When I think of summertime fun, the two things that immediately come to mind are bourbon on the rocks and a good slab of smoked brisket. Not only are these two great flavors that just naturally go together, but they also both take a significant amount of time and attention to get right. But keeping an eye on that brisket can be challenging, and getting the temperature just right is a struggle. — which is where the Meater wireless smart thermometer really shines.
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I have been a Meater user for nearly 2 years and I absolutely love this product. I started with the Meater Plus model, and upgraded to the Meater Block last summer. This review comes after years of thorough testing.
Meater is a product created by Appiton Labs, a technology startup based the UK focused on developing smarter consumer products. Founded by three friends (Joseph Cruz, Teemu Navala, and Dawson Chang) in 2015, Appiton Labs’ “passion is driven by [our] people and commitment to get results the right way – by focusing on solving problems, executing quickly and responsibly, capturing new opportunities for growth and the constant pursuit of forward progress.” In 2021, Meater was acquired by Traeger Grills.
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Meater’s goal is to take the guesswork out of cooking. It’s a small (130mm long x 6mm thick) probe that is inserted into your food to measure both the external and internal temperature of whatever happens to be for dinner. The probe connects to a base unit (more on that in a second) which transmits the data it gathers to a smartphone app where you can monitor your cook and set alarms to alert you when everything is ready.
The app is the primary interface for the Meater. When you are starting a new cook, you first insert your probe in the thickest part of the meat, the same way you would use any instant read kitchen thermometer. Then you open the app, select your probe, and then tell it what kind of meat you are cooking and how well done you want it to be when it’s finished. If you are cooking a steak, you can specify rare to medium well (and if you want well done, we cannot be friends). If you’re not sure the right temperature for your meat, it also is able to recommend the USDA safe cooking temperature — 165 degrees for chicken, for example.
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This guided cook system will be used to walk you through the rest of the processes, providing you data, estimated time remaining, and alerts to ensure you have a perfect and consistent outcome.
I recently cooked a 4 pound beef brisket flat. I inserted the probe, selected beef brisket as the cook type, and dialed in the finished temperature as 103 degrees. I then sat back and relaxed (occasionally with some bourbon), as I knew this would take all day.
The one thing that I have noticed is that while this tool is really good at predicting the cook times of items that will be done within a couple of hours, it does struggle with the prediction of longer grilling adventures. Especially for smoking meats — it usually says that things will be done before lunch, when in reality you might be pushing sunset before everything is ready. That said, it still provides a ton of really great information at your fingertips and allows you to monitor how things are going even if the timing estimates can be misleading.
The first estimate I got on the app showed about 6 hours, which I knew from past experience would be low. However, I was able to check in on the progress of my brisket, see the ambient temperature around the probe, and track when it started to hit the stall point (which is when I like to wrap mine in butcher paper and slightly increase the grill temperature). Instead of constantly checking my smoker like normal, I was able to watch this and monitor it from my deck chair, which was a much nicer way to spend the afternoon.
One of my favorite views is the temperature graph. This allows me to check on the progress over time. You can see from my recent brisket cook, there are two dips in grill temperature that influenced things. The first was around three hours, when the brisket started to stall and it was quickly wrapped. The second is when other sides began to be loaded into the grill.
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After the resting period, which Meter also times and alerts you to, your phone buzzes to tell you that it’s time to eat. In the end, I got a wonderful tender and moist brisket that was effortless.
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The biggest choice you have if you decide to get a Meater is which charging base / repeater you want. The Meater Plus comes with a single probe, and a repeater that connects to your phone via bluetooth. The official website claims a range of 165 feet with the bluetooth connection, but mine always seems to be some heavy interference before I can get that far. The other option is the beefier, four-probe, wi-fi enabled Meater Block.
The block connects to the Meater Cloud environment via wi-fi and allows you to check in on a cook from anywhere you have an internet connection. (I am not sure why you would want to, but you could theoretically check in on your Meater while you are on a European vacation.) It also boasts 4 probes, which is great when you live by the mantra “a full smoker is a happy smoker”. Each probe can be set up as a different cook, allowing you to create a smorgasbord of perfectly cooked meat
The Meater Plus retails for 99.95, while the more feature rich Meater Block retails for $299.95.
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The Meater is an amazing product that takes the guess work out of grilling. I even put it through the most difficult challenge – Christmas prime rib. Imagine a snowy Chicago Christmas morning, where the temperature is barely above freezing. You fire up the Traeger and hear from multiple people that one prime rib needs to be medium rare and the other needs to be medium well (this used to be a constant argument with the family). No problem, Meater makes it so simple to monitor the progress form the warmth of your home and accurate enough to guarantee that you are put in charge of the grill for years to come.
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Meater Smart Temperature Probe System
Meater Plus: $99.95 (Amazon)
Meater Block: $299.99 (Amazon)
Overall 5/5
Meater makes grilling simple, so you can focus on the important things – like deciding what bourbon to drink.
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