Best Grilling Thermometer for Whole Beef Tenderloin
We tested 12 meat thermometers and found the one brand that consistently performed the best
- Here are the 5 best meat thermometers in 2022
- Best meat thermometer overall
- Best budget meat thermometer
- Best leave-in meat thermometer
- Best leave-in meat thermometer on a budget
- Best meat thermometer for the grill
- What else we tested
- Our meat thermometer testing methodology
- Types of meat thermometers
- How to use a meat thermometer
- Why ThermoWorks makes the best thermometers we tested
- How to calibrate a meat thermometer
- Check out our other grilling gear guides
The most-used piece of equipment in my kitchen isn't my Dutch oven, or my chef's knife, or even my most beloved spatula — it's my thermometer. I invested in a good kitchen thermometer almost a decade ago and since then, it's carried me through countless dinner parties and holiday meals (including a pig roast), hundreds of weeknight dinners, and a career in professional kitchens. I use my thermometer to temp everything from a piece of chicken to a loaf of bread to a pot of caramel or a vat of frying oil — I've even taken the temperature of a baked potato.
Using a thermometer to take the temperature of food is one of the first skills students learn in culinary school. Tracy Wilk, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, said that a thermometer is a core tool that can make you a more confident cook.
"A lot of home cooks can be intimidated by some techniques like cooking steak or tempering chocolate, but once you're able to work with temperatures, the gates really open up for your cooking abilities," Wilk said. "There's also satisfaction from a perfectly cooked roast chicken that isn't cut into a million pieces before it's served."
Thermometers don't just help make your food taste better, they're also important for food safety. According to the Food and Drug Administration, a meat thermometer is the only way to ensure that meat, poultry, and egg products are cooked safely as color and texture are not always reliable.
To find the best meat thermometers you can buy, I tested 12 different models, putting each through an identical set of tests to determine accuracy, ease of use, and durability. You can read more below about our testing methodology, as well as information on how to use and calibrate a thermometer, and why Thermoworks occupies all of the top spots in our guide. Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and recommends kitchen products here.
Here are the 5 best meat thermometers in 2022
Best meat thermometer overall: Thermoworks Thermapen One, $89.25 available at Thermoworks
The Thermoworks Thermapen One is the fastest and most accurate thermometer we tested, with thoughtful features like an automatically adjusting display and backlight sensor.
Best meat thermometer on a budget: Thermoworks ThermoPop, $35 available at Thermoworks
The Thermoworks ThermoPop is a simple and easy-to-use meat thermometer at an entry-level price that's great for those just learning to cook.
Best leave-in meat thermometer: Thermoworks ChefAlarm, $65 available at Thermoworks
The Thermoworks ChefAlarm has many thoughtful features like built-in alarms, a timer, and a probe that stays in your food for the entire cook time, making it a great option for grilling or long cooking projects.
Best leave-in meat thermometer on a budget: Thermoworks DOT, $45 available at Thermoworks
The Thermoworks DOT is a relatively inexpensive thermometer with a few simple, but well-designed features. It's an accurate leave-in thermometer without all the bells and whistles.
Best meat thermometer for the grill: Thermoworks Smoke X2, $169 available at Thermoworks
If you're serious about barbecue, the Thermoworks Smoke X2 offers both accuracy and convenience with a leave-in probe that can transmit data to a pager more than a mile away.
Best meat thermometer overall
The Thermoworks Thermapen One is the fastest and most accurate thermometer we tested, with thoughtful features like an automatically adjusting display and backlight sensor.
Pros: Lab-calibrated, displays accurate temperature within seconds, large and easy to read display, automatic backlight, automatically turns on and off, display automatically rotates, can be used in Celsius or Fahrenheit, can be customized to display whole numbers or up to one decimal place, comes in 10 colors
Cons: Might be more difficult for lefties to use
I reach for the Thermapen One as often as I reach for my chef's knife. The Thermapen One has all the accuracy, speed, and helpful special features that make a stellar meat thermometer. With this thermometer in my kitchen, I am confident cooking steaks, baking dense loaves of bread, and more.
