Thermometer probes conducting heat?

[Rusty_Barton]

People stick nails into potatoes to bake them quicker. The nail is said to conduct heat to the center of the potato and cook it from the inside out, reducing the cooking time. Here's an example:

http://www.asktooltalk.com/home/general/products/potato-spikes.html

This got me to thinking about the digital thermometer probes we use during barbecuing. Is it possible that the thermometer probes are conducting heat to the center of the meat and cooking it faster. Does "un-probed" meat cook at a slower rate? Inquiring minds want to know? :-D

Another thought, the thermometer probes are hollow and may not conduct heat as well as a solid nail. If nails were stuck in the meat, would that cook it faster, like the baked potato trick?

 

[KC_Bobby]

Makes sense in theory, but I don't think it does much in practice for a butt, brisket, ham, or other large piece of meat based on the mass of meat and low cooking temperature. But raise the smoker temp up to 400 and drive in a railroad spike and I'll reconsider my thinking.