In a Central Market class last year, Mr. Max and I learned one of the most helpful tricks when it comes to cooking meat. As you may or may not have noticed, as soon as you stick a thermometer or a knife in to test meat, juices ooze out. If you pop it back in because it has not reached your desired level of doneness, it actually becomes tougher than it would have been before.
To combat this, we learned a literal Rule of Thumb for cooking meats. For this exercise, you will refer to the patch of your palm, directly below your thumb. You will compare each thumb-to-finger firmness to the feel of your meat when you press on it after cooking. Let's get started!
For medium-rare (steak only), the meat should have the same feel of your thumb pressed to your middle finger. Press the thumb pad to feel the level of firmness.
For medium-well (for steak, fish and now pork is reported to be safe to consume with a hint of pink), the meat should have the same feel of your thumb pressed to your ring finger. Press the thumb pad to feel the level of firmness.
For well-done (for steak, fish and chicken), the meat should have the same feel of your thumb pressed against your pinkie finger. Make a number three sign and press the thumb pad to feel the level of firmness.
After doing this exercise, did you notice the firmness increase as you switched to each finger? Use this trick from now on to check your meat without compromising the final product by puncturing it with a meat thermometer or knife. We've relied on this method for a year now, resulting in 100% accuracy each time!
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