When cooking meat or fish, most of us often just wing it (pun intended). The cook of the meat is generally judged by the appearance, both inside and out. Often times you’ll need to cut a piece off to be totally certain if its done or not. But with more temperamental proteins like turkey, duck and rabbit, getting the cook time just right can be essential to a satisfying dish. For this reason, meat thermometers can be majorly helpful when cooking, as it helps guarantee meats aren’t under or overcooked. But what if cooking thermometers could do more? That’s where the MEATER Plus comes in – read on for our honest review of this high tech cooking tool.
Everything to know about the MEATER Plus
Relatively new to the culinary tech world, the MEATER brand offers a trio of advanced cooking tools to help perfect your grill game. Specifically, the MEATER Plus is the high-tech kitchen thermometer that people (including myself) were asking for. Made with stainless steel and heat resistant ceramic, the MEATER Plus uses advanced technology to monitor the internal and external temperature of your meat using the dual temperature sensors. The MEATER Plus is also equipped with helpful cooking tutorials via the corresponding app. Not to mention, the MEATER Plus has the additional bonus of having Bluetooth capabilities, with an impressive 50 meter range. The app also offers the ability to monitor your meat’s cook time through the advanced estimator algorithm – helping manage your overall time in the kitchen. To top it off, the device is encased in a natural bamboo magnetic charging case.
The MEATER Plus claims to be “the world’s best selling meat thermometer,” but at $150 can it really be classified as a kitchen essential? Let’s find out.
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The MEATER Plus, meater.com, $150.
The pros
Very compact
Handheld and travel-friendly, the MEATER Plus is perfect for any type of cooking situation because it’s so compact. We personally love the idea of taking the MEATER Plus to the cottage for a weekend getaway or over to a date’s house to show off your cooking prowess. No more than a few inches long, the MEATER Plus fits in your pocket, no bigger than the average smartphone. The compact nature of the MEATER Plus proved to be a great bonus considering my kitchen is riddled with an endless amount of tools, and no space. The last thing I needed was another bulky tool taking up room in my kitchen cupboards.
Helpful in-app tutorials
If you’re not the most experienced cook – especially with meat, the in-app cooking guides are a great way to learn. MEATER provides a library of tutorials on how to cook everything from sea bass to lamb. To romanticize my life, I decided to cook a classic French duck dish. Although I’d like to think of myself as a cooking whiz, it’s not often I cook with duck. The tutorials really helped to inform me on how long it should be cooked for and at what temperature. Needless to say, the duck came out perfect.
Advanced cooking technology
The app itself is culinary wonder. The MEATER Plus has a variety of functions from a guided cooking system to get the perfect results every time, to dual temperature sensors. The MEATER Plus even has an advanced estimator algorithm to help manage your cooking time. Its Bluetooth capabilities allow you to connect to your smartphone, so its completely wireless! Having a wireless cooking tool is insanely helpful considering how messy and cumbersome thermometer wires can get while cooking. I found the process to be seamless and mess-free.
MEATER
The cons
Too technical
While I do love how advanced the MEATER Plus is, I found it to be a bit time consuming when setting it up with the smartphone. Someone who might not be as adept with techy devices might find this challenging. Additionally, if you plan on using this in the wilderness with no wifi or data connection, you might have trouble making the most of its features.
Price point
You get what you pay for with this device. The quality is all there, but at a steep price point for a meat thermometer. The average digital thermometer can range anywhere from $16 to $60 depending on the retailer. What you’re essentially paying for here is the technology and accessibility.
Our final thoughts
The MEATER Plus undeniably makes it easier to cook meat perfectly. If you cook meat often, the MEATER Plus will likely be a welcome upgrade to your daily cooking routine. The price point is steep, but if you’re keen on upping your cooking game, it’s a surefire way to do that. That said, if you prefer to keep it simple in the kichen, sticking to a conventional thermometer will get the job done just fine, but with a little more effort.