What type of thermometers are the ones I keep seeing in some of your photos?

jennyferraynor

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I’m assuming it’s for checking the internal temps of the meat. Do you leave them in the whole time? Would it be worth it to purchase one?
 
Yes. Your likely most often seeing the fire board…….it’s pricey but apparently can’t be best. I use InkBird and then some folks use the Meater probes. I’ve got both of the later two and only use the InkBird.


Worth every single penny.
 
I have the FireBoard 2. I use it for monitoring my pit and food temps.
 
There are two kinds that we use, one type is the instant read thermometer and the other is the continuous monitoring type.

For instant read, the dominant brand is ThermoWorks, and their Thermapen One is by far the best and currently on sale 25% off.

For the continuous monitoring kind there are many options, with FireBoard probably the best one, but quite expensive. I use FireBoard (a FireBoard 2), but as CMTiger suggested above, InkBird is an affordable option with much of the same functionality. ThermoWorks also makes one called Signals. And there is Meater which Traeger recently purchased.

If you search the forum, you will find numerous reviews of all these thermometers and how to use them.
 
If your budget does not have room for the expense of premium brands, or if you are like me and just do not see the value of spending $300 for a Fireboard 2 Pro graphing thermometer, there are plenty of less expensive options that can serve you well, although they might not have all the capabilities of the premium brands.

1. The most important criteria is accuracy. Just a few degrees difference in temperature of an internal temperature probe can make the difference between a perfectly cooked piece of meat and one that is undercooked or overdone.

2. For probes that are not intended to be left in the meat, response time is important. The Thermopen which is recommended by many forum members claims to have a response time of 1 sec. which is excellent. I am using an less expensive probe which responds in less than 5 seconds. If the response time is longer than that, you likely will limit the number of measurements you take. Also, the longer it takes you to check temperature, the longer the hood will be up on your grill. As they say "If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'".

3. Continuous monitoring temperature probes are designed to be left inside your grill with the monitoring electronics left outside. They come with one or more probes. I suggest you get one with a minimum of two probes. Use one probe to check the internal temperature of the largest piece of meat you are cooking. Use the second to confirm the grate level temperature of the grill. (The Traeger thermocouple may not be accurate). Some kits come with four or more probes allowing you to check the internal temperature of multiple proteins or multiple location across your grill.

4. Most internal probes are wired, even the ones on the Fireboard. Meater has wireless probes that connect using Bluetooth. Obviously, these probes cost far more than wired probes. However, wires can be a pain if you are trying to flip meat or move it around to avoid hot spots on the grill.

5. Finally, some thermometers have their own smartphone app and rely on your phone to monitor temperatures remotely. Others come with their own remote monitoring device. The simplest devices do not provide a means for remote monitoring.

Thus, check out the options available and pick the one that best suits your needs, preferences and budget. However, no matter which you purchase, always check the accuracy of any thermometer you purchase. An ice water bath is one of the most accurate ways of calibrating the thermometer, especially if the ice and water are from water purified by distillation or reverse osmosis. Using boiling water for calibration can be problematic as the boiling point depends upon the barometric pressure. Another thing you can do is check your oral body temperature. If it does not read close to normal, you can either get another thermometer or schedule a doctor's appointment.
 
2. For probes that are not intended to be left in the meat, response time is important. The Thermopen which is recommended by many forum members claims to have a response time of 1 sec. which is excellent.
I think you mean ThermoWorks One which I linked to above. Thermapen is a different brand in the US.
 
I think you mean ThermoWorks One which I linked to above. Thermapen is a different brand in the US.
Not really. ThermoWorks is the brand/company and ThermoPen one is a model of thermopen. Splitting hairs.
 
Not really. ThermoWorks is the brand/company and ThermoPen one is a model of thermopen. Splitting hairs.
Thermapen is their original name in Britain. When they expanded to the US, they found that the Thermapen name had already been trademarked by another company. So they named themselves ThermoWorks here are marketed their products with that name. They are still called Thermapen in Britain.
 
I think you mean ThermoWorks One which I linked to above. Thermapen is a different brand in the US.
Your link directs to Thermapen One by ThermoWorks. I cannot find any reference to ThermoWorks One.

In my earlier post, I did misspell Thermapen as "Thermopen" (sic). For that error, I apologize.

Since the OP is from New York, he needs to look for Thermapen One.
 
I have three actually. One that is blue-tooth only that I can't think of the brand right now. I also have a "GrillEye" set up that I like but it has wired probes. I recently got a "Meater Block" that has 4 wireless probes that I've started using and really like.
 
I’m assuming it’s for checking the internal temps of the meat. Do you leave them in the whole time? Would it be worth it to purchase one?
Yes. Thermo works Smoke (accurate) . And the Traeger meat thermometer ( not very accurate) yes leave in all the time.
 
I use a thermometer that continuously monitors the temperature. The control part has spaces for 6 different probes. I usually use three of those spaces. I put two of the probes in the meat at to different places and I use the third one as a cross check to the smoker's thermostat. When the first two probes indicate that the meat temperature is getting close to where I need to take some action (wrap, spray, remove from the smoker, etc.) I start using my Thermapen to check several spots in the meat to make sure that I have reached the appropriate temperature throughout the meat. That minimizes opening the lid every 15 to 30 minutes to see how close I am coming to the relevant temperature. I have never used the Traeger temperature meat probe.
 
Yes. Your likely most often seeing the fire board…….it’s pricey but apparently can’t be best. I use InkBird and then some folks use the Meater probes. I’ve got both of the later two and only use the InkBird.


Worth every single penny.
On that InkBird...do the color coordinated probes come clean easily? I know it's a crazy question, but I currently use a Solis, but the colors start to change (after many cooks) and I can't really tell them apart.
 
On that InkBird...do the color coordinated probes come clean easily? I know it's a crazy question, but I currently use a Solis, but the colors start to change (after many cooks) and I can't really tell them apart.
They’ve faded over time as they get smoke on them. I can easily tell them apart though so its not a problem for me. They just aren’t as bright and vibrant anymore
 
I use the Fireboard 2. Just bought the Fireboard Spark. Only used it a couple of times. Works good.
 

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