The 9 Best Wireless Meat Thermometers for All Your Cooking Needs

Are you searching for the best way to add more certainty to cooking a large piece of meat? If you need a specific temperature for your meat, the best option is a wireless meat thermometer. While a traditional thermometer can do the job, it will require you to be in the kitchen near the meat to watch and control the temperature of the dish you are cooking.

Quick Comparison: Top 9 Best Wireless Meat Thermometers

Factors to Consider When Purchasing a Wireless Meat Thermometer

Before you can choose a meat thermometer to purchase, it’s a good idea to understand the different types on the market. There are four different types to choose from, including the following:

• Analog Leave-In Meat Thermometers – This is an oven-safe thermometer that can remain in the meat while it cooks; it can also be used for instant reading of temperatures. This and other analog thermometers have fewer features, are more challenging to read, and have a longer response time.
• Analog Instant-Read Meat Thermometers – For this kind of thermometer, you insert the probe into a cut of meat, check the temperature, and then remove it. This thermometer is not meant to stay in the meat while it cooks and instead should be used toward the end of cooking to check the temperature.
• Digital Leave-In Meat Thermometers – The probe can remain in the meat as it cooks without needing to open the oven or grill but can also be used for instant-read. There is a long cord that connects the probe with a base unit that has a digital screen. These can sometimes be attached to the grill or oven with a magnet or placed nearby on a counter.
• These tend to offer the most features, such as programable temperatures, timers, and audible alerts. Wireless versions allow you to watch the temperature from many feet away using a wireless device or an app on your smartphone.
• Digital Instant-Read Meat Thermometers – All you need to do with this thermometer is turn it on and use it to check the temperature when a meat is nearly done cooking. Many of these offer temperature hold, auto shutoff, and other features.

Some are designed to look like forks and have a thermistor or thermocouple inside the tines. You can see the temperature through an indicator light on the handle or a digital readout. As with other instant-read models, the fork should not remain in the meat while it is cooking.

How Meat Thermometers Work

Whether you are cooking meat in an oven or on a grill, tracking the temperature can sometimes be challenging. A wireless thermometer makes tracking simpler as it facilitates cooking your meats to the right temperature, which is explained by FoodSafety.Gov, and ensures your meal is safe. This gives you extra time to socialize with friends and family, prep other dishes, or do whatever else you need to do.

A digital meat thermometer is designed to be inserted directly into the meat and then will let you know the temperature inside. Many of the models on the market come with two to six probes for convenience. This is especially useful for grilling since, unlike your oven, a grill isn’t going to tell you the exact temperature in most cases.

Being aware of the temperature inside of a grill helps you fine-tune your cooking experience so you can ensure the dishes you make come out perfectly. Since grilling can be a challenge on its own, having a wireless meat thermometer can help you ensure you get the right level of doneness every time you cook.

Another thing that a digital thermometer can help with is determining how long the cooking process will last. This beats waiting around for ages or needing to cut into a piece of meat to determine how done it is visually.

Placing a Thermometer Properly

If you are going to use one of the probes on a thermometer to keep track of the temperature inside of a grill, it should be near the meat but not super close. The reason for that is because there will be a small bubble of colder temperatures near the meat. Instead, place this probe about two or three inches from the meat and about an inch over the grate.

In some cases, your thermometer will come with a clip so you can position it in the optimal spot with ease. If you don’t have access to a clip, wrapping the probe in aluminum foil and placing it on the grate can also work. Just make sure that the end of the probe is not covered in foil.

When using a probe in the actual meat, it’s a good idea to take the temperature from two or three different areas in the thickest part of the meat. When you press the probe in, make sure it goes beyond the center of the meat. You should also avoid touching any bones in the meat since this will result in an elevated temperature.

With a wireless digital meat thermometer, in most cases, wires will connect the probe to the display. The display can be placed outside the grill, smoker, or oven while the probes keep up with how hot it is inside. The probes can be left in the meat while the door or lid is shut so you can watch over the temperature.

