Tools of the Trade: Maverick ET-73 Smoker Thermometer

When you're using a smoker, one of the most difficult things to do is keep track of temperature. Not only do you have to worry about the chamber temperature, but you also have to worry about the internal temperature of whatever you're cooking. Lifting the lid to check on that is only going to make the cook time longer, as well as letting out all the smoke... not to mention the fact that you have to go outside to do it.

All these things seem like petty things to worry about when you're making delicious food, but when you're cooking something for 8 hours or more, you'd be happy to have something that would make your life a little easier.

To this day, I haven't found a better solution than the Maverick Smoker Thermometer. Not only does it monitor both temperatures, but it does it from inside your house with its remote receiver. I love to constantly monitor those long smokes, and this gives me the ability to do it without having to constantly hover over the smoker, which is a great thing indeed.

The waterproof remote transmitter has two probes, one that mounts to the cooking grate (with a supplied bracket) to monitor chamber temperature, and another food probe that is inserted into the meat. Last year I smoked a brisket for about 12 hours in a rainstorm with 20mph winds. This was for a competition or I would have avoided cooking on this day entirely. Although it sounds annoying, I was inside for the vast majority of the time and only had to go out to make some minor adjustments and add fuel very occasionally. It really made the experience a lot more tolerable. Even going outside every half hour to check my temps would have been a huge ordeal.

I'm not sure what the maximum range is, but it had no trouble making it the 60 feet into my apartment with fresh AAA batteries (supplied!), and the fact that the transmitter even has a cycling display was a big bonus. That way the receiver can live inside the kitchen, and when I walk by the smoker on the way to do something else I can check up on the progress without having to be near the other unit.

A small transmitter icon on the receiver lets you know if you're out of range, and the temperature of the meat probe seems reasonably accurate (within 3 degrees of my instant read). Setup is a breeze, just turn the transmitter on first and then the receiver to synchronize them. The entire system retails for under $40 from most places, and is available at Fred's Music and BBQ Supply locally, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. Remember, if you're lookin', you aint cookin'.

Tools of the Trade: Maverick OT-03BBQ Digital Grill Thermometer

Let me start by saying that for the money, this is a VERY impressive thermometer. I'm not going to go all infomercial on you by describing all of its features and benefits and then asking you "how much would you pay?" or anything, so I'll come right out and say it. $24.99 is all this thing costs. Maverick did an amazing job with the design of this unit, and I'd gladly pay $40 for one now that I've used it.

I've used digital thermometers in the past to measure the internal temperature of something I was cooking, but never one that gave me the air temperature in the cooking chamber of the grill. For this I've tried bi-metal candy/fryer thermometers stuck in the vents, standard off-the-shelf oven thermometers and the venerable Outset F810 (which since writing my previous review got stuck at 300F and has gone to glory) on the surface of the grill; while these are all inexpensive solutions, none of them are really ideal. With any dial type thermometer on the grill surface you have to lift the lid to check your temp, which gives your coals additional oxygen, making it even harder to keep the temp regulated. The thermometer in the vent is good for some things, but the tip never gets near the grill surface (dome temp and grill surface temperature can vary by 30 or more degrees) and can bang into your food when you put the lid on. Additionally, you can't close the lid vent all the way to cool the coals down and still monitor your temperature.

While this Maverick BBQ thermometer is their entry level product for this application, don't let the low price fool you. This thing is packed with features, and all of them are very well thought out and easy to use. The first time I used it, I didn't even look at the instructions. I'm not saying this to impress you with my dazzling ability to figure things out, but to give you an idea of how intuitive the design really is; anyone can read the instructions and use something the first time, but what will happen if they don't use it for a year and can't find the instructions again?

Included in the package is a probe with a metal clip that holds it to the underside of the cooking grate, the thermometer unit and a stand. The stand stays clipped to the back of the thermometer when you aren't using it to keep it from wandering off; in this position it can also be used to hang the unit on a wall. On the back of the body of the thermometer are a pair of magnets that can be used to stick it to any nearby metallic object. I wouldn't think it would be wise to stick it to the outside of your grill when it was in use, but you could also use this model as an oven thermometer.

The real beauty of the design is that not only does it display the temperature inside your grill, but it allows you to set a target temperature; if you go more than 15 degrees above or below an audible alarm goes off to let you know your grill needs attention; since it goes on average temperature over a 10 second span, the displayed temperature isn't shooting all over the place making it harder to read quickly. When you are close to your target temperature the display will read "optimal" to let you know you're making the right choices. The Start/Stop button on the top of the thermometer can be used to temporarily silence the alarm, I'm a big fan of the placement of this button as you can easily hit it without removing your gloves. If the beeping gets to be too obnoxious while you're shuffling your food around with the lid open you can always switch the alarm off. The display is huge and very easy to read from a distance, which is certainly a plus.

The folks at Maverick didn't stop there; they added a timer so you can keep track of how long you've had the food on, or put it in count down mode so an alarm goes off once time has expired.

The probe is built to withstand temperature spikes up to 700 degrees, but the manual recommends that you not exceed 482 degrees for more than 4 hours as the braided stainless probe wire might deteriorate; placing the probe close to the edge of your cooking grate away from direct heat should keep it well below that unless you're trying to use your grill as a blast furnace.

This is a great device to help you learn the basics of temperature control as well; I sat next to the grill and maintained 350 degrees for around a half hour in an empty grill with very little effort. In fact, I was seated most of the time enjoying a beer, not hopping up to check the dial. I can't wait to try it out on a much longer smoke in the very near future.

This thermometer can be purchased semi-locally at Fred's Music and BBQ Supply in Shillington PA (just outside Reading) as well as on Amazon for a few dollars more.

Go grab one- pick up a couple racks of ribs while you're out to save yourself a trip later!

Tools of the Trade: Outset F810 Grill Surface Thermometer review

The Outset Grill Surface Temp Thermometer tells you the real story under that lid.

If you are planning on doing any serious outdoor cooking with your grill or smoker, you need to keep in mind that that bobo-ass thermometer they stuck through the lid of your grill isn't going to tell you what you want to know. The folks at Outset have your back, though.

Charcoal or gas, this thing will save your food from a fiery death due to temp spikes or uneven cooking caused by cold spots. You can easily slide it around the surface to measure several locations. Please don't use your fingers though- you'd be surprised how often you think it'll be safe to touch even when the needle reads 350 degrees. I've had mine a few years now and have purchased several for friends, and none of them are broken yet, despite some fairly heavy use. The body is made of stainless steel, so a quick cleanup after use will keep it looking sharp for years. It measures only 2.25” across, so its easy to shuffle out of the way of the food as you flip it.

We've used these with great success in our charcoal grills and smokers, and with similar results in propane configurations. The temperature difference between the grill surface and the lid thermometer was sometimes as much as 50 degrees. Readings are also shown in metric for scientists and Europeans.

They can be purchased from Amazon for around $10, less than the cost of a few racks of ribs you might ruin without one. As far as grilling gadgets go, this one should be listed in the “essentials” column.

My only (very, very small) complaint is that only “grill” and “sear” ranges are shown, not the lower “smoke” temperatures. I guess they figure that if you are smoking you probably know how to read numbers.

Get one now before you burn something else, mmkay?