The best meat thermometers we tested:
Best instant-read meat thermometer: ThermoWorks Thermapen One
Most stylish instant-read meat thermometer: OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer
Best budget instant-read meat thermometer: Kizen Digital Meat Thermometer
Best leave-in meat thermometer: ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer
A good meat thermometer is one of the essential grilling accessories because it can make the difference between a perfectly rare steak and one that’s just a bit chewier than you’d like. After all, the internal temperature difference is just five to 10 degrees. While you can guesstimate based on look and feel, you’d probably rather know for sure, especially if you’re the one hosting dinner.
Over one month, we put 11 different meat thermometers through a series of tests to see which ones will make you the Meat Master and which ones you should skip. Ultimately, we narrowed it down to four models that performed well across the board.
The ThermoWorks Thermapen One was the fastest and most accurate thermometer we tested, and it had a display that was the easiest to read. If you’re serious about your cooking, then it’s well worth the price.
If you prefer a sleeker look, then the OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer is very accurate and easy to read as well. It is almost as fast as the ThermoWorks Thermapen One plus it has a stylish case design.
For one-fifth the price of our other top picks, the Kizen provides accurate readings in under four seconds and super-easy calibration. Its interface and styling are slightly clunky, but it’s a solid buy.
The accurate, stable and easy-to-read ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer is the most versatile leave-in thermometer we tested. It has a user-friendly alarm and timer as well as magnetic and stand mounts that let you place it anywhere.
Best instant-read meat thermometer: ThermoWorks Thermapen One
The price of the ThermoWorks Thermapen One may make you raise an eyebrow, but based on our testing, it’s worth every penny. While it doesn’t quite register internal temperature in one second or less as advertised, it comes pretty close. Each reading took just over two seconds and, compared to our reference sous vide device, was accurate down to the tenth of a degree.
The backlit display is easy to read, and the digits automatically adjust their orientation when holding the thermometer vertically, something that is exclusive to this model. The probe is attached on a hinge mechanism that allowed us to adjust the angle according to our needs, and it has an ergonomic design that made gripping it effortless.
Most stylish instant-read meat thermometer: OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer
The OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer was neck and neck with the ThermoWorks Thermapen One. It had consistently accurate temperature readings, the same hinge design and a quick reading time at less than one second slower than the ThermoWorks Thermapen One.
Ultimately, we just liked the design and display of the ThermoWorks Thermapen better. While the OXO Good Grips Thermocouple thermometer was also easy to read, the ThermoWorks Thermapen One fit better in our hands and was easier to grip when taking a temperature inside the oven. These are minor differences, though, and you’d be happy with either pick.
Best budget instant-read meat thermometer: Kizen Digital Meat Thermometer
For such a low price, the Kizen Digital Meat Thermometer performed surprisingly well. It registered internal temperature in less than four seconds and was almost as accurate as the ThermoWorks Thermapen One, reading just 0.5 degrees short when checking the temperature of our turkey. We didn’t love the design or the display as much, but it has a manual light option and it was the easiest digital thermometer to calibrate, so it earned some extra points for that. It also has a meat doneness chart printed directly on its face. It made the overall appearance a little busy, but it adds a layer of convenience since you can quickly reference it when cooking if you’re unsure of proper meat temperatures.
Best leave-in thermometer: ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer
As a leave-in thermometer, the ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer is in a slightly different category than the others. This meat thermometer was so accurate and stable during our sous vide tests that we ended up using it as a control when cooking our turkey and tempering chocolate for our testing.
While slightly slower than the digital instant-read thermometers, the ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer still registered temperature in an impressively quick five seconds. For these types of thermometers, response time is less important anyway since they stay in the meat while it’s cooking, and five seconds is fast enough to track temperature changes accurately.
While the display is a little busy — it shows minimum and maximum temperatures, current temperature, high and low alarms with adjustable target temperatures and a timer — all that information helps make the ThermoWorks ChefAlarm Cooking Alarm Thermometer and Timer the most versatile of the bunch we tested.
