One of the most important things that anyone hosting a cookout needs is a good quality, reliable thermometer.
Wireless meat thermometers are extremely popular, as they allow constant temperature monitoring without actually having to be right next to the cooking meat the whole time.
Of course, there are so many different ones available, it can be hard to know where to look!
We’ve compiled a list of the absolute best wireless meat thermometers for you, as well as a quick look at the features, pros, and cons of each of them!
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use wireless meat probe for use on your smoker, then the ThermoPro T20 is a great choice!
It comes in an attractive and rigged hi-vis orange plastic, meaning you’ll always be able to find the unit.
Of course, you can also get this product in black or red if that’s what you prefer.
The ThermoPro TP20 allows you to monitor the temperature of your food from up to 300 feet away, meaning you don’t have to be glued to the smoker for every minute of your cook.
Perfect for those cuts of meat that take a long time!
If you’re the sort of person who would prefer a simple, app-based thermometer instead of a bulky standalone unit, then the MEATER Plus is right up your street!
Unlike some other wireless meat thermometers that have their own handheld “brainboxes' ' that display the temperature, the MEATER Plus instead uses an app on your smart device in order to display the temperature.
If you don’t want extra equipment taking up space, then the MEATER Plus could be the perfect temperature monitoring device for you!
All you need to do is insert the probe, connect the app, and you can use your phone or tablet to monitor the cooking temperature of your meat.
For the sheer amount of useful probes and ways to monitor your temperature, it’s hard to beat the price of this ENZOO wireless meat thermometer!
It comes with a fantastic 4 probes, meaning that you can simultaneously monitor four different temperatures at the same time.
Perfect for larger cuts of meat, or simplyu for cooking up to 4 different meats at the same time!
It’s a really easy unit to use too, and comes in a robust plastic shell. You can get this product in orange, blue, yellow, “night green”, and “retro red”.
This wireless meat thermometer will work from up to 500 feet away too!
For those who are looking for a simple, easy to use wireless meat thermometer that comes in an attractive modern design, the ThermoPro TP910 is for you!
It’s not only an extremely powerful and accurate unit, but it also looks extremely up-to-date.
The bright black-on-orange display makes the unit extremely easy to read, and the attractive housing makes it fit in with a modern home.
And, another great feature of the ThermoPro TP910 is the connectivity to smart devices!
Not only does the ThermoPro TP910 come with its own robust and powerful standalone temperature monitoring unit, but it also lets you connect to an app, giving you the best of both worlds.
The Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer is one of the few products on our list that can claim to be truly wireless, of course, as it doesn’t come with its own dedicated box for monitoring and displaying temperatures.
Instead, the Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer comes in an extremely minimalist package, being essentially just a carrying case with a probe!
Using the app, users can monitor internal meat temperatures from up to 150 feet away from the Yummly probe with their smartphone or tablet.
So, this is a great choice for someone looking for a more minimalist approach to cooking and temperature monitoring!
By far the most common type of wireless meat thermometer available are the types of model that have a standalone unit for displaying temperatures.
These use relatively simple probes compared to app-based units, as they don’t need to have all of the monitoring hardware contained within the probe itself.
However, in a sense, these units aren’t truly wireless, as the probes need to have wires coming off them in order to communicate temperatures to the base unit.
The wireless functionality indicates that there is a separate unit that can be operated remotely from the main unit - often hundreds of feet away!
This is far further than an app-based wireless meat thermometer can typically reach your phone.
Another key upside is that the probe isn't the entire unit, meaning that a broken probe can be replaced far more easily and cheaply than with a smart probe.
Many users choose this type of unit because they are usually less expensive than app-based thermometers.
They also often come with physical buttons, which can be a real deciding factor for some people, as many find using touchscreens to be harder than a device with dedicated buttons.
This is particularly true if your fingers are a little greasy!
App-based wireless meat thermometers, on the other hand, are the only type of unit that are truly wireless.
Unlike wireless meat thermometers that use simple probes connected by wires to standalone units, these contain all of the important hardware inside the probe itself - as well as a transmitter that connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone or tablet.
