mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that 250 million turkeys will be raised in the US in 2009. If recent trends continue, some 45 million turkeys will be eaten this Thanksgiving. Some of those birds will be outfitted with a wonderful little piece of technology that tells you, in a very straightforward manner, when the turkey is ready to come out of the oven: the pop-up timer.
Pop-up timers are pretty simple machines. They’re normally composed of a pop-up stick (usually plastic) attached to a spring and held in place by a blob of food-grade soft metal or wax at the bottom of the timer. These three parts are held in a plastic casing. If you’re wondering if the turkey is done, the timer gives you a “yes” or “no” answer. When the turkey is done cooking, the indicator stick pops up. If you peek in the oven and the stick hasn’t popped up yet, the turkey’s not done. It’s fool-proof.
How does the timer issue its proclamations with such concrete certainty? Depending on who you ask, turkey is done when it reaches 165-180 degrees Fahrenheit. The trick is holding the pop-up stick in place with a wax or metal that will melt somewhere in that temperature range. When the correct temperature is reached, the melted anchor frees the pop-up stick and the spring launches the stick up into its “Hey, the turkey is done!” position.
[Image courtesy of Flickr user Tatu Damberg - Mixirica.]
Comments (10)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
The USDA recently declared turkey meat to be “done” at 165 degrees. Pay no mind to those plastic jobbers- use a real meat thermometer.
Zach
posted by Zach on 11-23-2009 at 1:34 pm
How do pop-up turkey times work?
Not very well. You are guaranteed a dry chewy turkey every time.
Look up Alton Brown’s roast turkey recipe (don’t skip the brining) and never look back
posted by n2y2 on 11-23-2009 at 1:57 pm
I agree with n2y2, Pop up timers never work except I use the recipe from another Food Network star, Mrs. Paula Dean’s southern fried turkey recipe. I won’t eat turkey any other way.
posted by Dan on 11-23-2009 at 5:11 pm
I must agree with n2y2. The turkey timer is similar to building fire sprinklers in operation and in aftermath.
Roasting a turkey may be one of the most overthought operations ever. Follow the wrapper instructions and apply thermometer intelligently near the end. Fine food without all the kitchendary legerdemain.
posted by Tom on 11-23-2009 at 5:30 pm
If you are going to fry the turkey remember these very important steps:
1. Do a “dry run” by filling the fryer with water and immersing the turkey – the amount of water that’s left in the fryer is the MAXIMUM amount of oil you will need.
2. Thaw the bird before you put it in the hot oil. Frozen bird + hot oil = spectacular steam explosion of hot oil, all over you.
3. Don’t pot the fryer on your wooden deck, or near a pile of leave, or just up the driveway from the shed or garage – or anything else that can burn.
4. Have a fire extinguiher ready – not a hose, not a bucket of water – a fire extinguisher.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 11-23-2009 at 6:02 pm
Oven bags work great for keeping the turkey moist.
posted by Seanette on 11-23-2009 at 7:36 pm
@n2y2 thanks for mentioning that. My dad loves that show and is always using recipes from it so I will tell him Alton has a turkey recipe.
posted by Mitch on 11-23-2009 at 11:49 pm
when my brother and I were little we’d fight over the pop up timer. My parents always joke with us “who wants the timer?” They asked us once what the allure was of the silly little piece of plastic… the answer – the turkey only has one :)
recaptcha: swill pumpkins (hee hee – i’ll probably do that on Thursday!1)
posted by jen on 11-24-2009 at 8:53 am
Alton Brown= awesome
posted by ufluffed on 11-24-2009 at 4:23 pm
Yeah, in my experience they never seem to pop up.
posted by Dan on 11-26-2009 at 12:59 pm