Best thermometer

DirtyMingusMcGee

Hey folks- Over a decade of dragging my feet is coming to an end as I'm getting my first egg soon! (Demo egg from eggtoberfest) So my first of many questions is what is everybody's favorite leave-in meat thermometer? Previous discussions were pretty old so just curious about recent opinions. I'll get to know my egg forwards and backwards first, and have been smoking for years without a leave-in therm but seems that leaving the lid closed on long smokes is pretty important with the egg. Thanks a bunch. 

ColtsFan

Thermoworks Smoke is pretty popular. I use an older Maverick and it does just fine for my needs. I always double check with  the Thermapen MK4

OhioEgger

Fortunately or unfortunately, there are so many good options today that you will get many different recommendations.

I would start by advising a Thermapen for instant-read accuracy.

For the leave-in option, I've used the Maverick ET-732 and been very happy with it. Recently got a Thermoworks Smoke and even happier with that.

BrookieP

Thermapen MK4.

The_Stache

Thermoworks offers a number of "instant read" thermometers that range in price from $15 to $XX.  Because of the quick read capability (and the versitility offered by that) I'm a big fan of their Dot, Pop, etc.  That being said, I use a smoke for both monitoring grate and meat temps on longer cooks.

If you decide to go in whole hog to start with and get a temp maintenance system, it will come with it's own probes.  After 20+ years with an Egg I've found that maintaining temp is pretty easy to do so I haven't gone that step yet!

Welcome!!  Best of luck!

1voyager

Thermoworks Smoke and MK4 is the way to go. I upgraded to Smoke after my Maverick 733 stopped functioning. The build on the Smoke is far superior to Maverick, especially the probes.

You may want to sign up for emails from Thermoworks. They have private sales often. In fact, an open box sale ends today.

Mama Roneck

+1 Thermopen, red

Woodchunk

I don't know about a favorite because the only one I have is the maverick 732. I bought it because of its range, no matter where I am in the house or yard I get a signal and I don't need a cell phone to check anything. I read a lot of reviews before buying. 

I only use it for long cooks as I have learned about how long it takes to smoke things on my egg so I go by time and just check the meat temp with a temp probe near the end. Make sure your dome gauge is spot on

welcome to the boards

fishlessman

i have an old maverick 73 in the drawer, thought it was a must have maybe 15 years ago, have not used it in maybe 10 years. just dont need it anymore for low and slows. i do use the instant read thermopen alot and opening the dome is not that big a deal

lousubcap

welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.
Regarding thermos, thermoworks is a company of choice for many around here.  You have a few options for leave-in depending on how you intend to use the info.  But if you could only get one thermo get an instant read.  FWIW-
As above, make sure your dome thermo is calibrated.  

WeberWho

Thermapen the last 7 years or so. 100% reliable. Some will complain about the price. So far it has cost me roughly a $1/month to own. Hard to complain about price for how often it gets used

HeavyG

How much $$ do you want to spend?

DoubleEgger

Get a Pop instead of the MK4 and save yourself $60. It's just as good. As far as leave in is concerned,  you might want to hold off and decide if you want a blower unit like a Flameboss that has leave in probes. 

Also, my recommendation is to hold off buying a bunch of accessories. Cook for a little while and then start buying the things that will give you the most benefit. Way too many new eggers run out and buy a bunch of crap they ultimately don't use. People here will entice you to buy all kinds of stuff that you don't really need. 

Finally, welcome to the forum. Take us with a grain of salt especially on Friday nights...

DirtyMingusMcGee

Thanks for info so far. Do have a thermopen and love it. If I upgrade to a leave-in would like to spend less than $100. Don't care about bluetooth. Just know I'll be worked up with my first few long/overnight smokes. 

Shiff

The smoke is $100 and is well worth the money.  As others have said, subscribe to their email mailing list and wait for a sale. I got my smoke a month or so ago when they had a 15% off sale on everything.

caliking

Plenty of folks can give you an opinion on which Thermoworks product to buy, and that will depend on what your needs, budget, etc are. 

One thing to consider is that their customer service is excellent. Many forum members have dealt with them and I can't recall anyone having an unsatisfactory experience. Relatively inexpensive to get your item repaired through them too. Which can't be said about many other things. 

Focker

Been really happy with my Gen 1 and 2 Thermapens, Chef Alarm for pit monitoring on the KBQ and WSMs, frying, and a Timestick for the kitchen.  

The FB 200 is versatile, switching it between my eggs and WSMs.  Has worked flawlessly each time deployed.

Was given a Digi Q DX2.  CS at BBQ Guru has been spotty, at best.  I would avoid them.

Lots of options, as you can see.  But it's hard to beat a Thermapen.  My buddy sent a link the other day that had a refurbed MK4 for $69 for 48 hrs if I recall.  Get on their newsletter.

HeavyG

DirtyMingusMcGee said:

Thanks for info so far. Do have a thermopen and love it. If I upgrade to a leave-in would like to spend less than $100. Don't care about bluetooth. Just know I'll be worked up with my first few long/overnight smokes. 

For $100 or less I'd say go with the Smoke or, if you don't care about having a remote reading piece, get the ChefAlarm.