430F. 

 

This is probably my 5th time using a probe with a steak. One thing is that internal temp will lag until 90-100, and you had better be ready to start measuring with an external probe at that point. Once it reaches this state the internal temp will quickly rise 20 degrees over the next several minutes. During this session the temps stayed reasonable when measured with my thermapen; took readings one inch in from the edge and in the middle where the probe tip was. While the outer edges were 20 degrees greater than the internal temp this is to be expected IMO. 

 

I pulled this steak after the temp jumped alarmingly from 120 to 127 in less than a minute. Rested uncovered on a rack until the temp crested at 147F. When it dropped to 146 the steak was served. Next time I will pull from heat 5-10 degrees earlier. Otherwise the steak was exactly how I wanted it. Between mid-rare and medium. What a great steak.