Raise the Temperature

There’s that hold-your-breath moment when you slice into a rib steak and send up a prayer that it’s a perfect pinky red throughout. What most people leave up to little skill and a lot of chance can be easily remedied by a meat thermometer (unless you’re my husband and insist on doing it by feel).

I risked my husband’s ire and probed the meat he was grilling for Shabbos to test which meat thermometer is best for home cooks. I looked for ease of use, quick results, easy cleaning, and overall performance.

Here’s how it went down.

Testing, Testing

1. I checked for footprint – how much space did it take up?

2. Ease of use – was it easy to figure out how to use it?

3. Actually use – did it do a good job, was it accurate?

4. Cleaning and care – how easy was it to clean and take care of?

Rubbermaid

Price: $8.29

Notes: Its small display makes anchoring and securing it in meat easier and more stable. Has a cover. Is not oven-safe. Measures up to 220 degrees. Takes a few seconds for the temp to start rising.

Stars: 4.3

ThermoPro

Price: $21.99

Notes: Could be cool and practical, but it kept beeping and didn’t measure the temp when I placed the probe. Maybe if I spent more time on it, I’d figure it out, but really it should be easier. Others actually did the job with fewer unnecessary bells and whistles.

Stars: 2

Alpha Grillers

Price: $16.98

Notes: Gives temp in 2-3 seconds, has a hook, recalibrate function, extra battery, and a temp doneness guide. Measures up to 572 degrees Fahrenheit. Can switch to Celsius.

Stars: 4.5

ThermoPro Instant

Price: $19.99

Notes: Comes with 2, has a probe cover with thoughtful design for offset measuring, switches to Celsius, measures up to 572 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure in 5-7 seconds.

Stars: 4.8

Oxo

Price: $12.99

Notes: Measures Celsius in display, probe cover has doneness guide, measures up to 220 degrees. Large display makes it a little unstable when probing meat.

Stars: 4

Sinardo

Price: $10.99

Notes: Doneness guide in display, measures up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Large display makes it unstable when probing meat.

Stars: 3.5

Overall Winner: ThermoPro Instant

Besides for the Termpro Smart Kitchen that tries and fails, they all do the job admirably. It comes down to features. This Thermpro is sleek, measures a wide range of temperatures, has thoughtful features to make measuring more comfortable, and it’s also a great price.

Tip: If you like your meat well done, don’t bother with a thermometer – in fact don’t bother with meat. You’re just butchering it. You might as well eat a hockey puck – same color, same texture.