I finally bought a $25 thermometer for my smoker and it changed everything

Been smoking ribs for like 4 years just guessing the temp, and last week I picked up one of those cheap probe thermometers at a hardware store. My last rack came out perfect for the first time, no more rubbery meat. Has anyone else had a cheap tool totally fix a hobby you thought you were decent at?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma8961d ago

...and now you'll be that guy who can't go back to guessing, which is honestly the real curse. I spent twenty bucks on a digital meat thermometer for my cast iron steaks, and suddenly I'm that person who pokes every piece of meat like a doctor checking for a pulse. It's ruined the thrill of cutting into a chicken thigh and hoping for the best, but at least dinner's reliable.

miles_roberts221d ago

Gotta push back on something here, @uma896. That "twenty bucks" claim is probably underselling it unless you got a real basic one. Maybe it's just me, but decent instant read thermometers usually run closer to thirty or forty if you want one that actually lasts. I mean, I've bought two cheap ones that gave up after a few months, so the real curse might be replacing them over and over. But yeah, you're totally right about the whole vibe shift. There's something lost when you can't just poke a steak and guess by feel anymore. At least my chicken never comes out dry now, so I'll take the trade off.