These units are great for users who prefer smart devices, and like to control everything from their phone or tablet.
However, they are typically a lot more expensive than non app-based units, and they also don’t typically have anywhere near the range that standalone units do.
The range of smart probes generally maxes out at around 150 feet, whereas standalone units can often have a range of 500 feet or more.
These devices are great for the technologically minded, but they rely on a good connection to your phone, an app that works well, and of course, they’re going to use your phone’s battery too.
Many users swear by these smart probes, but many others bemoan the lack of simplicity and robustness that comes with a physical unit.
And, of course, smartphones and tablets don’t have any physical buttons to interact with, which can be a deal breaker for some looking for a wireless meat thermometer.
The range of the unit is a really important factor for many people when choosing a wireless meat thermometer.
Many people can get away with using a wireless meat thermometer that doesn’t have as large a range as others, as they know they’ll never be more than a certain distance from their smoker.
If you’ve got a relatively small garden or yard, for example, you’re unlikely to care whether you can use your wireless meat thermometer from 500 feet away!
In these cases, the more limited range of an app-based smart thermometer can be far less of an issue.
If you’re never going to be more than 50 feet from your smoker, a 150 foot range limit isn’t much of an issue!
Likewise, if you’re cooking in a bigger place, you might well need the extra range that some units provide.
And, of course, another thing to remember is that these ranges are assumed to be under ideal conditions, with clear line of sight.
If there are any walls in between the meat and the wireless thermometer or your smart device, then you can assume this range will drop.
The drop can in fact be quite substantial depending on what’s in between you and your meat!
One great advantage of some of the units on this list is the ability to probe multiple sites, or even multiple different meats at once.
If your wireless meat thermometer can only be used with one probe, then you can only monitor the temperature of one piece of meat at once, and only in one single area.
However, there are units available - including some on our list - which can increase the number of sites that you can monitor at once, as they allow for the use of multiple probes at the same time.
In fact, some units can have up to four probes connected at once!
This can be great for making sure that your meat is cooked to the correct temperature throughout, as you’ll be able to check different parts of the meat at the same time to make sure that the cooking is consistent and complete throughout.
Again, this can be a downside of app-based probes.
Apps might well allow you to connect multiple probes to monitor different temperatures, but this comes at a financial cost, as they are far more expensive.
Each smart probe costs the same as a standalone unit that can come with multiple probes!
Being able to monitor your temperature is important, but you can’t assume that you’ll be staring at the display all day waiting for your meat to cook!
This is why extra features such as timers, alerts, and notifications are so important.
And this is an area where app-based wireless meat thermometers can really shine, as many people are accustomed to receiving and interacting with notifications on their smartphone.
If you’re the type of person who has their phone with them at all times, as many of us are, then this can be a really great feature of smart probes, as you don’t need to keep checking to get the information you’re after - you'll be told through a notification!
However, this isn’t limited only to smart probes anymore, as some standalone units are now capable of sending notifications to your phone.
Having multiple probes on your wireless meat thermometer means that you have more accurate temperature readings on your piece of meat, as you’ll be able to probe more than one area of the cut to make sure that it’s at the right temperature.
You’ll also be able to use these probes at the same time to check the temperature of more than one type of meat at a time.
You could potentially monitor up to 4 types of cooking meat at the same time with some of these units!
Many people prefer to get a device with physical buttons, as smart devices can often be fiddly to interact with.
Some newer units also use touch buttons instead of regular clicking buttons.
Having physical buttons can be a lot easier for some users, as they’re far simpler and don’t rely on the speed of your phone!
However, some can find that using an app is far easier, as often standalone units can have buttons perform multiple functions, which can confuse some users.
The range you should be looking at when buying a wireless meat thermometer comes down to the distance you’ll be at absolute most from the meat, and the amount and type of obstructions between you and the meat.
It’s hard to say exactly what you’ll need for your setup, but a good rule of thumb is to go for a wireless meat thermometer that has a range of around twice the distance you’ll be, in order to allow for things obstructing the signal.
Hopefully this guide has helped you to find the best wireless meat thermometer for your needs!
Comments will be approved before showing up.