I had a question on the grilled pork recipe below. How do you tell when the pork is done? Do you cut into it to see how pink it is? No!

Answer: Neat trick that works well with pork or beef. Use either hand.

1). Relax the thumb and feel the muscle (on all these tests)- meat is raw (thumb muscle is loose and “pliable”).
2). Thumb to 1st Finger-Rare.
3). Thumb to 2nd Finger-Med/Rare.
4). Thumb to 3rd Finger-Med/Well.
5). Thumb to 4th Finger (Little finger)-Well done.

Remember those feelings and then touch the steak or pork. How does it feel? Relaxed thumb muscle (raw)? Cook longer! Thumb to 2nd finger (middle finger)? Maybe …. Your choice. The meat only gets dryer from here.

Try this trick. It really works. You never want to cut any meat to “see if done”. Cutting it lets all those wonderful juices out. Let the meat rest 10 minutes or so before cutting. That includes your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey. I know it smells good and you’ve been waiting for 4 hours. Just 10 minutes more ….. Now feast! Cheers!