Thermapen Instant Read Thermometers...

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Otter

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I have a Taylor Instant Read Thermometer. I don't remember the exact price, but I know it was under $20.00. It is fast, but it definitely is not "instant" - takes 5+ seconds. I see the Thermapen used frequently on cooking shows and it is supposed to be truly instant, but it costs $79.95. Does anyone have one? Is the extra speed or any other features worth the money? Will it effectively measure the temp of liquids or pan temperatures?
 
I have never used one, but I have been lusting after one for a while. This page should hopefully answer some of your questions.
 
I love my digital thermometer. Don't know what its called but it's a probe connected to a digital readout by a long silver wire and comes from Williams Sonoma. It shows you the temp. all the time you are cooking, and can set it for various meats and doneness. I won it so don't know how much it cost but if it dies I'll definitly buy another.
 
Yes, I have one and it is worth every penny. I use it frequently for testing water temp when I bake bread besides steaks, hamburger, chicken etc.
 
I have an Accurite instant that I use all the time and a Pyrex digital that's a pain in the butt (with it's cord and monitor)! Five seconds is close enough to "instant" for me.
 
"Instant Read", in this case, appears to be a relative term based on a comparison to older thermometer technology where 5-seconds seemed "instant" compared to 30+ seconds (when these thermometers came on the market). Even Thermapen, thanks for the link GB, doesn't claim to be instant - just quick or quicker depending on the model. IMHO - I've never been in such a hurry that saving 1-2 seconds was worth $70.

For pan temperatures ... are you talking about heating an empty pan, or maybe a griddle, and wanting to know the temperature of the cooking surface? If so, for that you probably want to look into an infrared thermometer (closer to instant read at about 1/2 sec or less). A low end model will run you about $70-$150. A Google search will give you some information: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=infrared+thermometer&btnG=Google+Search but before you start picking one out you might want to read the "What is an infrared thermometer" info at http://www.omega.com/prodinfo/infraredthermometer.html
 
Well, after doing some research, I decided to break down and get a Thermapen. I looked at every review I could find and the ONLY negative I could find was the price. I figure if I'm going to spend $100 for a good knife, that much or more for a good piece of cookware, then the $90 (including shipping) isn't that outrageous for what seems to be the consensus winner among quick (4 sec - 30 sec) read thermometers. Even my wife didn't freak out, so it can't be all that bad. And what's the sense of having all that other cool stuff if you still cant get a good, fast, and accurate read on the internal temps of what you are cooking in and on all that high dollar gear? :rolleyes:
 
You are going to love it - I use it to get the correst temperature of water when I'm baking bread also. It is worth every penny.
 
Here are some comments some of my fellow bbq buddies had about it.


Extremely accurate read within 3 seconds. Accurate to within one degree. Very expensive though

They are expensive, but I consider it money well spent.
 
Spice1133 said:
I love my digital thermometer. Don't know what its called but it's a probe connected to a digital readout by a long silver wire and comes from Williams Sonoma. It shows you the temp. all the time you are cooking, and can set it for various meats and doneness. I won it so don't know how much it cost but if it dies I'll definitly buy another.
Click to expand...

spice, i have the same exact thermometer, from wms-sonoma.
i swear by it; haven't over or under cooked a roast since i bought it. the whole trick is making sure the tip of the probe is in the center of the meat. it's a little tricky with chickens and smaller bone-in roasts.

the only instant read thermometer i have is built into a long grill fork with a little light. but it's also not truely instant read (ok, none of them really are. "instant" is an arbitrary term). i don't use it because you have to repeatedly pierce the meat to read the temp, and that's a huge no no on the grill.
 
I have the Thermapen super fast read thermometer and I loved it until Sunday. I was making pork tenderloin and was using a remote meat probe thermometer. When the probe indicated the desired temperature, I used the Thermapen to double check. The Thermapen was 20 degrees off! (I did check in several spots). Because I trust the Thermapen more I cooked longer - wrong thing to do! The tenderloin came out more well done than I wanted.

Obviously, the Thermapen is off. Does anyone know how to correct this? I checked out the website but couldn't find any answers. I called the company but they are not open right now. This Thermapen was just purchased in December 2006.
 
Test the thermapen in boiling water (212 F) and in water with ice cubes (32 F) to be sure. Digital thermometers are usually right on. I don;t know if there is an adjustment.
 
Michael in [LEFT said:
FtW[/left]]
... are you talking about heating an empty pan, or maybe a griddle, and wanting to know the temperature of the cooking surface? If so, for that you probably want to look into an infrared thermometer ...
Click to expand...
I've had one of these for a few years. It's great. I use it for checking oil temperature for deep frying and a multitude of other things like finding studs in the wall.
When it comes to measuring pot and pan temperatures, it is not accurate on pans with shiny surfaces like stainless. It will read much lower than the real temp. I found that by coating the bottom of a stainless pan with a little oil it works just fine.
Radioshack​
has them on sale periodically for $29.
 
I tested the Thermopen and the Meat Probe. Just open both registered to 71 degrees. In the cup of boiling water the Thermopen registered 219 degrees and the Probe fluctuated between 200-206 degrees. In the cup of water with ice cubes the Thermopen registered to 33 degrees and the probe fluctuated between 27-31 degrees. So the Thermopen seems to be the most accurate - I don't know what happened that day - I'm baffled!:wacko:
 
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