Pat PilcherMeater+ Wireless Thermometer REVIEW
Summary
Meater+ Wireless Thermometer REVIEW
PAT PILCHER tests a gadget designed to sizzle Bambi to perfection and becomes an instant barbecue king in the process.
$239
What used to be a simple kettle filled with charcoal from the local gas station has nowadays been supplanted by Wi-Fi-connected barbeques that can churn out stunning food. That said, cooking a cut of meat to perfection is still more of an art than a science. Results can vary from meat cooked on the outside but raw inside through to blackened boot-leather.
Getting a perfectly cooked barbeque feed need not be all that tricky. Here’s how. Simply get yourself a widget called the Meater+. It brings a measure of science to barbeque cooking and will let you sizzle perfectly cooked slabs of meat consistently without fail.
The Meater+ looks a lot like a high-end writing implement. It even comes in a beautiful wooden presentation case. While it won’t be much use for cranking out handwritten copies of War And Peace, it will transform your barbeque food from so-so to perfect.
Doing so is dead easy, too. Simply install the Meater app on your phone (Android/IOS) and make sure there is a fresh battery in the Meater+ wooden case.
Once the Meater+ has been paired via Bluetooth with your phone, fire up the app and insert the Meater+ into whichever cut you’re BBQing. From there, you simply tell the app what type of meat and what cut you’re cooking, and it’ll monitor heat, cook times and critically, resting times.
A limited Bluetooth range hampered previous models of the MEATER. Putting it into a steel box which effectively limits its radio output meant that if your phone strayed too far from the Meater, it lost connectivity. The MEATER+ fixes this, thanks to its wooden case. It not only charges and houses the Meater+ but also acts as a Bluetooth signal range extender. It’ll boost the signal from the Meater+ probe so that your phone stays connected if you stray up to 50 metres away from the barbeque.
The probe itself is crafted out of stainless steel and is water-resistant, which makes it dead easy to keep clean. Its wireless range with the repeater is a generous 50 meters, and it uses a Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connection, which means it’ll keep on going even with extended barbeque sessions.
The Meater+ probe has two temperature sensors. This means it can track the internal temperature of any meat it’s inserted into up to a maximum of 100 degrees Celsius. It’ll also monitor the ambient temperature inside your BBQ up to a maximum of 275 Celsius.
A low power consumption design means that it can deliver up to 24 hours of continuous cooking.
A smart design tweak comes in the form of a magnet built into the base of the wooden case. This allows it to attach to a cooler part of your BBQ, so it isn’t in the way while working its signal-boosting magic. A battery power level LED and pairing button is also built into the front of the case.
The Meater+ case houses a single AAA battery, which charges the Meater+ up to 100 times. The AAA battery is also easy to replace, thanks to a rear cover that attaches to the case via two small embedded magnets and can easily be popped off.
In use, working with the Meater+ probe is a doddle. The Meater+ app makes cooking with the Meater+ an almost bomb-proof undertaking. A Smart Guided Cook system steps you through each part of the barbeque process and is so intuitive to drive that even I got it right first time.
The Meater+ app will also let users know when it’s time to remove the meat from the BBQ. From there, it’ll continue to monitor resting times (which help make any cooked meat more tender), so you know when it’s ready to eat.
Anything that improves the mastery of wannabe BBQ kings and queens has got to be a good thing. As the barbecue season begins to kick into high gear, the MEATER+ looks set to come into its own. The MEATER+ makes an excellent stocking stuffer for the BBQ fanatic in your life, and you’ll get perfectly cooked food too.
