My sister in law put six defrosted chicken thighs into one of those throwaway
aluminum pans, poured a can of Cream of Celery soup over them. Covered them
with foil and put them into a 350º oven. After 45 minutes, she uncovered them.
It took another hour and 15 minutes, a total of two hours before they were
done. She also said that the pork roast she did on New Year's day took a long
longer than it should have by using the weight/temperature guideline. And in
the past, other items put into the oven seemed to sometimes not be done when
they should have been.
I had given her one of those probe thermometers, the one where the probe goes
into the meat and the thermometer sits on the counter. She told me that she
forgot to use it on the pork, but her husband used it to check the oven
temperature. I didn't think this type thermometer would give an accurate
reading of the air temperature, I still think the thermostat is wrong. But, she
said that she baked a cake, and it baked perfectly in the time and temperature
that was on the box.
Any ideas of what the problem could be?

On 31 Jan 2004 18:37:18 GMT, c (TOM KAN PA) wrote:

>I still think the thermostat is wrong. But, she
>said that she baked a cake, and it baked perfectly in the time and temperature
>that was on the box.

Howdy,

It certainly sounds like the calibration of the oven is off (that is,
when the oven displays 350 it is, in fact, cooler than that.)

That would be my vote even with the cake experience. I would just
suspect that for some reason the cake was less sensitive to the
incorrect temperature.

HTH,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

"Kenneth" > wrote in message
...
> On 31 Jan 2004 18:37:18 GMT, c (TOM KAN PA) wrote:
>
> >I still think the thermostat is wrong. But, she
> >said that she baked a cake, and it baked perfectly in the time and
temperature
> >that was on the box.
>
> Howdy,
>
> It certainly sounds like the calibration of the oven is off (that is,
> when the oven displays 350 it is, in fact, cooler than that.)
>
> That would be my vote even with the cake experience. I would just
> suspect that for some reason the cake was less sensitive to the
> incorrect temperature.
>

If it was a cake mix, that would also account for the success. They
formulate the mixes to be bulletproof.

Do you know how many times she opened the oven for the meat dishes? Maybe
she opened the oven door multiple times, and left the door open while
checking/basting/etc.


"TOM KAN PA" > wrote in message
...
> My sister in law put six defrosted chicken thighs into one of those
throwaway
> aluminum pans, poured a can of Cream of Celery soup over them. Covered
them
> with foil and put them into a 350º oven. After 45 minutes, she uncovered
them.
> It took another hour and 15 minutes, a total of two hours before they were
> done. She also said that the pork roast she did on New Year's day took a
long
> longer than it should have by using the weight/temperature guideline. And
in
> the past, other items put into the oven seemed to sometimes not be done
when
> they should have been.
> I had given her one of those probe thermometers, the one where the probe
goes
> into the meat and the thermometer sits on the counter. She told me that
she
> forgot to use it on the pork, but her husband used it to check the oven
> temperature. I didn't think this type thermometer would give an accurate
> reading of the air temperature, I still think the thermostat is wrong.
But, she
> said that she baked a cake, and it baked perfectly in the time and
temperature
> that was on the box.
> Any ideas of what the problem could be?
>
>

Far as I can tell, someone wrote:
>I had given her one of those probe thermometers

An oven I had several years ago was actually fifty degrees low. If you
simply pull the adjustment knob off the front of the oven, you will
probably see that it is marked inside to be adjusted.

You're right. The probe won't be accurate.
It would cost less than a good piece of meat to buy or borrow a
standing/hanging type thermometer and check the oven. You would also
learn that different areas or the oven are different temps. And you
could use it to see how quickly the temp rises or drops.

If you're serious about baking, (or even just don't want to ruin good
food,) knowing that your oven temp is accurate, and knowing when it is
actually ready to bake/roast, you need one.

Fyi, I used a probe thermometer (Polder) last year to check the oven
temperature and it damaged the probe, causing readings to be off when I used
it to check food temperature. When I called Polder they confirmed that these
thermometers are not intended to check ambient temperature and that the
probe's reading would be off. I had to replace the probe.

"TOM KAN PA" > wrote in message
...
> My sister in law put six defrosted chicken thighs into one of those
throwaway
> aluminum pans, poured a can of Cream of Celery soup over them. Covered
them
> with foil and put them into a 350º oven. After 45 minutes, she uncovered
them.
> It took another hour and 15 minutes, a total of two hours before they were
> done. She also said that the pork roast she did on New Year's day took a
long
> longer than it should have by using the weight/temperature guideline. And
in
> the past, other items put into the oven seemed to sometimes not be done
when
> they should have been.
> I had given her one of those probe thermometers, the one where the probe
goes
> into the meat and the thermometer sits on the counter. She told me that
she
> forgot to use it on the pork, but her husband used it to check the oven
> temperature. I didn't think this type thermometer would give an accurate
> reading of the air temperature, I still think the thermostat is wrong.
But, she
> said that she baked a cake, and it baked perfectly in the time and
temperature
> that was on the box.
> Any ideas of what the problem could be?
>
>