Instant read thermometers

My only experience has been with Thermapen. I accidently ordered the box of five and got another one free. I sold five and kept one for myself. Two of the ones I sold I had to pay postage to mail them, so the one I kept ended up costing me about $20

I bought 2 of those thermapens from ezgoin. They are the best. I did break one. Wouldnt mind getting another one.

If you are going to use it to grill,or check meats in the oven,or frying pan,where pure speed isn't critical,and you don't need a reading into tenths of a degree.

If you will pull a butt out and check it 2,or 3 places and 30 seconds overall isn't critical.

I'd buy a $10 one from Sam's,Walmart,Target,etc.

Take it home and check your boiling and freezing points,and if they are within 3*-4*,they will be fine.


Write the variance on a piece of tape and stick it on the unit.

This way,when it dies,gets lost,dog eats it,falls in the fire,goes into the wash sink,door slams on it, etc.,you aren't out of pocket much.

Yes,the "gold standard" company might be the Thermapen folks.

If you have the cooker door open and need to check 36 chicken thighs,to within a couple degrees,like at cookoffs,you probably will wind up buying a Thermapen,or two.

I think as a team,we probably had 5,or6.

That said ,there are a bunch of fine,experienced comp cooks,caterers,etc that use the $10 models.

Hope this helps a little.

I "am" looking for speed - with a lower price tag. Yes, this is mainly for the grill. I grill with the lid down as much as possible so, yes, speed is what I am looking for.

Sounds like the decision is being made for you.

Bite the bullet for a Thermapen and you will be pleased.

The other option is try several inexpensive ones,over a few years,and then buy a Thermapen.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
Sounds like the decision is being made for you.

Bite the bullet for a Thermapen and you will be pleased.

The other option is try several inexpensive ones,over a few years,and then buy a Thermapen.

As stated -- "I am looking for OTHER options!"

Every once in awhile Thermapen has reconditioned units. They are as good as new and they'll make you a good deal.

Pays to call and ask before you buy elsewhere. Got my last one like that and if I remember correctly, it was about $50.00.

Thermapen: 1-800-393-6434

This is now my favorite thermometer. Mini Handheld Thermocouple Lots of different probes and accurate. I also have a thermopen which gets used less now. I wish thermoworks had a low cost wireless to keep an eye on temp from inside the house.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
Sounds like the decision is being made for you.

Bite the bullet for a Thermapen and you will be pleased.

The other option is try several inexpensive ones,over a few years,and then buy a Thermapen.

Santa came early this year & guess what she brought...? A nice bright orange ThermaPen! What a gal she is!!!

You'll never look back,and can't believe you didn't have one on the cooker,one in the glove box,and another in the kitchen.

Let's hear it for the Thermapen!!

Been cooking ribs on a CS for 4+ years... first an 008 and now an 055. Have had spotty success for the past two years. Some ribs seemed dry and tough, others were 'pretty good' (tm).

Cooked some ribs tonight and in top-down order, I had 4 shelves of meat.

A shelf of skirts and tips (I cut St Louis)
3 shelves of spares

The spares were from Sams Club ($1.67) but were branded and seemed like a better quality than they usually have. Cooked them at 225 the entire time.

I checked at 4 hrs and basted with CS Spicy BBQ sauce. In 10 deg weather, this was probably a big hit to the temps in the CS.

Checked at 6 hrs using a toothpick which was inconclusive since I haven't done that often. Used the Thermapen and noticed that only the lowest shelf was in the 185 range while the other shelves were around 150+.

Served up the bottom shelf and left the others in. The ribs were excellent! Almost fall off the bone but not quite. Very moist and tender.

Will be using the Thermapen on ribs from now on as well as staying with the better brands of ribs.

Makes me feel like I just got a brand new smoker.

Have owned a Thermapen for a few years. Actually didn't buy it for BBQ. Its highly recommended for baking and cooking and it gets heavy use in our house for that as well as BBQ. Its definitely pricey but they provide great service. I have left mine out in the rain twice after a BBQ and sent it to them for repair. The repair is pretty cheap (I think it was $10 plus postage to Utah).

What I'd really like is the combined termapen/infrared unit but I got a fairly cheap infrared from Sears during last years after Xmas sale so its probably not in my immediate plans.

Bottom line: I don't think there is a cheaper equivalent. Cooks Illustrated, which is always on the lookout for good values, always ends up recommending the thermapen.

I just keep a probe in my meat till its cooked, that way I never have to open the grill an lose heat.

You're missing the point of several posts, Hotpie. I like to check my temps is several places on each piece. Or, like Tom said, if you are smokin' several pieces & need to verify temps in all (you should), the slow, single probes cost you mucho time & heat loss. The ThermaPen is a breeze to use and lightnin' fast.

I wish I would have bought one years ago! But NO! I was too tight.

Once the smoker's probe and/or the remote probe's temp reaches your target, then use the thermapen to check several areas to make sure all locations are cooked to your liking.

Yep,them 36 cornish hen thighs,or the four dozen chicken wings can wear you out,even more than the wired therm setting in a fat pocket,or touching a bone in those four 18 lb shoulders.

yep,

Don't remind me of those fat pockets on the PB's, if I wouldn't have read about it before?? It would have been some dry PB's on my first try. That would have been a REAL disappointment and nobodies fault but mine.

Yep,of course the new folks are excited and want the quick and easy"tricks",without "wasting time" reading all that junk.

Want to know why someone doesn't just post in 50 words,or less,and quit jerkin' them around.

Is any particular color thermapen faster then the others?