Turkey Time

Wardster

It may be time for yet another turkey ala egg. They say to stick the thermometer into the thigh. Can someone provide detailed instructions as to exactly where in the thigh? Pics would be great for those that feel spunky.
Thanks in advance

Shelby

Wardster,
You can also measure the temp in the breast. I prefer that as I want to make sure the breast doesn't overcook. I simply insert into the breast, parallel to the breast bone but not too close. No pics to send but I'm sure there'll be plenty of other replies as well.

Wardster

Shelby,
That is a good point. The thigh has more fat, so it is less prone to drying out. The breast is the pot of gold on a turkey. I'm not sure why they would recomend the thigh then.... Interesting..

sdbelt

Wardster,[p]To follow on what Shelby notes, white meat is fully cooked at a lower temp than dark meat (or leg meat). Thus, measuring the leg and cooking it to 180 (as most recipes advocate), will also yield 180 white meat (or possibly higher :-(), that is overcooked.[p]Or you can measure the breast meat and cook to 170 (as most recipes advocate), and risk the dark meat being undercooked. [p]Kinda cruddy I know, so really the thing to do is prioritize the meat that you prefer, when considering what to cook your turkey to.[p]My last turkey, I cooked the breast to 165, which was excellent, but the dark meat was definitely not cooked sufficiently, and had to be discarded (the problem wasn't noticed quickly enough to remedy...ie, I took the whole bird over to another house, before carving).[p]As further remedy for this, some people choose to cook the whole bird, until the breast is done, and the cut off the legs and thighs, and then continue the cook of those items, until they are done.[p]Last, when measuring the temp, I'd advice measuring the thickest area, while making sure the probe doesn't touch the bone. Also, for something like turkey or chicken, in which I'm very concerned about a bad reading, I re-measure the item in a different spot, to double check that I didn't get a false reading.[p]Enjoy![p]--sdb