It has magnets on the back so you can mount it on the microwave or oven door while cooking. Alternatively, it folds so it can stand on its own on the counter. And it was the only thermometer that came with a zippered case, which was a nice touch that put it over the edge in terms of convenient storage and cleanup.
How we tested
After scouring online user reviews and product spec sheets, we narrowed down our list to 11 meat thermometers that we thought were worth testing. We measured each thermometer’s performance, recording things like accuracy, speed of read, stability of read and ease of use.
We made sure to include different categories including digital instant-read thermometers and analog and leave-in thermometers. But rather than choosing a best of in each category, we compared them all to one another with a series of tests to determine which ones would give you the best results and the most enjoyable user experience overall.
Performance
- Accuracy: We used a sous vide cooker to keep a hot water bath at a constant 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the recommended temperature for cooked poultry. We immersed the probe of each thermometer into the water bath and recorded how close it was to the registered sous vide temperature. We also cooked a turkey and measured the temperature with each thermometer, comparing the results.
- Speed of read: During our sous vide test, we tested the speed of each thermometer’s read with a stopwatch. As soon as the probe entered the water, we started the stopwatch and stopped it when the temperature capped out.
- Stability of read: We held each thermometer in the water bath for 20 seconds to see if there were any changes in the thermometer’s reading when immersed in a controlled temperature setting.
- Ease of use: While this is more of a subjective measure, we took notes on how easy each thermometer was to use, including while taking temperatures, calibrating, changing the batteries and storing.
Overall usability
- Visibility of display: We factored in how easy it was to read the display, both in and out of the oven. We considered the size of the font and, for the digital thermometers, whether or not the display was backlit.
- Ease of calibration: Most of the thermometers were properly calibrated right out of the box, but we investigated and tested the calibration method and factored this into our decision.
- Extra features: We considered whether the thermometer had extra features, like smart sensing, programming or alarm alerts. Ultimately, we decided this wasn’t a major contributing factor in our decision-making process since accuracy of read and ease of use trumped any extras, especially when comparing models in different categories.
- Length and adjustability of probe: The length of the probe wasn’t a major factor for the leave-in thermometers, but it was a consideration for the digital-instant read thermometers. Part of our testing was seeing if the probes were long enough to safely measure a cooked turkey’s temperature without our fingers getting too close to the heat. They all were similar in this regard, so something that we weighed more heavily in our testing was whether or not the probe was movable (i.e., on a hinge design or stick straight).
How and why to use an instant-read thermometer
Suppose you’re only familiar with meat thermometers from the yearly ritual of sticking a slow, slightly rusty analog model into a Thanksgiving turkey and hoping for the best. In that case, today’s instant-read thermometers will be a revelation. The best models give you accurate internal temperature readings in only a few seconds and others can withstand high temperatures for long periods, giving you tons of options for cooking. This helps you whether you need to quickly check the ribs you’ve got going on the charcoal grill or you want to continuously monitor (and even get alerts on) the temperature of anything from a roast to a pot of chocolate.
To use an instant-read thermometer, you simply insert the end of the tool’s thin probe section quickly into whatever you’re assessing, and you get a reading in a few seconds (less than two seconds for our overall pick). Most of the models we liked feature swiveling or otherwise repositionable displays, often with backlighting, making it possible to get a reading quickly even in cramped, crowded ovens or over a fiery grill.
With a leave-in thermometer, you simply insert the probe and either check on it visually or set alarms that let you know when you’ve reached the desired temperature. While these units are bigger and bulkier than the instant reads, they are also a lot faster than any old-school analog unit, with measurement times well under 10 seconds, so they can give you quick readings in a pinch.
One note: If you use an induction stove or cooktop, then there is a possibility that it might interfere with an instant-read thermometer. In this case, you’ll need to turn the burner off momentarily while you take a measurement and then turn it back on. Since instant reads are so fast, you don’t sacrifice much by doing so.