Reasons to Choose a Non-Built-In Thermometer

Some grills and smokers come with a built-in thermometer, which is intended to offer information on the temperature inside. However, in most cases, these are analog instruments that can be wildly inaccurate. This is just one of the reasons that people who enjoy grilling often invest in a wireless digital thermometer to use instead.

It also bears knowing that the built-in grill thermometer is usually not on the actual grilling surface. So while a thermometer on the lid might say the temperature is 300 degrees, that’s not the temperature of the grate. With a digital thermometer, you know at every second what temperature your meat is cooking at, which gives you awareness of how much longer it needs to prepare.

Quicker Reading Times with Digital Models

When you use an analog meat thermometer to check on how done a cut of meat is, it can take up to four minutes in some cases. On the other hand, a wireless digital model may give you the same amount of information in just three seconds or so. By the time you get a reading from an analog thermometer, it’s likely that the temperature has already changed, making it less than useful for exact temps.

Considering the Level of Wireless Range

When looking at wireless thermometers, it’s an excellent idea to see how far away from the grill or oven you can go without problems. Even the best wireless meat thermometer is typically going to have a range of around 100 feet or so. However, some can allow you much more distance, which might be useful depending on what else you do while you grill or cook meat.

Thinking About Design, Build, and Durability

One of the things that matters the most when choosing a wireless thermometer is how well it was designed and what materials it is made out of. A heavy-duty model is likely going to be made of metal, but many thermometers also use rubber casing on the outside or incorporate a plastic body.

Also worth thinking about is the size and shape of the thermometer, depending on your needs. Some are box-shaped and rather large to stand up on the grill table; these can also be bolted or otherwise attached to the side of the grill. Other thermometers may be small enough to hold in your hand so you can place them wherever you like.

Another point to consider is how the interface is designed. Some are very user-friendly and easy to use. Many have a screen where you can monitor your meat’s temperature while others require using the app to do so.

Having a simple setup can make things a lot easier when making a piece of meat, as opposed to a more complicated model. Being able to change all the settings by pressing a button is something most people will appreciate.

You should also look at how long the cords for the probes are. Many come in a length of four to six feet, which is typically enough for a good amount of flexibility. However, the longer the cord, the better since you won’t be fighting with the thermometer.

Choosing the Right Type and Amount of Probes

The probes of a thermometer are the most delicate part of the device, which is also why they are known for breaking reasonably easily. This is why choosing durable probes or a model with extra probes can be useful in case there is an accident. You may also want more than one probe if you’ll be cooking several types of meat at the same time.

The number of probes matters because each probe can be used to monitor a piece of meat or the temperature inside your grill or smoker. If you are cooking substantial portions of meat, you may even want to use an additional probe in each.

While there are models that come with four to six probes that can be connected at once, most will come standard with only one to two. Sometimes, purchasing additional probes will be needed depending on what you cook and how often. Another thing to consider is whether you can see the temperature for individual probes on the app or screen.

Needed Options for Alarms

Alarms can be set to let you know when your meat reaches a specific temperature, when food has been cooked for a certain amount of time, or even to let you know if the temperature inside a grill starts to fall. In some cases, the thermometers will offer alerts on your smartphone, which is a plus if you keep your phone by your side at all times. Keep in mind that not all thermometers have alarms, but many of them do.

Considerations When Using an App

If your wireless meat thermometer relies on an app, you need to be sure that it will work with the smartphone you use. As such, it’s crucial to make sure that the model you select works with an app that fits your device. For example, if you use a Samsung phone, you want to be sure there is an Android app available for use.

The application for the thermometer should also be capable of sending you alerts, such as when you go out of range or the cooking time is up. Being able to set up the alerts you want, and having the option to turn off the ones you do not is also useful.

Conclusion

When you have the best wireless meat thermometer, you will never again have to stress about overcooking or undercooking your meat. These portable devices are handy for letting you keep an eye on your food temperatures while hanging out with family, doing yard work, or handling indoor chores. Each of the nine models listed here offers something unique, whether that is special features, durability, or an attractive design.