Temp agency

Whether he’s styling or developing recipes for Food & Drink (or cooking at home), food stylist Christopher St. Onge has his digital probe thermometer at the ready. Linked to a magnetized read-out that sticks to the oven exterior, it ensures meat and poultry are always perfectly cooked. Christopher uses a ThermoPro that’s likely no longer in production, but he says the current model, the ThermoPro TP-17 ($23.99, amazon.ca), is close.

What are the advantages of using a digital probe over an instant-read thermometer?

A probe stays in the roast so you don’t need to keep checking on it. Constantly opening the oven results in wide temperature swings and can even cause the top element to come on again. With a probe, you can set an alert for your desired internal temp and forget about it.

Where should you insert the probe on classic holiday roasts?

For poultry, the probe should be placed in the thickest part of the thigh nearest the joint where the leg joins the body. For ham and roasts that can be cooked rare to well-done the tip should be roughly in the centre of the roast without touching bone.

Any advice for people who have never used one of these devices?

Because the internal temperature of a roast tends to rise after it’s out of the oven, it’s good practice to remove it a few degrees shy of your desired internal temperature. This is particularly true of large roasts and those cooked at high temperatures.