If you own the older model, the Thermapen MK4, there's no need to replace it just yet. The only differences between the two models are that the Thermapen One is supposed to read temperatures one to two seconds faster and with an even smaller margin of plus or minus .5 degrees Fahrenheit. In our testing, we found that the Thermapen One registered temperatures within one to two seconds. During the boiling water and ice bath calibration tests, the termoter registered the correct temperatures immediately. The Thermapen One isn't significantly faster than the MK4, but both thermometers are faster than any others on the market.
Like the MK4, the Thermapen One has an automatically rotating display and a sensor probe that opens 180 degrees from the base. You can easily stick the thermometer in the side of a thin patty or even underneath a heavier piece of meat. Additionally, a sensor turns on the display backlight when it's dark out — a feature we found especially useful for grilling at night. The display is large and doesn't glare from any angle.
The Thermapen One is ready to use out of the box, but you can easily customize it to read in Celsius or Fahrenheit and to show whole numbers or one decimal place.
Best budget meat thermometer
The Thermoworks ThermoPop is a simple and easy-to-use meat thermometer at an entry-level price that's great for those just learning to cook.
Pros: Accurate, fast, easy-to-read numbers, has a backlight, has a rotating display, can show temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit, comfortable for both lefties and righties to use, comes in nine color options
Cons: Backlight and display rotation have to be activated by pressing buttons, the rigid probe has some trouble getting into tight spots, only displays whole numbers, can't adjust digits if the thermometer needs calibration
While the Thermapen may be unparalleled in its features and accuracy, it comes at a premium price. For those learning to cook or just looking for something a little more simple or inexpensive, the Thermoworks ThermoPop has everything you need to get started, and it's about a third of the price of the Thermapen.
The thermometer is lollipop-shaped with a long, thin probe on one end and a bulbous display on the other. The screen is clear and easy to read with large digits and a backlight. It's accurate and reports the temperature within four seconds of inserting the probe into the food — just a second longer than the Thermapen. Since its probe is upright instead of angled, it works equally well for lefties and righties.
It has all the features you need in a thermometer, however, it takes an extra step to activate some of them. For example, you need to press a button to turn on the backlight or rotate the display while the Thermapen does both of these things automatically. It's also not quite as customizable — you can't set it to display one decimal place temperatures, it only shows whole numbers. And in the event that your thermometer's calibration is off, you can't make adjustments to the numbers on your own; you'd have to send it back to the company. It's also a little less maneuverable in tight spaces or awkward angles since the probe is straight instead of angled.
That said, it's a great entry-level thermometer that has all the features you'll need for almost every type of cooking project.
Best leave-in meat thermometer
The Thermoworks ChefAlarm has many thoughtful features like built-in alarms, a timer, and a probe that stays in your food for the entire cook time, making it a great option for grilling or long cooking projects.
Pros: Accurate, reads quickly, large display, built-in timer and stopwatch, high and low alarms, comes with a pot clip and carrying case, can buy and use other probe styles depending on your needs, magnetic base, can be used in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, comes in nine different colors
Cons: Magnet not always strong enough to hold up the unit on oven door, takes some time to set up
While fast-reading handheld thermometers like the Thermapen and ThermoPop are great for most uses, sometimes you need a thermometer that can be left in your food while it's cooking, which is where probe or leave-in thermometers like the Thermoworks ChefAlarm come in.
The ChefAlarm is ideally designed for grilling, barbecue, or cooking long roasts in the oven. It features a high-temperature probe connected to a base that reports the current temperature, as well as the minimum and maximum temperatures your food has reached while cooking. Buttons on the base allow you to set a timer or stopwatch, along with alarms to tell you when your food has dropped above or below a certain desired temperature range. The base can be folded to sit stably on a counter or attached via a magnet to a metallic surface like a grill lid or oven door. It also comes with a carrying case and a clip for attaching the probe to pots for deep frying or candy making.
In my temperature tests, the ChefAlarm was accurate and relatively fast, reporting temperatures within six seconds. However, between the probe, cable, and base, it has a lot of parts and is a bit unwieldy for stovetop cooking like searing steak or fish. I've found I get the most use out of it when grilling or cooking foods that take a lot of time.
