Do I need a new thermometer?

The cooking instructions on my pork tenderloin said to roast it to 145 degrees. I pulled it at 130, according to my instant-read thermometer. After resting for about 5 minutes, it was uniformly white throughout. I'd have preferred it a little less well done -- slightly pink is what I was aiming for.

Is my thermometer off or should I have pulled it at a lower temp?

Hi,

The problem may be carry over heat from the exterior of the tenderloin:

If you had a thin Pork tenderloin weighing about 1 pound, there would be much more carry over heat. A heavier 2 pound tenderloin would not be affected as much by carry over heat.

A hot oven would also result in much more carry

You also can check that thermometer.

Tim

It's easy to check if your thermometer is working. Boil water and take it's temperature. It should be 212 degrees.

Exactly what I was going to suggest. You can also put it in an ice water slurry and see how close to 32F/0C it is.

Pork doesn't really get completely white, in my experience, until you hit maybe the mid-150s, so that seems like a lot of carryover heat to me. I would test the thermometer in both the boiling water and the ice slurry, and see if it's just off by a fixed amount. Some digital thermometers also have a way to calibrate them.

LAZ wrote:The cooking instructions on my pork tenderloin said to roast it to 145 degrees. I pulled it at 130, according to my instant-read thermometer. After resting for about 5 minutes, it was uniformly white throughout. I'd have preferred it a little less well done -- slightly pink is what I was aiming for.

Is my thermometer off or should I have pulled it at a lower temp?

I would suggest leaving the thermometer in while it's resting and if it starts going fast towards 145 putting it in the freezer. I've had similar experiences where the internal temp goes up over 20+ degrees. Especially if I sear it over high heat. The surface temp can be at 180+ and the internal temp at 120 so the final temp could be anywhere in between. It's an inexact science.

Hi,

Over the weekend I caught an episode of America's Test Kitchen dealing with grilling thin pork chops. To slow down the cooking and allow a good crust to form, they froze the chops for 30 minutes before grilling.

This approach may be applicable to the small diameter tenderloin.

***

I have a number of thermometers in my kitchen, it blows me away how often they differ when working side by side. My most precise thermometer (at least I want to hope so) is an old fashioned bulb candy thermometer.

Regards,

Last year, the USDA finally lowered the recommended temperature for pork cuts, from 160° to 145°. The National Pork Board had been pushing for 130°, but the USDA wouldn't make that big of a change all at once, so they split the difference. I'll bet in another 10 years, USDA will say 130° is fine.

Trichinosis used to be the reason everyone cooked pork to leather. Today, your chances of picking that up from commercially grown pigs is slim to none.

Remember ground pork & sausage is still recommended to be cooked to 160°. This is more for bacteria that can get into it from handling and grinding at the processor, real cuts of meat don't have that problem.

Tim