Where to Place a Probe in Meat

The probe tip should sit at the center of the thickest part of the meat, clear of bone. That's the spot that heats last, so it's the spot that tells you the most. A tip anywhere else reports a number that may look fine and mean little.

The basic rule

Health Canada says to insert the thermometer through the thickest part of the meat, all the way to the middle, not touching any bone¹. The sensor in a probe is near the tip, so the tip has to be in the right place. A tip that's only part way in may be reading closer to the surface.

What makes a reading misleading

• Bone. Bone conducts heat. A tip touching it gives an overestimate of the meat temperature².
• Fat and cartilage. For beef, lamb and veal, keep the probe away from bone, fat and cartilage².
• Shallow depth. Near the surface, the reading follows the outside of the meat, not the center.
• Uneven heat. Heat can be uneven from one piece to the next², and within a piece.

When a number seems wrong, pull the tip back a little or move it to another spot and read again. Compare what you get. Two different readings in one piece of meat just show that the temperature varies inside it.

By kind of food

Roasts, steaks and thick cuts

Aim for the center of the thickest part, and keep the tip off the bone¹.

Poultry

For poultry, one source says to insert the thermometer into the thigh without touching the bone². Your maker's manual may give extra steps for whole birds, so follow it for your product.

Patties and burgers

For burgers, insert the food thermometer through the side of the patty¹. The tip still has to reach the middle.

Several pieces

If you're cooking more than one piece, check each one separately¹. One piece reading done says nothing sure about the others.

Single probe or several

A single probe can only monitor one section of the meat. Moving it to another spot is the only way to sample more². Multi-probe units are described on the page about wired and wireless probes.

Leaving a probe in during the cook

Many probes are made to stay in the meat while it cooks. Others are made only for a quick check. The maker's manual says which yours is, and how hot the probe and its cable may get. Don't leave a probe in the cooker if the manual doesn't allow it.

Before you trust the number

Placement is half the job. The other half is whether the probe reads true, which you can check with ice water. And a good reading only helps if you know the target, which is covered in safe internal temperatures from official sources.