Measuring the internal temperatures of foods is a very good way of telling whether they are cooked properly.

There are many internal temperature probes available; the best are just thermocouples on a wire with a little box to give you the temperature (along with other timing and alarm systems).

IR thermometers allow you to measure temperatures pretty accurately on surfaces from a distance.

I would like separate probes that would allow me to use my IR thermometer to measure the internal temperatures of foods from a distance. This would allow me to check the temperature of large cuts of meat in several places, and would also allow me to test the temperatures of different items on a large grill.

My hypothesis is that If you stick a partially-insulated ceramic probe into a piece of meat, there will be a difference in the temperature of the uninsulated tip of the probe and the handle of the probe. The Internal temp would cool the external disk by a certain number of degrees. The handle would be disk-shaped for easy targeting.

By walking the external disk temperature back through known values, the internal temperature could be derived. The proper temperature would be converted by the IR thermometer.

It may be necessary to have discs of two different materials, and side-by side lasers targeting figure 8-shaped disks to get enough information to get accurate measurements.

Pros: you could have a crock full of these things and stab them in different places on large cuts and into individual pieces of food. Then you could check them all in a matter of seconds.

No wires.

No pulling stuff out of the oven to poke it with a instant- read; the temperature is constantly updated.

Cons: May not work at all.
-- nomocrow, Sep 21 2010

R.A.R.E. S.T.E.A.K R_2eA_2eR_2eE_2e_20S_2eT_2eE_2eA_2eK_2e
...Every Aspect Kluged... [csea, Sep 22 2010]

Steak Compass Steak_20Compass
Similar motivation [csea, Sep 22 2010]

Potato Baking Nails http://www.kitchenn...g-nails-p-1154.html
For example [csea, Sep 22 2010]

Pop-up Temperature Probes http://www.bonpack-...roup.aspx?groupid=7
Lo-tech solution? [csea, Sep 22 2010]

Oven-Cam Oven_20Cam
For monitoring pop-ups [csea, Sep 22 2010]

Please don't let them fall into alien hands. They sound painful.
-- infidel, Sep 21 2010


This sounds more like a way to conduct heat into the core of the food than a way to conduct coolth out of it. Wouldn't a local region around the tip of the probe heat up and cook sooner than the rest of the core?
-- mouseposture, Sep 21 2010


[mouseposture] has it right. Any cooling of the external disc will come from raising the temperature around the internal probe. Aluminum nails have long been used to decrease oven cooking time for potatoes and thick roasts. Insulated or not, they would conduct heat from hotter (exterior) to cooler (interior.)

Also, your IR thermometer (I've got one, too, they're pretty neat) isn't really the right tool for the job. Seems better to have all the temps monitored with some sort of probe and wirelessly (or optically!) transmit the infomation to a central viewing location.

For more info on temperature profiling of protein foodstuffs, see [links].
-- csea, Sep 22 2010


Have you seen those plastic pop-up temperature probes that some prepared turkeys are sold with? They apparently come in a variety of temperatures and length. [link]

Now all you need is an oven-cam (q.v.)
-- csea, Sep 22 2010


Thus cooking the inside of the steak too soon. I'll definitely have to rethink this one.
-- nomocrow, Sep 22 2010



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