Checking The Accuracy Of Your Oven Temperature
Checking The Accuracy Of Your Oven Temperature
It’s turkey time and it is always the time of year that I ask my readers about checking the accuracy of your oven temperature. This is something a lot of people never think to do. It is very important because an oven that under heats or over heats, can ruin the recipe you are trying to make. This is especially important when it comes to making your Thanksgiving Turkey and Thanksgiving sides. A poorly temping oven can produce a dried out or undercooked bird. Do not panic, I am here to tell you the simple ways to check this and fix this issue.
Get A Thermometer
The first thing you will need to do is get yourself an oven thermometer. I will link the one I use HERE. This is a Taylor Precision Large Dial Kitchen Cooking Oven Thermometer. I like this thermometer because it has a large print, that you can see through the oven door without having to open it. I find it to be highly accurate and easy to read. If you order it before this weekend, you will have it in time to check your oven temp this weekend and either calibrate your oven in time for the holiday, or adjust your cook times.
Setting Up Your Oven
The thermometer I linked above hangs from the oven racks. The first thing you want to do is move a rack to the very center of the oven and hang your thermometer from it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you have a digital oven, it will signal when the oven thinks it has reached 350 degrees. If you do not have a digital oven, let the oven preheat for twenty minutes. When your oven has preheated, check your thermometer with the door closed if possible (light on and look through the window) or check it quickly by opening the door. See what the oven thermometer says is the ACTUAL temperature. Note how far it is off temperature.
How To Check If You Don’t Have A Thermometer
If you do not have time to get a thermometer or you don’t want to buy one, you can still check your oven temp. A little less accurately, but you will have an idea. Place a little bit of sugar in an oven safe dish. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the sugar in the oven and check it after 15 minutes. If the sugar is not melted then your oven is temping too low.
What To Do About It
First of all, if your oven temp is drastically too high or too low, you should call a repairman. There is probably a bigger issue that needs to be addressed. If your oven is about 10 degrees or less, you can do one of two things. One, you can google how to calibrate your oven. There are many videos and articles online that can easily walk you through this. You can even narrow it down to your specific make and model. CLICK HERE for a article I found helpful about calibrating your oven.
The second thing you can do is adjust your cook times. If your oven SAYS its 350 degrees according to the oven but it’s less than 350 degrees, then make sure you increase the preheat temperature by the temp difference your thermometer is showing. meaning if your oven says its preheated to 350 degrees but your thermometer says its only 340 degrees, then increase your preheat temp to 360 degrees. The same is true if your oven is temping high. If your preheat says 350 degrees and your thermometer says 360 degrees, then adjust your preheat temp to 340 degrees.
Later you can have your oven properly calibrated.
This is to ensure the cook time and temperature on all your holiday dishes, including the turkey are cooking at the proper temperature and time so that they come out perfectly. I know how stressful cooking can be for many of us on this big day and this temperature check can make a big difference in how your food comes out.
Holiday Menu Ideas
All of that being said, I have rounded up some of my BEST Thanksgiving menu items for you. Including Turkey Tips and 5 Stuffing Recipes! Click on Each Link Below for the recipe.
