The $7 meat thermometer that saved my brisket

I was tired of poking my brisket every hour and hoping for the best. So last Saturday I grabbed a cheap probe thermometer from the grocery store on a whim. Stuck it in the flat before throwing it on the smoker at 225 and walked away. When it hit 203 the thing beeped and I pulled it off, let it rest 90 minutes, and it came out perfect. Has anyone else had good luck with those bargain thermometers or is it just beginners luck?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamief6713d ago

My buddy Mike ruined two pork shoulders before he checked his cheap thermometer against boiling water.

charles64013d ago

Picked up the same kind from Walmart for like 8 bucks last year and it's still going strong. Mine reads a couple degrees hot compared to my instant read but once I figured that out it's been dead reliable. Honestly for most people that cheap probe is all you really need, the expensive wireless ones are nice but not necessary for a backyard cook.

lily5713d ago

@charles640 what kind of offset did you notice on yours? Mine was off by like 5 degrees the other way, reads low, so I always add a little extra cook time to be safe. I mean, it's not a huge deal once you know about it, but it did mess up a couple of briskets before I figured it out. idk, maybe there's just some variation between batches on those cheap ones, or it depends on how you position the probe in the meat.