Do you really need a meat thermometer?

I never use one and to answer your second question, you are far safer cooking your own food than ordering KFC. But you know that already.

@janbb No I didn’t know that. I used to work at KFC. I made chicken only once. You just stir the chicken in the powder with your hands then boil in oil for 20 minutes or so. The manager and the head supervisor made the chicken most of the time.

For bbq I use one. it’s useful for larger cuts

Depends on how good of a cook you are. I rarely use one, kinda have all my specialties down pat after 35+ years of cooking. Just remember chicken should never be cooked rare.. haha

Internal temperature is more important than cooking time. It’s the best way to determine that meat is safely cooked.

I have never used one and all the meat I have cooked has been fine.

@canidmajor You are a kitchen god and should teach a class.

As for the rest of us, use the thermometer.

I don’t use one, but I have a lot of experience. Meat thermometers are really important when you are cooking something large like a roast or a turkey, which you are not likely to do on your own. Right?

There isn’t enough room on a chicken wing in which to stick a meat thermometer to get an accurate reading. You can basically tell by sight if they are done enough.

But I wouldn’t think of spending major bucks on something like a rib roast of beef and not using a thermometer to be certain I don’t overcook it.

And today’s thin instant read thermometers are so easy to use compared to the past, it makes little sense to take a risk on a major cut of meat.

Well, @DWW25921, 30 years ago the meat thermometer wasn’t considered a kitchen necessity (at least among the people I knew) and we all used other methods to determine doneness, and it was fine. By all means, use your thermometer, I prefer not to.

It really depends on your cooking skills. How good are you in the kitchen?

Nah, I can tell when my meat is hot.

I use them on occasion, but I usually burn meat anyway.

Thermometers are necessary for food safety only if you serve without looking at the color of the meat. Pork roasts can be over cooked and so can poultry. I have several good thermometers including an infrared thermometer for checking the temperature of the pizza stone for cooking pizza and calzones.

I don’t use one. But when I order meat at restaurants I ask for well done and then cook it for a few more minutes. I like my steak to be like jerky that I douse in ketchup.

@johnpowell You sound like my mother-in-law. She was so afraid of the dangers of undercooked food that she didn’t trust any meat that had any moisture in it at all. She considered 190 degrees “rare”, and liked her bacon so black that it lost the flavor that diffrentiates bacon from charcoal.

Yes. Cooking or meat thermometers can help you cook foods to a safe temperature and prevent food borne illnesses. Thermometers are the only reliable way to determine doneness of meat, poultry and egg products.

Never owned a meat thermometer and I’m unsure how they even work. What if the meat is thin?

I’m 53 and have not killed myself or others through the lack of thermometer. I tend to prefer things rare.

Steak Tartare used to be a popular bar food around here. Today it would be considered the Black Plague.

I’ve never used one, though I did buy one recently, because I’m curious to see what’s going on in there while I’m cooking. For most meats (not fowl), I want the interior to be at least a bit rare anyway so a thermometer has never been a priority.

Steak Tartare is good stuff. Thing is, you do have to be careful… and that is where kitchen skill comes in. You pretty much have to eat it right after it’s prepared. Someone who is inept in the kitchen may let it sit out long enough to potentially cause problems.

Also, it’s not the meat that causes the issue there so much as the raw egg. Even then, if raw eggs were that problematic, then the time it takes to crack eggs and beat them to make an omelet would be enough to turn the eggs into pure death, as would leaving hamburger out of the fridge long enough to form patties before cooking your burger.