Looking for one I can use for smoking meats.
The internal probes on my pellet seem to not be as trustworthy as I hoped, so looking for a backup.
There are a lot out there in the market, so wanted to get opinions of favorites, what to look for, what to avoid.

I have a Chef IQ that I really like. I got the 2 extra probes as well. Wireless and blue tooth. Internal part of the probe measures the meat, external part measures the ambient temp. I have also had an inkbird wireless, but had issues with the probes. I still use it as a back up for ambient temp. Then I have a Kizen which was an Amazon deal that is similar to a thermopen and it has done well.

I use one for instant read and one for smoking monitoring.

Instant

Deal of the day: ThermoPro TP19 Waterproof Digital Meat Thermometer for Grilling with Ambidextrous Backlit & Thermocouple Instant Read Kitchen Cooking Food Thermometer for Candy Water Oil BBQ Grill Smoker https://a.co/d/e9Viype

Monitoring:

Limited-time deal: ThermoPro TP930 650FT Wireless Meat Thermometer, Bluetooth Meat Thermometer with 4 Color-Coded Meat Probes, Grill Thermometer with Timer, Commercial Cooking Tools & Utensils Meat Thermometer Wireless https://a.co/d/5bAZm8s

Been very happy with both.

Love my Inkbird

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Thermometer-Rechargeable-Wireless-Calibration/dp/B07XNTJKY4/ref=asc_df_B07XNTJKY4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=563656725342&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3664608346023118370&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028155&hvtargid=pla-950622599429&mcid=4ff5ac75c8c93634b20899d27a619e1c&gclid=CjwKCAiAmZGrBhAnEiwAo9qHiQYc0aH8aKlMiR6gDMPCq74CMaml33eLX3BoD7CHQ0amkxSrx6XyARoCdgMQAvD_BwE&th=1

another for inkbird.

I like that the probes are thin. I have a Meater and didn't care for the 1/2 inch wound it would create.

Also, the inkbird is wifi and has a long range. I didn't have good luck with other bluetooth ones and had to stand right next to it to connect which kind of defeats the purpose.

I have a Big Green Egg instant and an inkbird with four probes for monitoring long cooks.

Used "Meater" for a bit. Pretty good results. I haven't tried anything else though except for the obvious insta read to check fore doneness all around the meat.

That's a good point about Meater, it does leave a crater.

I love the Meater. Safe up to 1000 degrees now

I have a couple of Thermworks knockoffs that work well. The really cheap one has a $10 off coupon at Amazon right now making it ~$26.

I also have the ThermoPro TP20 2 channel probe. It works very well too. Amazon says I made the purchase in March of 2018 and its still going.

I also have multi-probe RTD datalogger I made using a Raspberry Pi if you want to build your own along with PID control, lol.

A simple test when getting temperature probes is to to a 2 point temperature check with boiling water and an ice water bath. Make sure not to touch the pot with the probe and you make have to leave it for a bit - especially the ice bath. In an icewater bath your temp probe should read 32 degrees F and 212 in boiling water -- at sea level.

To get the specific temperature water boils where you are; enter the altitude and current barometric pressure into the calculator here: https://www.thermoworks.com/bpcalc/

Some people call this a calibration. I call it more of a spot check or reference check because a 2 point calibration is always perfectly linear which is unrealistic. The would lean more into the calibration realm for a meat thermometer because the two points are at least in the serviceable range. Cooking occurs at higher temps than that.


Cheap one: https://a.co/d/35vShjO

ThermoPro TP20: https://a.co/d/ijxIVHD