Thermoworks’ iconic Thermapen smoked (and also baked, sautéed, braised, and seared) the competition with an overwhelming majority of recommendations during our nomination round, earning itself the coveted Kinja Co-Op title for meat thermometers.
Here are just a few people gushing over it:
Thermapen Classic (or really any of the Thermapens). Bar none the best thermometer for cooking I have ever bought — accept no substitutes.
Somewhat expensive at ~$70-$120 range, but I’ve been using mine for years and years, and it still gives me an accurate reading in less than three seconds. Well, well worth the price. Especially excellent for the grill. - theburners
Without a doubt. No other thermometer comes close. I’ve said it before on Kinja that the Thermapen is the best piece of kitchen equipment I’ve ever bought. - the-return-of-samba00
The Thermapen really only had two knocks against it: Its $79 price tag, and the fact that you can’t leave it in the meat while it cooks.
If the former is scaring you away, check out Thermoworks’ $29 Thermopop. Its readings take 5-6 seconds, roughly double the Thermapen’s, but they should be just as accurate.
This is the only option. It perfectly bridges the gap between the $10-15 thermometers that seem to constantly break, and the $60-100+ thermostats that I will never buy.
It’s a high quality option for the price of two cheap therms that wouldn’t last more than a couple of months. - bikeburner12
A simple button press rotates the display in 90 degree increments. Quick and accurate. - retroboy
If you really want to leave the thermometer in your meat while it cooks, Taylor’s $14 digital cooking thermometer also racked up quite a bit of support.
On my second one (got 10 years out of the first one, only replaced it because I lost it in a move). $15. Does the job. This isn’t rocket surgery. - shelwood
Yup, same here. It’s not rocket science AND even if it’s off by a degree or two, it doesn’t matter. Bacteria are killed by a combination of temperature and time, so the extra minute or two that it’s at temperature will easily make up for any discrepancy in accuracy. - Kumico