Thermo pen.. I'll add it to my list. What about a temp monitor that I can stick into the meat and watch it from a distance? Anything that works with an iPhone that gets good reviews?
I just bought a therma pen looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about. I've used an old dial meat thermo since I started this whole journey and it's never let me down.
The thermaworks smoke has 2 probes and is a very nice. There's a remote monitor for the recliner, it also will have an add on later this year that will make it wifi so you can watch it on your phone.
Making memories!
Current Smokers: Backyard RF Offset and Hybrid RF Offset trailer rig with Cowboy cooker and fish fryer, always room for more........
I decided to look Amazon for a Thermopen. Of course I ran across several similar products including the knock off version made by Lavatools that I bought last year. It only cost 24 bucks and had great reviews. So I decided to conduct a temp test.
Gathered up each of my thermos.
1. Taylor Brand - Pen style- $10 cheapie from Wally World.
2. Backyard Grill- monitor style- $15..another cheapie from Wally World. I have 2 of these.
3. A plain Analog meat thermometer
4. Thermowand- pen style-$24 made by Lavatools sold on Amazon
I put on a pot of boiling water and tried each one. They all read within 2 degrees of each other at room temp. They all read 212 in the boiling water but the Thermowand by Lavatools took about 3-4 seconds to hit temp while each of the others took about 10-12 seconds. The Analog took even longer. The cool down was equally different. Ran the probes under water from the sink...took 30+ seconds to drop temp and even longer to get back to room temp. Lavatools Thermawand was much faster.
I noticed 1 more interesting thing as well. I tested the 2 Backyard Grill- Monitor style thermos side by side. They transmit wireless signal from the base to the monitor with a 30' range. Everything was fine with only I turned on, but when I turned on the second unit, the signals crossed. I only had 1 probe connected and both monitors registered temps...but then both went nuts. Temp fluctuations..lights and alarms went off and on. Bonkers. 1 at a time on these babies.
Lessons learned. Better thermos are faster..definitely a plus and worth it when it counts. Lower priced (not cheap) thermos can definitely get the job done. Cheapos..only when the meal doesn't matter.
Yep, the Thermapen is the fastest thermo I've got but only by a second or two against the cheaper one from Amazon. I also really like that the probe is really thin and doesn't create a gaping hole that all the juices run out of.
If it's tourist season, how come I can't shoot 'em?
I have always heard people say that the Thermopen is fast... but I never really understood how big the difference could be for each thermometer, or how much speed matters in reading temps.