Review: Meater Block – a bit expensive, but what’s the price of failed BBQ?

The summer might be winding down, but that doesn’t mean that the backyard BBQs need to end. We do need to talk about food safety though, something that you might forget about during your celebratory mood. Thing is, every time you grill there’s always a chance of bacteria giving your guests a bad time. Maybe it’s that chicken that wasn’t fully defrosted, maybe Uncle Buck really shouldn’t have asked for his steak “moo’ing.”

Whatever the reason, it could have been avoided by cooking your meat to safe internal temperatures. For that, you need a meat thermometer or two. Now, most make you have to put your hands almost to the flames to check, and who wants to do that? Or worse, wreck that lovely aroma of smoke you’ve been carefully cultivating under your grill hood for the last few hours.

Enter the solution: Meater and their wireless probes, paired with the $270 Meater Block for extra coverage.

No wires needed

Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

No, really. No. Wires. Needed. Okay, maybe one, but it’s optional. That’s because the Meater Block can be run on batteries alone, or with a microUSB cable. The probes have their own internal batteries, recharged by stowing them back in the Block. Nifty.

Link up the Block to your WiFi so you can keep an eye on the grill from 170ft or so, or just use the Block on its own, which gives you Bluetooth range if you like to keep a closer eye on things. It’s really that simple.

Oh, make sure you take the tab out from the battery compartment before starting, as the Block needs that juice to recharge the probes. Seriously, don’t forget. I spent a good few hours trying to pair the probes before I realized that they recharge from those batteries, and not the USB cable I had plugged in. Maybe Meater can make them recharge when a cable is plugged in as well.

Grill up a storm

Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

When it’s grilling time (and really, when isn’t?), just stick the probes into your choicest cuts of meat. Make sure to go past the scored line, and then throw that baby on to cook.

Tap the corresponding number on the app to the probe you used, and tell it what meat, and what doneness you want. That’s it. Sit back, crack open a cold one and wait for the app to tell you it’s nearly ready. It’ll take measurements for the grill temp and of the internal temp of the meat, and work some algorithmic magic to figure out cooking time. Niiiiice.

It’ll squawk at you when it’s nearly done, plenty of time to get back to the grill if you’ve been mingling with your guests. It’ll squawk again once it’s to the internal temperature for the doneness you want, so you better be ready to pull that NY Strip off the heat before you ruin it.

So, should I buy it?

Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

I’ll just let the pictures do the talking here… No, but, really. If you want your grilling perfectly cooked to your preferences every time, Meater should be part of your grill kit. The Meater Block is $269, which does seem like a lot. Then again, what’s the price of failed BBQ? Wasted steaks? Charred chickens? Brisket that looks more like a briquette?

If you love BBQ and hate wires, get a Meater Block – your cookouts will never be the same again.

A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.