Warning: that $15 knockoff thermometer almost ruined my Thanksgiving turkey

I picked up a cheap instant read thermometer off Amazon for like 15 bucks because I didn't want to spend $50 on a Thermapen. It kept showing my turkey was at 165 degrees after only 2 hours in the oven, which seemed way too fast. I was about to pull it out when my neighbor came over and checked with his real deal thermometer, and it was only at 120 degrees. So I wasted a good chunk of time and nearly served raw turkey to 8 people. Has anyone else had a cheap tool totally fail you at the worst moment?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris_davis902mo ago

Grabbed one of those cheap laser infrared thermometers for my grill and it told me my cast iron was at 400 when it was barely at 250. Always test cheap kitchen tools against boiling water or ice water before you trust them with something expensive. Saves a lot of headache and potential food poisoning down the line.

the_lee1mo ago

Huh, that's a good point about testing stuff. Makes me wonder how many other cheap gadgets we just blindly trust without checking. Hey @iris_davis90, did you end up keeping that thermometer or did you toss it?

elizabeth9002mo ago

Oh wow, so your thermometer was basically just guessing (and badly).