One tiny quibble I have with the ChefAlarm is that the magnet isn't always strong enough to hold the base up when attached to my oven door, which could be an issue if you have a wall-mounted oven with no easily reachable surface nearby.
Best leave-in meat thermometer on a budget
The Thermoworks DOT is a relatively inexpensive thermometer with a few simple, but well-designed features. It's an accurate leave-in thermometer without all the bells and whistles.
Pros: Relatively fast, very accurate, clear display that's easy to read from afar, has a backlight, can buy and use other probe styles depending on your needs, magnetic base, alarm alerts when the food has reached its set temperature, can be used in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, comes in nine different color options
Cons: No timer, no minimum or maximum temperature display, only one volume setting, only displays whole numbers
If you're looking for a leave-in thermometer that is a bit simpler and less expensive than the ChefAlarm, the Thermoworks DOT is a more streamlined option. It consists of a circular, magnetic base attached to a 4.5-inch probe connected by a 47-inch cable. The front of the base has just two buttons: up and down, which you use to set your desired final cooking temperature. You stick the probe in the food and leave it there for the entire cook time, and the thermometer will beep loudly to let you know when your food has reached your desired temperature.
The DOT has a backlight that can be activated with a button on the back of the base, and you can buy other specialty probes that work with it to suit your needs (though you most likely won't ever need to). One thing I particularly like about the DOT is that it's lighter than the ChefAlarm, and stays put when I attach it magnetically to my grill or oven. It's also incredibly accurate and a beat faster than the ChefAlarm, reporting the temperature within just five seconds.
The DOT doesn't have a timer or the ability to show you minimum and maximum cooking temperatures, but you may not need either of those functions if you're cooking something simple, or you use a separate timer while cooking.
Overall, it's a great option if you're looking to dabble with a leave-in thermometer, or don't need all the extra bells and whistles that come with a more expensive thermometer.
Best meat thermometer for the grill
If you're serious about barbecue, the Thermoworks Smoke X2 offers both accuracy and convenience with a leave-in probe that can transmit data to a pager more than a mile away.
Pros: Comes with a pager so you can monitor temperatures from afar, pager works more than a mile away from the base, comes with two temperature probes, accurate, moderately fast read and data transmission time, can set high and low temperature alarms, has a backlight, can be used in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, comes in nine different colors, can be used with other specialty probes and equipment
Cons: Too bulky for stovetop cooking
If you're cooking something that takes many, many hours or even days — as is often the case with barbecue — remote thermometers like the Thermoworks Smoke X2 let you monitor the temperature of your food from afar so you're not tied to the grill.
The Smoke looks similar to other leave-in thermometers we tested. It comes with two probes that are connected by long wires to a base that sits outside your grill or oven. The base transmits that temperature data to a pager that you wear on a lanyard. Both probes were accurate and took about seven seconds to transmit the temperature to the base — slower than our other top picks, but much faster than any other remote thermometer I've tested.
The base and pager stay connected up to a mile away from each other, which likely covers all the distance you'll need. While I didn't test the lengths of this claim, I did walk with the pager up to 1,000 feet away from the base and it never lost connection, even when I went upstairs, behind walls, and down the block.
While The Smoke isn't a thermometer you'll likely use every day, it's a good investment if you regularly cook a lot of project recipes or barbecue.
What else we tested
We tested a total of 12 thermometers for this guide. Here are the ones we tested that didn't make the cut.
What else we recommend and why:
- Lavatools Javelin PRO Duo Digital Meat Thermometer: This fast-reading handheld thermometer is accurate, easy to use, and gives clear readouts. It has many of the features we love in the Thermapen One, like a backlight and auto-rotating display. While the Javelin is a great thermometer, the Thermapen edged this model out because its features were a bit more reliable; the Javelin's display sometimes rotated when we didn't want it to and you need to press a button to activate the backlight. These are minor quibbles, however, and this is a great option if you want a more affordable alternative with many of the same functions as the Thermapen.
