Reviews
Review: Thermapen ONE – measure your meat in style
Just dip the tip in for one second and you’re good to go.
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
It’s still grilling season, and one of the most important pieces of equipment any aspiring pitmaster needs is a quality digital thermometer. Being able to make decisions based on quickly-read meat temperatures can make or break your meats, not to mention the risk of food-borne illnesses if you get the internal temperatures wrong.
There’s any number of thermometers on the market, from wireless ones to probes with long wires. We’re looking at one of the premier brands today, ThermoWorks, with their newest handheld digital thermometer, the $105 Thermapen One.
With so many cheaper options on the market, is it worth that price?
So, what’s it all about?
Okay, the Thermapen range has long been the favorite for professional kitchens. ThermoWorks has done something really special with the Thermapen One, by improving almost every single aspect of the device.
The biggest improvement? Getting the reading time to one second or less, even while doing five readings to ensure accuracy. ONE. SECOND. Let that sink in for, umm, one second.
That means no hanging your hand over the heat for long periods, or keeping the oven or grill open longer than necessary to get a reading. No associated temperature loss from whatever’s heating the food. No more counting in your head to ensure the three or four seconds that other temperature probes need. And it’s still accurate, to ± 0.5°F (± 0.3°C)!
There are also a few other quality-of-life changes, that really make it great. The backlight is now just white, and it’s brighter and more able to adjust to ambient light levels. It’s got a five-year warranty, which is insane when most units on the market give you a standard 12 months.
ThermoWorks has also made the battery door easier to remove, but you do still need a screwdriver. That’s because the Thermapen One is IP67 water- and dust-proof, perfect for the rigors of the kitchen. Every unit is also calibrated before shipping, and they include the calibration certificate in the box. Whew.
So, is it worth the expense?
Luckily we had some steaks in the fridge when the Thermapen One arrived, perfect for testing purposes. The first thing I noticed? They ain’t fudging the numbers with that one-second temperature read. Flipping the probe out gave me the air temperature as soon as the display flickered on.
Then it was time for the meat, and by the time I’d inserted the tip of the probe I had the reading on the display. That display btw, auto-rotates, so you can easily read it whichever way you need to hold it to take a reading. Nifty.
The other thing is that the micro-thermocouple used only needs to go into your food an eighth of an inch to get an accurate reading. That’s important with thinner cuts of meat, as it can take exact temperatures of a specific area, instead of relying on averages as you do on a larger sensor.
Look, the $105 price tag is hefty, but you get five years of warranty here, so it’s still competitively priced in our opinion. The Thermapen One will keep going in your kitchen or BBQ area for years, helping you churn out perfect plates, every time.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- Review: CineHome II wireless surround speaker system
- Review: Traeger Pro 575 smart grill – I hope I don’t butcher this review
- Review: Atomos Ninja V – not just for recording video
- Review: Dali Oberon 1 C speakers – who said wireless audio is bad?
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News
