We've said it before and we'll say it again: a digital thermometer is the most important tool in a cook's arsenal. Thermometers save lives and money. They're the only reliable way to determine how well food is cooked.
No one wants to ruin a good cut of meat by overcooking it. A perfectly cooked steak can quickly turn to leather if the internal temperature isn’t monitored. Fingering or cutting into the meat to determine doneness is a fundamental mistake. A filet mignon is much more tender than a sirloin. The color of meat is very different under the sun, whether it’s incandescent, fluorescent, or LED. And it changes when exposed to oxygen. And no, poking it with a thermometer won’t dry it out!
Thermometers are more sophisticated than they used to be. Handheld instant readings have become much faster and more accurate, and some thermometers come with apps that run on wireless devices like a cell phone. Originally, a wired thermometer simply read the current temperature. Now, smart thermometers have programmable alarms that notify the user when the temperature reaches a pre-set level. Many have separate receivers and transmitters that allow you to monitor temperatures from afar. The most sophisticated units connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi and allow you to view cooking progress from anywhere you have Internet access.
Modern thermostatic controllers (similar to the devices that maintain a constant temperature in your basic home oven) now allow you to change the cooking profile from an app that works on both Apple and Android devices. Wireless connectivity has revolutionized the way we cook outdoors. Bimetal dial thermometers are a technology that is over 100 years old. They are slow and not as accurate as digital ones. Liquid thermometers can be very accurate, but they are also slow. They are most commonly used for refrigerators and freezers.
You need a quick-read manual thermometer
The best way to get well-cooked food on the table and protect it from foodborne illness is to take its temperature with a quick-read thermometer. Dial thermometers often take up to 30 seconds for a single reading and are inaccurate. In contrast, handheld and wired digital probe thermometers provide accurate temperatures in seconds. If you hate apologizing for overcooked meat or removing chicken from your guests' plates to flip it on the grill, you need to get a good quick-read digital thermometer. Simply open the grill, stick a thin probe into the meat, and within seconds, it will tell you the temperature. These handy thermometers are designed to read the temperature at the tip of the probe, allowing you to see accurate readings in less than 2 seconds. They are perfect for everyday cooking, especially hot and fast grilling.
Highly recommended: Ambient temperature probe and wired thermometer for BBQ - Smoker - Oven
Can you imagine cooking indoors if your oven didn’t have a thermometer? Then why would you try cooking outdoors without a good BBQ thermometer. If you want to be the king of the grill, you need to know the actual temperature of the BBQ. And this may sound shocking, but your indoor oven is probably also on the fritz. It probably needs adjusting. So if you buy a good wire thermometer, you can improve your indoor cooking as well. These devices all have a probe that can be placed in the oven next to the food. It sits on a wire and is connected to a meter that you can read outside the cooking chamber and it will tell you the temperature at which the food is cooking.
It can also be inserted into thick cuts of meat and left there while cooking. You will be able to monitor the progress of your cooking without having to open the lid and stab the meat. They are essential for turkey, roasts, hams, pork shoulder, whole hog, brisket and more.
A number of thermometers can be used for both oven and meat temperatures, and a few have dual probes to use for both oven and meat simultaneously. Some units allow you to monitor both food and stove temperatures and set time or temperature alarms to alert you if the BBQ temperature is too low or too high.
Remote controlled wireless thermometers
These thermometers perform the same temperature monitoring functions as their connected brethren, but they allow you to monitor temperatures remotely. Adequate wireless range is a key consideration in terms of performance, as early models often don't work at a distance greater than 10 meters. You can accurately track temperatures with a screen in their pocket while performing other tasks such as mowing the lawn or watching the game.
For charcoal or log cooks: Thermostatic controllers
Thermostatic controllers are a boon for long-term cooks, especially overnighters. You place a probe near the meat and close all but one air inlet. The probe communicates with a fan that passes through the air inlet, which regulates the oxygen supply to the coals. They control the temperature effectively. The best ones can maintain a temperature within a few degrees for hours so you can sleep. Some have multiple probes and mini-computers and can also react to the temperature of the meat. The most sophisticated ones also allow the cook to monitor the temperature of the grill and food remotely using a smartphone or web browser. Some units can be programmed with time and temperature profiles, allowing even greater control over the cooking process.