Looking to prepare the perfect bird this Thanksgiving? You might be thinking about relying on one of those pop-up timers to gauge when your turkey is ready.
But Patricia Calvo with Consumer Reports says you’ve got to be careful.
“Turkey really needs to be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit in order to be safe," said Calvo. "Under-cooked turkey could make you and your Thanksgiving guests really sick.”
So, can you really trust those little pop-up timers?
Testers stuffed turkey after turkey with pop-up timers, some that came with the meat, and others that were purchased separately. They also used calibrated thermometers.
The birds were then put in the oven and roasted until the timers popped up.
Most didn’t, until the temperatures rose above 165 degrees.
“When your turkey cooks too long and gets above 165 degrees, you’re going to need an awful lot of gravy because that turkey’s gonna be really dry,” Calvo said.
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But worse than that, a few times, the timers popped well before the meat reached a safe cooking temperature, meaning all the bacteria may not be killed.
Consumer Reports says the best way to ensure that meat is cooked to a safe temperature while staying juicy is to use a conventional meat thermometer.
They say one good choice is the Thermoworks Pocket Digital. It’s a no-frills, instant thermometer that costs $20 and is both easy to ready and very accurate.
Consumer Reports also recommends taking multiple temperature readings at various points in the meat to ensure your turkey is thoroughly cooked.
