The 8 Best Meat Thermometers for Grilling Your Most Delicious Steak Yet, According to Our Testers and Customer Reviews
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Even if you already consider yourself a grill master, it never hurts to have a little help. A Bluetooth meat thermometer is a great assistant, pinging you once your food reaches its desired internal temperature (because the only thing worse than an undercooked steak is an overcooked one). Plus, it makes it so you’re not constantly babysitting and opening the oven or grill, giving you more time to enjoy the barbecue. So you have help while you shop, read the following breakdown of the best ones on the market below, according to PureWow testers and customer reviews.
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How We Tested the Best Meat Thermometers
To choose the best Bluetooth meat thermometers, we first looked at options that our editors own, love and would recommend to the average griller. We also researched options that have at least a 4.6-star rating among thousands of reviews and are top sellers in their own right. We chose Bluetooth thermometers that have a large temperature range and wide range of connectivity (so you don't have to stand directly over them), and that either had a companion app or was easy to connect to your phone. We also picked models at a variety of price points for both occasional and frequent grillers.
For the models our testers tried first-hand, they conducted boiling water, ice water and grill tests to rate the thermometer for consistency and accuracy. They also cooked with it multiple times. Once the tests were conducted, the meat thermometers were rated for:
The Top 3 Meat Thermometers, Based on Editors' Tests
The Best Meat Thermometers, According to Our Testers
1. MEATER Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer
TOTAL: 90/100
Cooking meat to perfection is practically foolproof with this wireless smart thermometer that Candace Davison, PureWow's VP of editorial, loves. With two temperature sensors, you can check on both the internal meat temperature up to 212°F and the external temperature up to 527°F to ensure perfect doneness from the inside out. "It truly takes the guesswork out of cooking," she claims. "It's so easy to use, and when you follow its instructions, you can cook pretty much anything to perfection. I was so skeptical, and at first, I hated all of its beeping and chiming, and then I tasted my first steak."
It's completely wire-free, meaning you can leave it in the covered grill or oven without opening either or dealing with a long probe wire. "The app offers a simple, direct selection of different meats and cuts. There are a variety of customizable notifications that include five-minute warnings, when the cook is at temperature and even live notifications about how long to rest the meat before serving," she adds.
The meat thermometer is easy to store and easy on the eyes to boot. "It's sleek and compact with a magnetic wood case that sticks to the side of my fridge. It blends in, so you hardly notice it, but it's always within arm's reach (no rifling through drawers) when I need it."
The downsides? The original Meater's range is limited to about 20 feet from the grill, making for some connectivity issues if you go too far. (The upgraded model, the Meater Plus, can reach 165 feet.) Similarly, Davison claims "thinner cuts of meat where the thermometer is not directly in the center of the meat may result in the thermometer detecting higher temperatures on the side closer to the heat and lower temperatures on the side away from heat."
2. ThermoWorks Smoke Remote BBQ Alarm Thermometer
TOTAL: 86/100
Unlike most digital meat thermometers on this list, the ThermoWorks Smoke does have a companion app, but you don't necessarily need it to monitor your grilling. Instead, you’ll get a nifty receiver with a digital display that shows you the internal temperature down to the decimal, as well as the temperature of the grill or oven. The benefit of this is that you can take a quick glance at the receiver rather than opening your phone.
Despite this seeming fussier than an app, our tester assures that it's a breeze. "The operating instructions had all the information to get started. The page with all the descriptions of the indicators and controls on the device was the most helpful. Adjusting the settings for each channel, such as the upper and lower temperature limits and alarms, was easy. The backlight and volume levels are convenient features."
It comes with two probes to monitor two different cuts or kinds of meats, which can be read in a split screen on the device—just be sure to remember what probe you designated where—and a temperature range of -58 to 572°F. After cooking with it a slew of times, our tester suggests using this meat thermometer for longer cooks, like roasts. "Foods that require a longer cooking time are good candidates for this product. You can leverage the app and remote monitor, so you can do other tasks while staying on top of the cooking progress. It's not as useful when you're grilling steaks where you need to be present to monitor it (I find the finger method just as effective)," he adds.
As for its physical design, our tester wishes there was an easier way to set the base down near the grill. "My grill does not have any flat surface to place the base monitor. The base does have a handle to move it around, so a simple feature, such as a hook to the monitor, would be helpful."
3. Meat°it 3 Thermometer
TOTAL: 86/100
Both the case and the thermometer of the Meat°it 3 are surprisingly stylish, making it something you’ll want to display in your grill caddy. Like most meat thermometers, it captures both the internal temperature and cooking speed, but this one also has one of the widest ranges: From -22°F to 1,000°F.
