“Can I use a meat thermometer for oil” is a typical question when it comes to different uses of meat thermometers. If you have a large pot of oil, it might be more difficult to tell if the oil reaches the required temperature for cooking or not. Let’s find out if it’s possible to measure oil’s temperature using a thermometer in the article below.
What are the types of meat thermometers?
Instant-read meat thermometers: This kind of thermometer can measure the internal temperature of meat in an instant. Simply pierce the thermometer’s probe end into the thickest part of your meat and the reading will appear. The accurate result is given somewhere between 3 to 30 seconds. Instant-read thermometers can give best results when they’re used for smaller cuts of meat.
You should measure the food’s temperature with an instant-read thermometer toward the end of the cooking process. If you’re following a cooking recipe, it’s best that you start examining the temperature around 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Don’t wait until the right temperature is reached. Remove the food from heat around 10°F lower and the carryover heat will do the rest of the work for you.
Oven-safe meat thermometers: Oven-safe meat thermometers need to be inserted into the meat before cooking. It’s designed to be left in the meat during the whole process of cooking so you can keep track of the temperature. Once the right internal temp is reached, you can remove the thermometer out of the meat.
If you’re cooking big cuts of meat, oven-safe meat thermometers are the perfect choice. Some products are equipped with extra-long probes, which allows you to measure oil temperature when frying.
See also: Mix Different Brands Of Oil: The Perfect Method
Can I use a meat thermometer for oil?
Nowadays, almost every quality meat thermometer is able to measure up to 400°F and even higher. Nevertheless, boiling cooking oils can reach up to and over 450°F. That’s why not all meat thermometers can withstand such high temperatures.
For those who need to keep track of the oil’s temperature when deep-frying food. It’s best that you use candy, oil or deep-frying thermometers. These thermometers are made to cope with much higher temperatures compared to meat thermometers.
With a candy, oil or deep-frying thermometer available, you can tell if the oil reaches the ideal temperature (usually between 350°F – 375°F) or not before cooking. It’s important to know the exact temperature of oil when deep-frying. Because the food will be greasy if the oil is not hot enough and on the other hand, the food will burn if the oil is too hot.
A few other applications are equipped on meat thermometers:
When the exact temperature for cooking food is not known because a meat thermometer is not used, people will usually spend a little more time cooking. As this will make the food cook more evenly, this is a safe solution.
Overcooking the food will make the meat lose some of its nutrition, drier and no longer as palatable as when cooked evenly. To solve this situation, manufacturers have launched a meat thermometer with many benefits. Your dishes will become more perfect, so that housewives can confidently cook without worrying about whether the meat is overcooked or undercooked.
A meat thermometer can help people know exactly whether the meat is done or how long you will have to cook it. Everyone wants to enjoy food with the most natural flavor.
Many people often choose to put a food thermometer in the meat while it is cooking or grilling. Or they will take the meat off the stove and put it on a flat surface and then put a thermometer in. However, this method is not good, you should stick to the thickest part of the meat to see if it has reached the desired temperature or not. In a cooked dish, accuracy is important, so you need to use a meat thermometer.
Meat thermometer is one of the most important solutions that can ensure the health of your family when helping cooks check and ensure food hygiene and safety. In fact, this product has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having the ability to produce the most suitable cooking temperature that is safe for health.
The meat thermometer also helps the cook to check the level of doneness inside the food to ensure that the food reaches the best temperature to eliminate harmful pathogens.
In particular, according to the recommendations that experts give, foods from poultry need to undergo cooking to 160 degrees F. Besides, for foods such as: pork, fish, steaks steaks and roasts will require 145 degrees F.
With the temperature of a trusted food designer, you can be sure your food is thoroughly cooked and tested for disease. It can also be seen that the meat thermometer will help the dishes are cooked to the standard. And the benefit of this is reducing some of the dangerous diseases that when cooking food is not cooked enough. It will also help you have a meat dish that is both dry and overcooked.
Meat thermometers are usually used for measuring the internal temperature of different kinds of meat, such as steaks, roasts and many other dishes. However, it’s also possible to measure the temperature of liquid using meat thermometers.
See also: Making “blooming onion” by Great American Steakhouse onion machine
How can I know if the oil is hot enough without a thermometer?
There several ways which allow you to tell the right temperature of the cooking oil:
- Throw a kernel of popcorn into the cooking oil. If the popcorn pops then the cooking oil’s temperature is somewhere between 325°F and 350°F. This is the perfect temperature range if you need to fry your food.
- Use a wooden spoon and stick the end of the spoon into the cooking oil. If bubbles start to form around the end of the spoon and then float up to the surface, you know the oil is hot enough for frying. In case it’s bubbling hard, it indicates that the cooking oil’s temperature is too high. Then you should wait until the oil cools down a little bit before adding the food in.
- Adding 1 – 2 drops of water into the cooking oil also tells you if the oil is hot enough. However, this method is not advisable as you might get burnt if the oil splashes up
Now you already know the answer to “can I use a meat thermometer for oil”. As Bourbon O suggested above, it’s best to measure cooking oil’s temperature with a candy, oil or deep-frying thermometer rather than a meat thermometer. Because meat thermometers are not able to withstand high temperatures of the cooking oil.