- Lavatools Javelin Digital Meat Thermometer: This petite thermometer is a little more than four inches long with a probe length of just 2.8 inches. While it's fast, accurate, and easy to read for its small size, it's a bit too small for everyday use. I found my hands getting uncomfortably hot when holding this thermometer in food that was cooking, and its probe is too short to get all the way into large roasts and cuts of meat. That said, it's small enough that you could clip it to a keychain, or use the included magnet to keep it on your fridge door for easy access when you need a thermometer in a pinch. It might be a good portable thermometer, but not one that I would want to use every day.
What we don't recommend and why:
- OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer : This instant-read thermometer is sleek, reports fast read-outs, and has a rotating display, but it was consistently off by one degree in all the calibration tests. While that wasn't a deal-breaker (and hardly enough of a difference to ruin your food), the rotating display consistently read upside down when I tried to use it in a hurry, like while searing steak. The probe does extend further than other models, which meant my left-handed husband could also use the thermometer comfortably in his dominant hand (many instant-read thermometers only extend far enough to be most versatile for right-handed use). It may be a good option for lefties, but I would've liked more accuracy and reliability given the price.
- ThermoPro Wireless Meat Thermometer : While this remote thermometer was accurate, it was difficult to use compared to the Thermoworks Smoke and lacked many of the features we love in that thermometer. The ThermoPro's display is relatively small and hard to read, it wasn't intuitive to use and program, and it only has a range of up to 300 feet. It lost connection when I left the transmitter by the grill and took the pager with me into my house and up a flight of stairs. When it was connected to the pager, it took about 45 seconds for the thermometer to report the temperature in all of our accuracy tests — the longest of any product we tried. While this lag isn't likely to make a difference in your food if you're using it to cook barbecue or another long-cooking dish, it's much too slow for stovetop use or quick-cooking foods like steak or fish.
- Taylor Commercial Digital Thermometer: While this thermometer was the least expensive of any model we tested, its display is teeny-tiny at just 1/4 inch tall. I had to squint to read the numbers, the display often fogged up, and there was a glare if I didn't hold the thermometer at the right angle. It also took a relatively long time to read at about 20 seconds, and in that time, my hand got hot from having to hold the thermometer close to the food for so long. It also was consistently off by 2 degrees F in all our accuracy tests.
- Yummly Smart Thermometer : This thermometer is part of a new generation of leave-in thermometers that are completely wireless. The probe stays in your food the entire cooking time, but there are no wires coming out of your oven or grill like there are with the DOT or ChefAlarm. The probe wirelessly transmits temperature data to your phone, so you can see when the food is finished cooking. I tested this model and struggled with app and connectivity issues that rendered the thermometer basically useless.
- Polder Stable-Read Digital Thermometer : This thermometer beeps to let you know when it's at a stable reading, which can be useful if you're still figuring out the nuances of using a meat thermometer. However, that was just about its only redeeming factor. It was consistently off by about 3 degrees F, and the display is hard to read, doesn't rotate, and is not backlit. The probe is rigid and the thermometer is long, so it's not good for temping things at an angle. This thermometer is currently out of stock.
- Taylor Waterproof Instant Read Thermometer: Another inexpensive option from Taylor, this thermometer was slightly easier to read and featured a backlight. While it was also faster and more accurate than the other Taylor thermometer we tried, it still wasn't without flaws. The display had a strong glare from certain angles and fogged up when close to hot foods; this was exacerbated by its short probe, which kept the thermometer (and our hands) near the heat. The buttons were also hard to press. This thermometer is currently out of stock.
Our meat thermometer testing methodology
I've been using kitchen thermometers for more than a decade, including seven years working in professional kitchens as a product tester and editor for "America's Test Kitchen" and "Cook's Illustrated." For this guide, I leaned on my extensive experience using a thermometer almost daily, and also interviewed Tracy Wilk, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, as well as Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate at the Penn State department of food science. I tested 12 different kitchen thermometers. Here's what I looked for in the best thermometers:
Accuracy: A thermometer must be accurate at both high and low temperatures, as well as over time. I put each model through two industry standard tests: the ice bath test and the boiling water test. Then, I utilized a sous vide test where I tracked the temperature reported by each thermometer over two hours when placed in a water bath heated by an immersion circulator. In my accuracy tests, I didn't include food since cooking introduces a number of hard-to-control variables like cooking temperature, size and thickness of the meat, and potential human error.
