First impressions: Meater temp probe

[Mad_dog97]

As mentioned in this post I got my Meater in the mail after a long wait (and what I assumed was a wasted donation): http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251207

Wanted to give my review after my first cook -- Some Prime boneless ribeyes from Costco. I'm more interested in how it does for a long cook (ex. BBQ Pork Butt), but this will have to do to start.

Overall I was pretty happy with it. I used my Thermoworks Smoke probes as my control, and found that the Meater did very well with the internal temps. Pit temps were a little off (about 15 degrees), but that could have very well been my pit (Primo). I definitely want to test it out some more, and have some concerns with the long term reliability, but so good so far. I did find that the iPhone app was good, and I really liked a couple features. The "Time remaining" was really nice. It estimates how long it'll be until your meat gets to the target temp. The chart feature was pretty cool too. Pictures of both are below.

Setup: I was looking to reverse sear these ribeyes, so some things won't be "ideal". I was going for a nice medium rare, and wanted to pull the steaks when they were around 110. I let them rest until my grill was blazing, and then did a quick 1-2 minute sear. I pulled the temp probes before doing the last sear.

Now on to the pics:

EDIT: Not sure why the pictures are so massive - If anyone knows how to reduce the size please let me know. You can directly go to the album here if you'd rather: https://imgur.com/gallery/rGtHB

1) Steaks ready to go on the grill. Meater in one, and my Thermoworks Smoke probe in the other

2) On the "cool" side of the grill

3) Screenshot of Meater App: -- Liked the 'Time remaining' feature

4) Side by side with my Thermoworks -- Note that the app is telling me to pull the meat knowing that in resting it will rise to the target temp

5) Temp graph - Note that you can clearly tell where I a) put on the meat, b) opened the lid to check progress and c) pulled the meat

6) Searing over some blazing coals -- Temp sensors are out at this point

7) On the plate -- Temp was a perfect medium rare

 

[Mad_dog97]

Sorry for the massive image size. . . let me see what I can do to reduce that to normal


---- Thanks SmoothBoarBBQ - These are now a bit more of a manageable size.

 

[Nuco59]

So, what's the next test? I'm with you - a big hunk of meat in a smoker for a day long cook would be the best test.

Steaks looked lovely btw. I like a bit more char - but that's just me :grin:

 

[pjtexas1]

Appreciate the review. Steaks look great.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Looks good... it looks as though your have the ambient probe end touching the grill grate, so that might be a reason for the difference compared to the Smoke.

I'm doing my first run of the Meater today on a full packer brisket in my Kong Kamado and I'm also using the Smoke as a "control." Something I've already noticed is that the ambient temps are always going to be different because the ambient temp probe has to be very close to the meat. So the cold meat is going to suck up some of the energy before it gets to the probe. Something I'll keep an eye on but so far setup was easy, the app is nice and simple to use, and the probe went into the meat with very little hassle.

If you're using Imgur you can go and "edit" each picture, then use the "crop/resize" feature and as long as you have the "aspect ratio" locked you can just type in a smaller number on either side of the picture dimensions and it will reduce the picture. When you save it the picture will have a new address though, so make sure to copy / paste the new address.

Good review and I'll get mine up this evening after I'm finished with the cook.

 

[Mad_dog97]

SmoothBoarBBQ -- Thanks for the help on changing the size. Hopefully they're a bit better for everyone.

Definitely curious how your brisket cook goes. Let us know what you think.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Mad_Dog, pics looks much better! So far I'm also impressed with the range of the MEATER. Early reports were that it was going to be about 10 feet, but I'm at about 20 feet now and it's holding a strong connection. I'm still very close in both internal and ambient temp to what the Smoke is showing. Looking good so far!

 

[dadsr4]

Thanks for the posts. I'm glad there is some solid info finally coming out. I still wonder about the safety of exposing a battery to the heat next to food. Looking at the prices people here post for brisket, for example, I wouldn't risk it. I'm also curious about how long batteries will last at those temperatures, higher heats do shorten battery life quite a bit.

 

[CeramicChef]

Nice review! I was beginning to think the Meater was the equivalent to Vaporware, but that idea is slowly being put to rest. They seem to have a very nice interface.

Like dadsr4 I'm interested in how this unit performs over time and several cooks. Again, nice review and I'm looking forward to subsequent reviews. Kudos to ya!

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Thanks for the posts. I'm glad there is some solid info finally coming out. I still wonder about the safety of exposing a battery to the heat next to food. Looking at the prices people here post for brisket, for example, I wouldn't risk it. I'm also curious about how long batteries will last at those temperatures, higher heats do shorten battery life quite a bit.

The MEATER spent YEARS in production and according to their updates they did extensive testing, likely above and beyond, to ensure the probe doesn't explode. They say it's rated to an ambient temp of 527°F and I don't think they would feel safe with that number if it wasn't thoroughly tested. They gave some of these things to beta testers and basically had them beat the ever living crud out of them; grilling, baking, all kinds of stuff, and then they made the final adjustments and were cleared to manufacture.

Obviously we'll have to wait and see what happens but reading through those updates over the last year or so, while waiting for the MEATER, I'm pretty comfortable using the product. It's good to see someone utilize due diligence rather than just rush a pile of junk to the market.

 

[Mad_dog97]

Mad_Dog, pics looks much better! So far I'm also impressed with the range of the MEATER. Early reports were that it was going to be about 10 feet, but I'm at about 20 feet now and it's holding a strong connection. I'm still very close in both internal and ambient temp to what the Smoke is showing. Looking good so far!

I was worried about range as well, especially after sticking it in a hunk of meat, and inside of a ceramic cooker. Like you I was able to get 20+ feet on mine.

I did cheat a bit however. Since I had an old iphone that I wasn't using, I loaded the app on that one as well, connected to wifi, and left it in range of the Meater. If you have the Cloud option enabled, it will then allow your main device to get connected through the internet. I didn't leave the house and try it out in the wild, but it worked perfectly everywhere around the house that I was connected to my wifi.

 

[dadsr4]

According to Duracell, "You’ll want to avoid putting battery-powered devices in very warm places."
I've seen quite a few batteries start to leak when left in a car during the summer in Michigan. Leakage is what first came to mind when I read about this product.

 

[jimstocks53]

still waiting here...........

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

According to Duracell, "You’ll want to avoid putting battery-powered devices in very warm places."
I've seen quite a few batteries start to leak when left in a car during the summer in Michigan. Leakage is what first came to mind when I read about this product.

I certainly wouldn't put a normal alkaline battery in a smoker, but obviously this thing has been engineered specifically to be used in higher temperature situations.

 

[unzippy]

I expect the battery is down the "cold" end and therefore insulated by the meat.

but it worked perfectly everywhere around the house that I was connected to my wife.

:shock:

 

[ironmanerik]

I expect the battery is down the "cold" end and therefore insulated by the meat.

:shock:

That never crossed my mind. You sir are a genius!

 

[dadsr4]

I expect the battery is down the "cold" end and therefore insulated by the meat.



:shock:

There is a term, "Fail safe". The idea is that, worse case, if things go wrong, nothing bad happens.
So, just a "tiny leak"...
Maybe I'm too careful. I did spend a week in the hospital with food poisoning that they never did locate a source for.