Grilling, but no thermometers allowed!!

[Mkrause]

For grilling, i constantly use an instant read and rarely use anything for grate temp. I love using my smartfire for smoking and prior to that, used a maverick. I'd hate to invest that much time into cooking something to have it end up under or over cooked. FWIW, if it's about being cheap, i just picked up a weber instant read for 10 bucks at Lowe's.

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[Jon]

A restaurant chef who cooks 50 steaks a night can probably poke a steak and tell the doneness. My steak-or-two-a-week poking finger ain't that calibrated. An instant read will make you a better cook.

[Mike in Roseville]

A restaurant chef who cooks 50 steaks a night can probably poke a steak and tell the doneness. My steak-or-two-a-week poking finger ain't that calibrated. An instant read will make you a better cook.

^^^^
This

A thermometer will make you a much better cook. No denying that. It also radically alters the learning curve of cooking certain foods. So using a thermometer a couple of times with burgers will put you on par with a person who has been doing it for years learning with a similar method. It also allows you to experiment with thicknesses, cooking temps, methods with similar successes at an accelerated pace.

That said. I use a thermometer for some foods and not for others.

I break out a thermometer anytime I'm cooking on the WSM (briskets, butts, etc). On the the grill I use it occasionally for burgers or anything with bones. Also, anytime I'm cooking anything expensive like a prime rib or that I have never really done before I have a thermometer handy.

However, last night I cooked a tri tip and didn't use a thermometer. I have literally cooked more tri tips in my young life than people twice my age. I cook them by feel now. I can nail it pretty much every time to medium. Occasionally I'll have a thick one that is a little under (medium rare in the middle) but not very often.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs are another where I don't use a thermometer. With the marinade I have used for the past 15 years, I can tell when they are done by the color (I think it has to do with the balance of oil and sugar in the marinade). Yeah, turn them once and can tell they are done by the look of them. Picking them up to remove from the grill is just a "double check of my work." Never pink. Always juicy and never dry. Like I said before, if it's bone in chicken, doesn't come out the same way and I use the thermometer.

Long story short: if you cook one food a gazillion times the same way (Aaron Franklin and brisket comes to mind) you can probably get away with not using a thermometer. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and get one. You'll be a better cook and you will cut down on improperly prepared food.




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[HoosierKettle]

An instant read is by far my favorite accessory. It pays for itself every time myself and family cuts into a perfectly cooked steak.

Not just meat either. I'll use them on sweet potato and regular potato when I'm uncertain. I like those perfect too
200/210 respectively if memory serves.


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