How to insert the Stick into your meat

Getting the Stick in the right spot is what makes your readings accurate. It takes a few seconds.

Where to insert

• Aim for the thickest part of the cut — that's the spot that finishes last, so it's the temperature that matters.

• Avoid fat pockets and bone. Both read differently from the meat and can throw your numbers off. Go through the meat itself.

How deep

• Push the stainless steel shaft mostly or fully into the meat. The Stick has multiple sensors along the shaft, and they need to be surrounded by meat to find the true coldest point.

• On a V Series Stick, insert at least to the Minimum Insertion Line marked on the shaft — but deeper is better. The line is the minimum; it isn't the target.

• If you have a V Prime Stick, inserting to the line keeps the internal sensors buried in the meat while the ambient sensor near the handle stays in the air — exactly where you want each one.

Thin cuts

For something thin — a steak, chicken breast, or burger — insert from the side, at a shallow angle, so the shaft runs lengthwise through the meat and the sensors stay covered. Don't poke straight down through a thin cut; the sensors will end up in open air.

Watch it in action

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Cooking more than one cut at once? See Cooking with more than one Stick.