Temp probe location


 
R

Ron Wiley

New member
Whenever a chicken or turkey leg/thigh is not fully cooked the meat next to the bone dose not come away easily and can be red/bloody.
Yet we are warned not to place a temp monitoring probe next to or touching the bone.
If the bone is the last meat area to becomed cooked, I would think the probe should go there.
Maybe on my next cook I'll locate 2 probes; the recommended place and tight to the bone.
Any thoughts.....or bets?
 
A single probe is sufficient. Near a bone is not a problem. Touching a bone can be as a bone can conduct heat and give you a false reading. The red/bloody meat you refer to can be due to the age of the bird. Younger birds tend to have a pinker flesh. Poultry is safe to eat at 165 but visually the meat may still appear pinkish. This is especially true when smoking at lower temps. However you also need to decide how long to cook it based on likes of the consumer. Some people do not like dark meat that still retains a higher amount of fat that a longer cook would eliminate. The dark meat may be safe to eat, but may not be appealing to your guests. Make sure you have an accurate thermo by testing it in boiling water.
 
Ron,

I've always had problems with parts of whole birds not being done when the breast is up to temperature. What I did is what Chris discusses somewhere on this website is to place ice in a 1 gallon Ziplock bag and place it on the breast for 30 minutes before I put it on the smoker. The process worked very well on Thanksgiving when I did a 14 pounder over a 21 pounder on my Bandit. I took the breasts up to 165 and the rest of the bird was perfectly cooked. This was smoke roasting though at 350-375, so I'm not sure how this would work at lower temperatures.
 
And don't forget the value of brining! Adding moisture to the bird helps with the balancing act between the breast meat and dark meat.

Paul
 
I also had this problem. All parts of the bird were cooked but the thigh area near the bone. I ended up splitting it and grilling the bird while my guests watched! CRAZY. I am sure that I need to smoke it at a higher temp. over 300.
 
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