Thermapen/iGrill/Other?

[grossie]

I've drawn my brother-in-law in our family Christmas gift exchange. He's a real good cook, indoor and outdoor. I don't believe he has any type of thermometer for the grill, though.

I'm thinking a thermapen would be the most versatile gift, and the one I would go with, if I could only have one - and I'm definitely only buying him one! :-)  However, I was wondering what some of you thought...

[muebe]

Well a Thermapen is an "instant read" thermometer while the iGrill is for temperature monitoring.

So I guess it depends on what your BIL does.

Does he just do mainly grilling like steaks or does he have a smoker and do low and slow?

The iGrill is great for monitoring long cooks. It can alarm you when your food reaches temp and has graphing capabilities to see the progression of your cook. It does require a Apple or Android device that is Bluetooth capable to connect and has a limited range due to Bluetooth technology.

A Thermapen is great when you want to get a quick reading of a steak or whatever your grilling. It gives you a exact reading within a few seconds. That is helpful when you have your hand above a hot grill surface. It has a very fine and sharp probe tip that allows to make a very small penetration hole into the meat so that fluid loss is at a minimum. The unit is foldable, very durable, and practically water proof from my experience.

There is also the Maverick ET-732. Good temperature monitoring unit. Pretty good range. Good battery life.

[sliding_billy]

Like muebe said, it depends on how he will use it.  For grilling and kitchen applications, the Thermapen would be the way to go.

[grossie]

Not sure how I missed the iGrill vs. ?? thread started yesterday. I'll just monitor that one.
Thanks for the responses.

[TentHunteR]

A couple of other options:

At the Fall Gathering I got to use tee's Maverick PT-100 Instant read thermometer.  I was pretty impressed with it. Having owned a Maverick ET-732 and knowing how well it has performed & held up for more than two years, I would not be afraid to buy one of the PT-100's.

Earlier this year I got a DeltaTrak instant Read thermometer (about $20) and it has thus far performed flawlessly.  It got very good reviews,  it's waterproof,  has the narrow end probe (like the premium units), guaranteed accurate to within 1°, response time is less than 5 seconds, can be calibrated in the field, and is NSF approved!



William Sonoma recently came out with an iGrill alternate called the "WS Smart thermometer" which also has WiFi capability and an iPhone/iPad app.

[grossie]

That looks interesting. I may be able to swing a PT-100 and a remote Maverick both. Then he would be set up.
Thanks for the response.