Speed: In every test, I timed how long it took for the thermometer to report a steady, accurate temperature. For remote thermometers, I also timed how long it took for the base to transmit the temperature data to the pager.
Ease of use: Thermometer readouts should be legible and easy to read. I used each thermometer over several weeks as part of my regular cooking routine, seeing how comfortable they were to hold over hot pans filled with searing steak and whether their screens fogged up when I stuck the probes into vats of chili.
Durability: Thermometers are often used in busy kitchens where bumps and spills happen. I tested the durability of the thermometers by knocking each from the counter onto the ground 10 times and checking for any cracking or functionality loss. All the thermometers passed this test.
Special features: While a thermometer doesn't need to have any fancy features, I looked at any additional functions such as backlights, alarms, timers, and customizability. I checked to see that these functions were helpful and worked as intended.
Types of meat thermometers
In this guide, we focused on three types of thermometers used most commonly in cooking: instant-read thermometers, probe thermometers/leave-in thermometers, and remote thermometers. Here are the key differences between the styles:
Instant-read thermometer
Pros: Fast read-out, slim design for an easy grip, can check multiple locations in the food quickly, can be used for almost any task
Cons: Not meant to be left in the food so you have to open the pot lid, oven door, or grill lid to check the temperature, which could result in heat loss and a longer cook time
These devices are handheld digital thermometers that give you a temperature read-out in seconds. If you're looking for one thermometer that can handle most kitchen tasks, this is the style to buy. They're great for stovetop cooking and foods that cook fast but they also work well for checking on dishes you cook in the oven or grill. My instant-read thermometer is one of the most-used tools in my kitchen and the thermometer I reach for most often.
Probe thermometer or leave-in thermometer
Pros: Great for long cooks where you don't want to poke the food too often, good for candy-making and deep-frying, often has built-in alarm or timer
Cons: Slightly slower read-out, not ideal for fast-cooking foods like steak or fish on the stovetop, more parts to keep track of, harder to operate with one hand
These thermometers have a probe that's meant to be left in the food for the duration of cooking. The probe connects by a thin metal wire to a base that sits outside the stove, oven, or grill and shows the temperature read-out. Many probe thermometers also have extra functions like timers or alarms. This style is good for when you want to constantly monitor the temperature without having to frequently poke the food or open the oven door or grill lids, like when making large roasts or long-cooked braises. They're also useful for deep-frying and candy-making since you can clip the probe onto the pot and monitor the temperature of the frying oil or sugar.
Remote thermometer
Pros: Pager or smartphone-connectivity that lets you monitor temperature from afar, good for long-cooking foods like barbecue or roasts
Cons: Most expensive, bulky, slightly longer read and transmission time than leave-in thermometers
Remote thermometers have the same design as probe thermometers (a leave-in probe connected to a base), but with the addition of a pager that lets you monitor the temperature of your food from afar. This is popular for grilling and smoking, which typically have very long cook times. A remote thermometer lets you walk away from the grill or oven and still keep an eye on the temperature of your food. Many are also smartphone-connected, so you can check the temperature from your phone. While you can use them in all the same ways you would use a leave-in thermometer, they're usually bigger, heavier, and more expensive, so we really only recommend them if you do a lot of barbecuing or very long cooks.
How to use a meat thermometer
There are a few ways to ensure you're getting an accurate reading with your meat thermometer. Aim for the thickest part of the meat and check the temperature in multiple places. "You want the 'sensing point' of the thermometer to be in the middle of the meat, what we term the cold spot," Bucknavage said. This part of the meat takes the longest to cook, so it's the best spot to test for overall doneness.
If you are cooking a thinner cut of meat or a patty, Bucknavage suggests inserting the thermometer into the side of the meat instead of the top. Make sure you don't hit bone when testing meat.
How to read a thermometer
Reading a handheld digital meat thermometer is simple: it displays the temperature it senses. That said, if you're taking the temperature of something that is cooking fast, like a steak, you may notice the numbers on the display changing rapidly. This can be tricky, especially in high-pressure situations where you're cooking hot and fast.
