Meater testing

[sudsandswine]

I finally broke down and ordered a Meater thermometer, big thanks to Big Poppa Smokers for the gift card from a previous TD win! I’ve had it for a while but this was my first opportunity to use it, so I put it through its paces.

My review is that it’s super easy to use, from setup to the app to use during the cook, I’d occasionally have connectivity issues when I would change for floors and/or put significant distance in between me and the base station but I’m not really faulting it for that. I like how it continues to assess the rate your meat is cooking combined with the trend of cooker temp to estimate when it’ll hit your target temp. So far so good, I look forward to continue using it. Really nice to not have to mess with corded probes and to have meat and ambient temp all in one.

I did beef ribs yesterday and a smallish brisket I’ve been wet aging in the fridge. Some Hatch Chile sausage to use up the residual heat at the end of the brisket cook.

 

[SmokinAussie]

Amazing pics, never mind the Meater.

Wow!

 

[Gnarlbecue]

Nice looking cooks!

I like the Meater too, but it's range is not all that great. I have the old, basic one with no repeater in the base station. I have to use an old cell phone as a Bluetooth repeater or I can't even go more than 30ft away.

 

[sudsandswine]

That would be annoying. It doesn’t solve my need to monitor temps when I’m away from the house either, so -1 in that regard.

 

[Gnarlbecue]

Sign up for Meater Cloud. If your unit is connected to wifi, you can monitor your cook from anywhere with internet, as long as your probe stays connected.

It's free. You just have to make an account.

https://support.meater.com/faqs/setting-up-meater-cloud

 

[sudsandswine]

Thanks for the tip, I didn’t even look into that.

 

[Get’n Smokey]

Nice work!!

:thumb:

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

MEATER is a good piece of equipment with a few quirks, but overall it's a fine thermometer. Connection problems can be an issue, but as already stated an extra cellphone with MEATER Cloud will pretty much solve that issue.

Note : Keep the probe VERY clean as any smoke residue will disallow the probe to charge. What I found to work the best is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponges.

Grub looks phenomenal as well!

 

[TheHojo]

Great looking cook - and second keeping MEATER probe clean for both charging and connectivity - what works best for me is a little baking soda and white vinegar

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Very nice cook

 

[ronbrad62]

:jaw: (no words, speechless)

 

[snadamo]

The food looks great! And thanks for sharing your thoughts on the probe. I have been contemplating this for some of the higher temp cooks I do (steak, loin, etc).

 

[sudsandswine]

There is a "high temp limit" where you risk damaging the probe if you exceed, I don't recall exactly but the number 514* or so is what comes to mind. As long as you can keep the temps under that when higher temp cooking then you should be fine. I'm not one of those people that tries to go molten hot on my ceramic grill when searing a steak, but 450-500* is fairly common so it does add another dimension to it. I don't usually take temp when direct grilling steaks, but if I did, a quick read would probably be my method. The probe will complain loudly, apparently, if you surpass that threshold.

 

[Cat797]

Sign up for Meater Cloud. If your unit is connected to wifi, you can monitor your cook from anywhere with internet, as long as your probe stays connected.

It's free. You just have to make an account.

https://support.meater.com/faqs/setting-up-meater-cloud

^^^This is what I do. I have the original 4 probe block from the kickstart campaign, and I find that the range is pretty limited. I just set my block next to the grill/smoker, and the block is connected to my wifi. I can monitor temps from anywhere then.

 

[funugy]

I purchased mine when they first came out after the kickstarter sales. I had to wait a few months, but I use it whenever I smoke anything thick enough, i.e. turkey, brisket, pulled pork, etc.

I do not use it for short higher temp cooks on my grill, those cooks are short enough that I just use my Thermapen.

I have only used the block via wifi and never found a need to try bluetooth. The probes do drop out on occasion, but normally regain connection in a short time. I have to keep the block very close to the grill to get it to keep stable connection to the probes.

Even though it does have a couple quirks like probe connectivity I am very happy with it. I am just glad I purchased mine back when they were much cheaper.