Alongside your best cookware set and extraordinary blender and Dutch oven, a quality meat thermometer is something great to have on hand — especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner.
Pairing perfectly with this year’s turkey (perhaps from our expert-backed guide of the best places to order a Thanksgiving turkey online), a meat thermometer will help provide precision, temperature-regulation and a worry-free cooking environment, regardless of the cut of poultry or meat you’re tending to. (Related: Best serving platters).
“​Use [a meat thermometer] any time you cook meat,” Shawn Matijevich, lead chef of Online Culinary Arts & Food Operations at the Institute of Culinary Education, told the New York Post. “That could be a steak, chop, roast, or even fish.”
The “degree of doneness,” Matijevich adds, is a function of the amount of time and the temperature. “If you know the temperature, you know for sure that the meat is cooked to the desired degree of doneness,” he explains. “If you don’t use the thermometer, you’re just guessing.”
To help remove the guesswork from all your home-cooked meals, we rounded up the best meat thermometers, along with expert tips.
Click to jump to the best meat thermometers:
How do you use a meat thermometer?
First, place your meat thermometer in the thickest part of your meat and wait until the dial stops moving. Make sure to clean it and sanitize it after each use.
“Also, make sure to take care of it,” Matijevich adds. “If you drop it, you can throw it out of calibration and if you don’t know how to calibrate it, then that thermometer is worthless; it could actually make things worse.”
What’s the ideal temperature for a meat thermometer?
“You want a temperature range between 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 212 degrees Fahrenheit at a minimum,” Matijevich notes. “This is so you check the accuracy and calibration of your thermometer.”
Pro tip: before using it, you can place it in ice water and it should read 32 degrees Fahrenheit. “You can also place it in boiling water and (at sea level) it should read 212 degrees Fahrenheit — then you know you can trust it,” Matijevich adds.
Best Meat Thermometers
While Matijevich recommends ThermoPro and Taylor meat thermometer brands, we also did some research to find some of the best on the market.
ThermoPro Waterproof Digital Meat Thermometer
With nearly 12,000 Amazon reviews, the TheermoPro Waterproof Digital Meat Thermometer is a beloved model that’s ergonomic and great for any of your cuts. Namely, its easy to read screen adds to the experience, while it’s also motion-sensor activated with a rotating display.
Taylor Precision Digital Instant Read Thermometer
For less than $15, we recommend buying the Taylor Precision Digital Instant Read Thermometer. Perfect for cooking or grilling, this model is fully waterproof, boasts antimicrobial protection to help rid unwanted germs and can be recalibrated for precise measurements.
All-Clad Instant Read Digital Thermometer
With a name like All-Clad, you know it’s going to be good. The brand’s bestselling Instant Read Digital Thermometer is a heavy duty model bound to match the rest of your stainless steel appliances and a bright, backlit display. Plus, it’s compact enough to fit in a chef’s apron.
Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer
For the lover of all things smart home, the Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer is, quite literally, one of the best kitchen gadgets to come on the market. Specifically, it’s a great Bluetooth meat thermometer, comes with a charging dock to monitor your meat up to 150 feet away and has built-in timers and alerts.
OXO Digital Instant Read Thermometer
The OXO Digital Instant Read Thermometer is a great less-than-$25 buy and has one of the largest LCD displays we’ve seen. It also comes with a storage sleeve and includes a cheat sheet of recommended temperatures for every cut of meat, making it great for beginner chefs.
Check out the New York Post Shopping section for more content.