A good rule of thumb is to trust the lowest steady number you see. If you temp your chicken in a couple of different places, consider the lowest steady reading you found to be the most accurate temperature, as it's an indication that your food is not fully cooked in that spot.
Why ThermoWorks makes the best thermometers we tested
Though Thermoworks occupies all five of our top picks, this guide is not sponsored. Our guides are never sponsored and we conduct the same set of tests on all products. We put 12 different thermometers through identical rigorous criteria for this guide. So how did Thermoworks products best the competition?
Accuracy: Thermoworks thermometers consistently gave the most precise and accurate measurements in our tests. Should your thermometer reading be off after doing basic calibration tests (very unlikely in a new thermometer, but a possibility with extended use), some of Thermoworks' thermometers are easily adjusted with buttons inside the battery compartment, or you can send the thermometer to the company for lab calibration.
Thoughtful design: Thermoworks thermometers are thoughtfully designed and simple to use, with no superfluous features. In our top picks, we particuarly liked the large readouts, backlit displays, and easy adjustability.
Trusted industry leader: Thermoworks has been in business for 25 years and only makes thermometers and temperature tracking devices. Its staff is filled with engineers who are laser-focused on thermometry and calibration. Its a trusted brand used not only by home cooks and in the foodservice industry, but also by pharmaceutical, manufacturing, heating and air conditioning, research, and other industries.
Customer service: While customer service didn't factor into my rankings for this guide, it's worth noting that Thermoworks has some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. I've been using Thermoworks products daily for a decade as part of my job and in my own home. Whenever I've had a question, a call to the customer service line quickly puts me in touch with a technician who can answer questions big and small — from troubleshooting data logging software to basic questions about what thermometer is best for what use.
How to calibrate a meat thermometer
Before you use your meat thermometer for the first time, you should make sure it's accurate. This process is called "calibration," but that's a bit of a misnomer since you usually aren't making any adjustments, just checking accuracy. In addition to calibrating your thermometer before its first use, it's also a good idea to check its accuracy periodically, especially if you're using an older model or a dial thermometer. There are two industry-standard ways to calibrate your meat thermometer: the ice bath test and the boiling water test.
Ice bath test
The easiest way to check for accuracy is to prepare an ice bath. Here are the steps outlined on Thermoworks' website, which are standard across many brands:
- Fill a vessel like a large mug or bowl to the rim with ice.
- Add cold water to the vessel to fill the gaps between the ice. Stop filling when you've reached just below the lip of the vessel.
- Insert your thermometer's probe into the center of the ice bath and stir gently.
- An accurate thermometer should read 32 degrees F (or 0 degrees C) in the ice bath.
Boiling water test
If you don't have ice readily available, you can also check the accuracy of your thermometer with boiling water. However, keep in mind that water boils at different temperatures depending on your location and the current atmospheric pressure. The boiling water calibration test should only be used in a pinch and only to detect glaring inaccuracies. Here are the steps:
- Fill a pot with at least four inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- When the water is at a roaring boil with big bubbles bursting at the surface, insert your thermometer probe into the water, taking care that it doesn't touch the sides or bottom of the pot.
- Compare the temperature read-out to the estimated boiling point of water for your area. At sea level, water generally boils at 212 degrees F (100 degrees C).
What to do if your thermometer is inaccurate
If you perform either of the above calibration tests and find that your thermometer is inaccurate, first check the accuracy range of your device, which should be listed on the packaging or instructions. Some thermometers allow for a variance of up to a degree plus or minus the target temperature. If your thermometer's reading is within the allowed range, there's no need to make adjustments.
If your thermometer is off by more than the allowed range, follow any included instructions in the packaging for adjusting the read-out of your device. If your device isn't adjustable you have a couple of options. First, you can send the thermometer back to the manufacturer for calibration. The price and availability of this service will vary depending on the model, your warranty, and the company. Second, you can simply take a small piece of tape and write the amount the thermometer is off by on it and stick it to the thermometer body. Every time you use the thermometer, the tape will remind you to mentally adjust the read-out by the number written on the tape. Finally, if your thermometer was cheap or is old, you may just want to buy a new one.
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