8 ms·

a guage. On the bbq lid. No, i can't check it while i sit inside, this is true, there is, however a very good argument that says, maybe i shouldn't actually be

a guage. On the bbq lid. No, i can't check it while i sit inside, this is true, there is, however a very good argument that says, maybe i shouldn't actually be inside while the bbq is on though.

olyjohn 6y ago
Not the grill temp... the meat temp.
- tomrod 6y ago
  Connecting the thermometer to a gauge could support either grill or meat the same way a (now-too-many-moving-parts) iot device would.
- flukus 6y ago
  A meat gauge connected to the thermometer on the lid then. This whole attitude to cooking is also weird. Cooking is in large part experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn't, learning and iterating. Sometimes the results will be bad, often they'll be sub-optimal but the variance is part of what makes it and we lose something by trying to turn it into an exact science. If you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest McDonalds.
  - KZeillmann 6y ago
    Using a meat thermometer (leave-in probe or instant) is a fantastic element of modern cooking, and a huge advancement in food safety. I can't imagine cooking without it. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy experimenting - but it does mean my chicken doesn't dry out or come out undercooked.
  - crazygringo 6y ago
    > If you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest McDonalds. Actually, if you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest a Michelin-starred restaurant. If you've ever eaten at McDonald's you'd know the quality control, well, leaves a lot to be desired. Your comment tells me you don't really know anything about cooking at all.
zerocrates 6y ago
There's a barbecue recipe guy I like, big proponent of leave-in thermometers (the kind with leads that snake outside the barbecue). He likes to say that the in-lid thermometers are just fine, provided you're planning to eat the lid. I still probably wouldn't use an IoT one, though.
- youngNed 6y ago
  i'm gonna level with you here, i've never eaten meat in my life, so am out of my comfort zone here, but i can't help but feel from reading this that the HN crowd have a propensity for over-engineering that is coming to the fore here. Fire, knives and an apron with a pithy slogan - c'mon, how hard can it be?
  - sk5t 6y ago
    A business built to sell grill gadgets to the HN crowd sounds like a guaranteed recipe for failure. Anyhow, folks who are serious about preparing smoked brisket, ribs, etc., are very particular about the temperature of both the air/smoke and the food. Two thermometers and maybe a computer-controlled fan or damper are not far outside the norm.
    - karatestomp 6y ago
      > A business built to sell grill gadgets to the HN crowd sounds like a guaranteed recipe for failure. Haha, gadget as in IoT crap, maybe, but we're for-sure the market for: aeropress, sous-vide devices (yes some do them DIY but...), dedicated pizza ovens, and so on. You got a gadget to prepare food or drinks that already have other ways to prepare them, HN's not a crazy place to market it. Bonus if it's "sciency" or can be described as more "authentic". But of course we're not like the stupid plebs falling for those silly devices we don't like. (mind, I'm far from immune to this, so I'm not just casting stones at others—oh I am getting one of those pizza ovens at some point. That's happening.)
      - sk5t 6y ago
KZeillmann 6y ago
The temperature gauge on the lid is a terrible judge of what the actual air temperature is inside your grill. It's often low quality and not in a proper placement for your indirect heat. Depending on placement, it can be off by more than 100 degrees F
- saalweachter 6y ago
  I didn’t realize people used it for anything but checking if the grill was on and if it was safe to put the cover back on.
phil21 6y ago
Others have pointed out that this is meat temp, not grill temp. But even if it were grill temp the gauge on the BBQ lid is more of a guide than an actual temperature. They are highly inaccurate, more like "cold, warm, hot" than "400 degrees". For most stuff just dialing in the temp comparatively is fine, so the grill gauge works. You know you want to grill your steak when the thing reads 600 degrees, and your chicken at 400. But those temps are certainly not remotely accurate. For some other things (e.g. BBQ/smokers/etc.) getting exact temps correct is key. In those cases you'll require something much more accurate than the grill gauge even just to measure grill temp. Having something wireless is pretty handy in this case, so you can watch a movie in the basement and check on your meat temps without walking upstairs every 15 minutes.
kortilla 6y ago
You haven’t even scratched the surface of the bbq world if it’s not including a things that require an overnight cook (brisket).
ohyeshedid 6y ago
Remote temperature monitors are often used for low and slow smoking that lasts for 10+ hours. There are many smokeboxes designed to be used unattended, a great deal of them have pellet driven hopper systems to keep delivering fuel so there's consistent heat and smoke. Personally, I wouldn't use an app for this and instead just use a remote sensor and dedicated monitor, but I don't fault anyone for using an app.
- mattmaroon 6y ago
  I switched from a pretty sweet thermoworks probe with remote reader to an app and the app is so much better. It’s cleaner and easier, doesn’t require an extra device in my pocket, and lets me manage the temperature on the smoker.
UncleMeat 6y ago
> No, i can't check it while i sit inside, this is true, there is, however a very good argument that says, maybe i shouldn't actually be inside while the bbq is on though. This is an awesome feature for a smoker, which needs fairly consistent temperature for like 10-14hrs.

