By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com
Taylor Professional 9306 Dual Temp IR/Thermocouple Thermometer
If you watch the television show Hell’s Kitchen, with Chef Gordon Ramsey in it, you have heard him scream “It’s Raw!” many times and usually many times in a row. With the advent of instant read thermometers, this shouldn’t ever happen in a professional kitchen. I am guessing that on the television show the contestants are not allowed to carry around instant-read thermometers, but in real professional kitchens they should be standard equipment. Even home cooks should have them!
I’m eating dinner and they have a beautiful swordfish filet, caught off the coast of Hawaii, on the menu seared with dill and served over fresh green beans. I order it and out comes this huge filet of fish, nearing 10 ounces, perfectly cut, and well seared on the outside with wonderful notes of dill and pepper. The problem arises as I dig into the the filet as it is completely raw in the middle! Ouch, one of my favorite local restaurants has just served a raw piece of fish! No worries though, a quick flag down of the waiter results in the plate being whisked away for a new entrée. Twenty minutes later or so and another beautiful plate of swordfish is presented. Once again it looks great and the outside tastes wonderful. But… once again, it is completely raw in the middle.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a believer of “killing” my dinner by overcooking it but the swordfish cannot even be cut with a fork it is so undercooked. I literally have to saw through it with a knife and that is not acceptable with fish. I return it again, and luckily by the third time the filet comes out and is flakey, fork tender, and super moist! They did not overcook or undercook it and it tastes as good on the inside as it does on the outside.
I feel bad for the kitchen staff, having to cook my dinner three times, and I also feel bad for the owner who had to throw away two portions of food. I have to wonder though if they use a digital instant-read thermometer? If they do, I believe what happened could have been avoided. All is well though as I will be going back, they are one of my favorite restaurants in town after all!
The moral of this story? If you or your staff do not own instant-read thermometers, invest in them, they can at a minimum reduce food being sent back and at best, save lives. There is a great story on them over at USA Today. Check it out.
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