How to Cook Pork Roast with a Digital Thermometer

Pork is low in fat, high in protein and is a good choice for healthy meals. It has come a long way since the warnings from grandparents that if it has the least bit of medium to rare meat, it's sure to have roundworms brewing. Be assured that today there may be a rare case, but not often in USDA-inspected pork. This means you don't have to cook the roast dry. Using a digital thermometer will confirm the internal temperature is 160 degrees.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Digital thermometer Pork Oven

1. Read the government fact sheet (listed in resources) to find the correct internal temperature of all meat. Pork should be 160 degrees, and it doesn't matter whether it's a tenderloin, butt roast or pork chop. Familiarize yourself, or cut out the information and tape it to the inside of your kitchen cupboard. Undercooking can lead to illness and even death.

2. Insert the digital thermometer into the thickest part of the meat so that the tip is embedded. Keep the tip away from bone for a more accurate reading.

3. Cook pork at 350 degrees, because cooler oven temperatures may allow bacterial growth. Estimate 20 minutes per pound, but rely only upon the digital reading.

4. Remove the pork from the source of heat and cover with foil; allow it to rest for 10 minutes so that the juice is absorbed into the meat. Don't worry if the internal temperature drops a little at this point.

Tips & Warnings

• Though pork is often advertised as the "other white meat," it is actually considered a red meat because of the percentage of myoglobin (a red protein pigment that contains iron) in the meat. It has become a leaner meat over the last 40 years and is considered a healthy choice of protein.

References

• Trichinae fact sheet
• Pork fact sheet
• Thermometer indications

Resources

• Don't dry out your pork roast

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