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Bad?: Pop Up Chicken Timers


MickinMD

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Anyone experienced with pop-up chicken timers?

Maybe up to a couple years ago, I used to buy 5 lb Purdue Whole Chickens that had a pop-up (temperature sensitive) timer pressed into a breast that would pop up when the correct temperature was reached. I don't see them anymore and wondered if somebody decided they were a bad idea.

If it's a long-in-the-oven item, I use a remote reader to a thermometer permanently planted in the item being cooked and if it's a relatively short time - like the approx. 25 minutes for chicken thighs to get to 170F in a 350F oven, I just check the temp with an instant-read thermometer.

But I wondered if there were reusable pop-up timers or thermometers that are reliable where, instead of taking the time to use the instant read thermometer and then quickly washing and putting it away each time I use it.  A Google search turned up some articles saying don't trust the pop-up timers, which sort of makes sense since they don't penetrate far into the meat.  On the other hand, I don't remember having any problems with the chickens I baked with them in the past.

In any case, the ones I found on Amazon that are reusable are $7 for 2 and "reusable over 200 times" and " When the internal temperature reaches 165F-185F/75C-85C, the timer starts to pop out." (https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Usable-Turkey-Chicken-Poultry/dp/B01M18NNMV/).

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1 minute ago, Further said:

That's not very accurate 

If were talking 1/2 hour in the oven or less, 165-185F is probably an ok range, but I still dont trust it.  Today I baked four chicken thighs and after 30 minutes the smallest one was 180F and the biggest one was 162F, according to my instant-read thermometer and I let it go on heating another 5 minutes while I finished up and plated the veggies to go with the chicken. Those were the two pieces I had and they were fine, not dry and no meat sticking to the bones.  If I had used that timer and it didn't pop until 185F on the largest one, the smallest one would probably be over 200F - my guess is that would have been a little too much.

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AFAIK the "oven stuffer roasters" and the like still some with the little white pop up timer.  But I've had enough of them fail, too early or too late, that i pay no attention.... I like the instant digital thermometer. I guess i did have one with the remote lead and i liked that too - actually i don't remember what happened to that. 

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3 hours ago, MickinMD said:

pop-up chicken timers?

They’re really great at letting you know your poultry is overdone -  theyre complete crap. They are just a plunger and a spring held in place by wax, with the melting point conjured up by liability lawyers. They make no allowance for “carryover cooking” - the fact that the temperature of the food continues to rise as it rests.

I have one of these. I’ve been told these  are just as good and substantially less money, but since I use the hell out of my Thermapen - cooking, baking, maple syrup, brewing - I don’t begrudge the extra couple of bucks.

The nice part about the instant read is that the display changes as you slide the probe through the food - this lets you find the coolest spot and be sure of your measurement.

I have one of these for smoking and BBQing, but it can also be used in an oven. (There’s also some sort of Bluetooth app for it, which I guess lets you know your food went up in flames, when you’re somewhere else and can’t do anything about it anyway...) There’s also the Maverick, which I used to have - it works really well, but the UI is a pain in the ass. I had to keep the instruction cheat sheet on the side of the fridge and refer to it every time I used it.

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1 hour ago, TrentonMakes said:

AFAIK the "oven stuffer roasters" and the like still some with the little white pop up timer.  But I've had enough of them fail, too early or too late, that i pay no attention.... I like the instant digital thermometer. I guess i did have one with the remote lead and i liked that too - actually i don't remember what happened to that. 

That settles it. I'm going to stick with my instant-read thermometer for quick-bake stuff and my thermometer-with-remote that I can keep track of in my TV room for long-bake stuff.

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