a guage. On the bbq lid. No, i can't check it while i sit inside, this is true, there is, however a very good argument that says, maybe i shouldn't actually be inside while the bbq is on though.

olyjohn 6y ago

Not the grill temp... the meat temp.

tomrod 6y ago
Connecting the thermometer to a gauge could support either grill or meat the same way a (now-too-many-moving-parts) iot device would.
flukus 6y ago
A meat gauge connected to the thermometer on the lid then. This whole attitude to cooking is also weird. Cooking is in large part experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn't, learning and iterating. Sometimes the results will be bad, often they'll be sub-optimal but the variance is part of what makes it and we lose something by trying to turn it into an exact science. If you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest McDonalds.
- KZeillmann 6y ago
  Using a meat thermometer (leave-in probe or instant) is a fantastic element of modern cooking, and a huge advancement in food safety. I can't imagine cooking without it. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy experimenting - but it does mean my chicken doesn't dry out or come out undercooked.
- crazygringo 6y ago
  > If you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest McDonalds. Actually, if you want something precisely timed and always the same I suggest a Michelin-starred restaurant. If you've ever eaten at McDonald's you'd know the quality control, well, leaves a lot to be desired. Your comment tells me you don't really know anything about cooking at all.

zerocrates 6y ago

There's a barbecue recipe guy I like, big proponent of leave-in thermometers (the kind with leads that snake outside the barbecue). He likes to say that the in-lid thermometers are just fine, provided you're planning to eat the lid. I still probably wouldn't use an IoT one, though.

youngNed 6y ago
i'm gonna level with you here, i've never eaten meat in my life, so am out of my comfort zone here, but i can't help but feel from reading this that the HN crowd have a propensity for over-engineering that is coming to the fore here. Fire, knives and an apron with a pithy slogan - c'mon, how hard can it be?
- sk5t 6y ago
  A business built to sell grill gadgets to the HN crowd sounds like a guaranteed recipe for failure. Anyhow, folks who are serious about preparing smoked brisket, ribs, etc., are very particular about the temperature of both the air/smoke and the food. Two thermometers and maybe a computer-controlled fan or damper are not far outside the norm.
  - karatestomp 6y ago
    > A business built to sell grill gadgets to the HN crowd sounds like a guaranteed recipe for failure. Haha, gadget as in IoT crap, maybe, but we're for-sure the market for: aeropress, sous-vide devices (yes some do them DIY but...), dedicated pizza ovens, and so on. You got a gadget to prepare food or drinks that already have other ways to prepare them, HN's not a crazy place to market it. Bonus if it's "sciency" or can be described as more "authentic". But of course we're not like the stupid plebs falling for those silly devices we don't like. (mind, I'm far from immune to this, so I'm not just casting stones at others—oh I am getting one of those pizza ovens at some point. That's happening.)
    - sk5t 6y ago

KZeillmann 6y ago

The temperature gauge on the lid is a terrible judge of what the actual air temperature is inside your grill. It's often low quality and not in a proper placement for your indirect heat. Depending on placement, it can be off by more than 100 degrees F

saalweachter 6y ago
I didn’t realize people used it for anything but checking if the grill was on and if it was safe to put the cover back on.

phil21 6y ago

Others have pointed out that this is meat temp, not grill temp. But even if it were grill temp the gauge on the BBQ lid is more of a guide than an actual temperature. They are highly inaccurate, more like "cold, warm, hot" than "400 degrees". For most stuff just dialing in the temp comparatively is fine, so the grill gauge works. You know you want to grill your steak when the thing reads 600 degrees, and your chicken at 400. But those temps are certainly not remotely accurate. For some other things (e.g. BBQ/smokers/etc.) getting exact temps correct is key. In those cases you'll require something much more accurate than the grill gauge even just to measure grill temp. Having something wireless is pretty handy in this case, so you can watch a movie in the basement and check on your meat temps without walking upstairs every 15 minutes.

kortilla 6y ago

You haven’t even scratched the surface of the bbq world if it’s not including a things that require an overnight cook (brisket).

ohyeshedid 6y ago

Remote temperature monitors are often used for low and slow smoking that lasts for 10+ hours. There are many smokeboxes designed to be used unattended, a great deal of them have pellet driven hopper systems to keep delivering fuel so there's consistent heat and smoke. Personally, I wouldn't use an app for this and instead just use a remote sensor and dedicated monitor, but I don't fault anyone for using an app.

mattmaroon 6y ago
I switched from a pretty sweet thermoworks probe with remote reader to an app and the app is so much better. It’s cleaner and easier, doesn’t require an extra device in my pocket, and lets me manage the temperature on the smoker.

UncleMeat 6y ago

> No, i can't check it while i sit inside, this is true, there is, however a very good argument that says, maybe i shouldn't actually be inside while the bbq is on though. This is an awesome feature for a smoker, which needs fairly consistent temperature for like 10-14hrs.