Our tester explains that it may take some troubleshooting, but the thermometer does its job in the end. "I used it for smoking a pork butt and it was a little glitchy while I was using it, so I got nervous it wasn't correctly reading the temperature and ended up using another thermometer to make sure everything was right. It had a few hiccups in getting to the temperature my normal thermometer was at, but it did get there."
As for the Bluetooth range, the package says it reaches up to 320 feet, but our tester said, "the app would disconnect from the thermometer 25 feet from my house. I ended up having to leave my phone on my porch while I went inside and had to keep coming out to check it, which was a bummer. The app was easy to use and the instructions to use the device were simple enough; it just didn't execute as seamlessly as I feel it should've."
That said, he appreciates the thermometer's streamlined design. "It's incredibly sleek and compact, which is great for cleaning and storing. You'll definitely want to keep track of the box or else it could easily get misplaced if you keep these sorts of tools in a disheveled drawer."
He also recommends using it on short-term cooks. "I had to smoke my meat through the night, so it was in use for hours and the battery died."
Other Bluetooth Meat Thermometers to Consider, Based on Customer Reviews
4. ThermoPro Bluetooth Meat Thermometer
At less than $40, this model from ThermoPro is relatively affordable compared to others on this list—though it does feature fewer bells and whistles. It has two probes, allowing you to monitor two cuts of meat at once or cook multiple foods to perfect doneness. Aside from a useful companion app with a 500-foot signal reach, there’s also a digital display to get the temperature at a glance. The app has nice features like a time estimator, timer mode and temperature graph to get a full view of the cooking progress. It also can withstand temperatures of up to 572°F.
5. Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer
Our editors consider the Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer one of the best gifts for a home chef. Why? Aside from reading the temperature of your meat and pinging you at a desired temperature or time, the companion app also features an assisted cooking program to take the guesswork out of preparing most cuts of meat, fish and poultry. You just select your meat option and begin. With a range of 150 feet and abient temperature readings of up to 572°F, you won’t be chained to the grill and will feel like a grill master in no time.
6. ThermoPro TempSpike Truly Wireless Meat Thermometer
If you’re an entertainer who's often scrambling back and forth between the backyard and the kitchen while hosting a party, this might be the Bluetooth meat thermometer for you. It has an lengthy wireless range of 500 feet, meaning the included app will still ding you from the other side of the house, and it warns you when you’re out of range. It’s completely wire-free and has two temperature sensors for both the internal temp of the meat and the temperature of the oven or grill. The app itself offers USDA-recommended preset temperatures for what you plan on cooking and can estimate how long to cook with both pit temperature alarms and cooking pre-alarms that trigger a few degrees of the target temperature.
7. Chef iQ Smart Wireless Meat Thermometer
The thing that keeps the Chef iQ from being an editor-favorite thermometer is the small size of the probe, which makes it ideal for smaller cuts of meat (and thus less versatile). That said, it's a solid choice for anyone who's new to cooking. The hub acts as both a charger for the probe and your personal sous chef that will talk you through your cooking with voice alerts for when food is done, as well as relaying that important information to your phone through the app. Plus, if you’d like you can purchase two additional thermometers to use with the hub, which can be helpful if you like monitoring each cut or are cooking different meats at once. It has one of the longest-lasting batteries (up to 40 hours for your slow cooked brisket) and can handle temperatures up to 572°F.
8. NutriChef Smart Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer
Fitted with a display screen and companion app that shows you the internal temperature of what you’re cooking and notifications when dinner is ready, this Bluetooth meat thermometer also lets you use up to six (!) probes at a time. It’s great for the person who likes to ensure every steak is seared just right, or if you want to cook multiple things at once. Just know it only comes with two in the set, so you’ll have to purchase additional probes separately. Otherwise, you can monitor multiple cuts from about 200 feet away with reassurance you won’t overcook it. Bonus: It’s pocket sized and comes with a travel case for when you need to bring it on vacation or to a barbecue.
What to Look for in a Bluetooth Meat Thermometer
A good Bluetooth meat thermometer requires a few key features. First, you want an accurate probe that will deliver the correct temperature in fractions of a second. You’ll also want something that connects seamlessly to the Bluetooth on your phone or tablet. A useful companion app is also nice.
What's the Best Overall Meat Thermometer?
According to our editor tests, the MEATER Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer is the best overall meat thermometer.
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