Drumstick, Frying, 90°

Cook Drumstick as “Frying” until the centre reads 90 degrees. The mark to keep is 90°. Before you pay, check once that the cut named on the package matches the cut on the slip. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Judge it by the joint: when the meat has pulled back from the knuckle end, the tendons have given up. At the butcher, open Drumstick so the slip shows 90° first, 90 next, and “Frying” beside them.

This week, before you enter the butcher, write the cut, the method, and the core temperature at the top of the shopping slip, and at home keep the heat until the thermometer shows that figure. If the grain is coarse, give more time at the same temperature, and do not time a thin slice and a chunk the same way. The order is Drumstick, 90°, 90, then “Frying”. When the thermometer is done, look again only at 90° for Drumstick and leave 90 on the slip.

Do not call the meat done from color alone, and do not read the temperature as a grade score. Check that the core temperature on the slip and the thermometer match, and do not kill the heat before that mark even if the color changes first. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Match Frying with 90 at the butcher before you close 90° for Drumstick. Cook Drumstick as “Frying” until the centre reads 90 degrees. The mark to keep is 90°.