I find that the metal ones work better and are easier to keep clean. The meat one I had just didn't last long enough to be useful before it started to smell bad.
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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No. I bought one but ended up continuing my practice of looking at the meat and then taking my chances.
I don't eat meat, and don't seem to need them for other foods. I do use an IR thermometer though to check the temperature of the pan before putting food on it.
Yes, I have several of various types and use them extensively.
They are not necessary to cook, they are necessary to cook consistently.
Only until I get the hang of a cooking technique - once I figure out something always takes 20 minutes to get there, I just do 20 minutes.
If its always the same temp, time, cut, size, and thickness then this is generally safe
Yes. My meat thermometer is a fire and forget type where it automatically shuts off the heat once it reaches a certain temperature or preconfigured meat setting. It makes the air fryer a wonderful appliance when working on other foods simultaneously. Plus, I don't have to worry about unsafe temps, or overcooked food.
Im vegan
I am an experienced cook and use one to produce consistent, on-target results. It more often prevents over-cooking, not under-cooking.
Yes. Accurate temperatures guarantee good results. Sous vied is also wonderful for stress free prep of expensive meats.
Sous vide was a game changer for me. I don't use mine often but break it out when I want to convince people I am not terrible at cooking.
Just wish that it wasn't necessary to use so much plastic for it. If there was any sort of plant-based film that food could be sealed in instead, it'd be perfect.
Try the reverse sear method instead. You get sous vise like results with no plastic, no water bath, just an oven and a pan.
I use my toaster oven to do the precook while searing off vegetables in my pan or baking in the larger oven, then get the pan wicked hot and sear the steak. Fast, excellent mutlitasking. Works well for pork chops too.
The whole benefit of sous vide is that you can completely forget about the meat—even leave it for days at a time—and it will never overcook. Just take it out anytime, slap it on the stove for a quick sear, and get a perfect medium rare every time.
As someone with extreme ADHD, this is why I always sous vide my steak. Reverse sear is slow, yes, but there's still a chance to forget about it and let it overcook.
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It's also great for cheap beef. You can throw a tri-tip or brisket in there and run it for literal days until you have meat as tender as the deli counter, while also being med-rare throughout.
I think possibly the best steak I ever had/made was a cheap chuck steak that I gave a nice long sous vide treatment
There is a whole lot of flavor there, but it can be as tough as shoe leather, but with sous vide it came out as tender as any filet, but way beefier
We use silicon bags and magnets. You let the top of the bag drape over the side of the bucket(tub? basin?) and hold it in place with a few magnets. From what I can tell the results are the same for the steaks and meat we cook and none of the sketchiness from eating slow heated plastic.
Absolutely, and not just for meats. Anything that has a temperature requirement for best cooking method.
An instant-read thermometer is a game changer to make sure fish, meat, and anything else that needs it is properly cooked, and just as importantly, not over-cooked.
Yes. It will tell you what's happening where your eyes cannot see.
That's what I call it when my SO gives me a BJ when she has a fever.
Every time.
Yes. Especially for chicken breasts. It's easy enough to know for sure they're done, but they're much easier to eat as soon as they hit 155F. My immune system has never questioned my chicken, but my taste buds are very thankful for the meat thermometer.
Interesting. I heard that chicken needs to be cooked to 165F. Do you let it rest (and does that get it to eventually reach 165F?)
I just want juicy chicken that won't give me diarrhea!
I always heard 165 too, but I looked at the chart on the meat thermometer and it said 155 for breast. I tried it out and it's much juicer.
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Yes, on the rare occasion I cook meat. Too unpracticed otherwise. I originally got one because I'm colorblind and was scared of undercooking red meat and tired of eating leather. As a bonus, I used it to get the temperature right when I got into fancier teas and inadvertently trained myself to judge the temperature of water pouring into my mug by the sound it makes within a couple °C, which is kinda neat. Now, if I could figure out how to do something similar so I stop overcooking food, that'd be grand...
Perpetually, when cooking meat.
Only when I'm slow roasting something that take hours. I got a bluetooth meat thermometer as a gift a little while back and it's really convenient. There's an app that goes with it. I just set what type of meat it is and insert the thermometer and let it cook. The app tells me when the food is ready.
But that's only for large pieces of meat that take a long time. For anything on the stovetop or grill, or any smaller pieces of meat in the over/airfryer I just do it by feel. I've been cooking long enough that I can tell when a piece of meat is ready just by pushing on it to feel the firmness. And I have a pretty intuitive sense for how long something takes to cook.
I also received a Meater as a gift - but I use it for basically any meat that goes in the oven or gets grilled. And I've found myself putting more meats in the oven so I can use it.
The thing is fantastic and has changed my life - especially when it comes to poultry
I haven't found a need for it with poultry. I also don't really cook whole birds, though. Mostly just wings or breasts. I don't need a thermometer for those.
Every time. Worth doing every time as well.
Don't you?
If I'm grilling I do.
I also use one for the bathtub for my toddlers bath. Haha
Found this and wanted to share! Thanks for the tip 🤯
(via [https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast]("Chicken" https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast#%3A%7E%3Atext=Pasteurization+Time+for-%2CChicken%2C-With+5%25+Fat))
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Yes! There wasn't a lot of meat prepared in my house as I was growing up, so I didn't get any experience with it. Having a meat thermometer means I don't need to guess. It's good.
I've started cooking meat a lil cooler than recommended, in theory that it's more tender. With a meat thermometer I know it's still good.
Didn't in the past, then got a digital one with a magnet so it sticks to the fridge and has safe temps for different meats on the back. Now I use it all the time
Only for chicken, for salmonella reasons, and steak, because I'm terrible at judging doneness without it.
Yes, vitally important when running a grill. I have one with 4 probes, one measures grill temp and 3 for meats.
My SO bought something like this, used it twice, and never again. I find it to be kind of a pain in the ass and have never used it. But I mostly grill shrimp or fish.
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Yep, I am absolutely crap when it comes to judging the doneness of meat. I'll often over or under cook without one.
It also It makes things a lot less stressful when I cook. Rather than constantly going to the kitchen and checking if the roast (or whatever) is ready I just have a wireless thermometer I can look at while I play video games, read or something.
No
Hell yeah, if I didn't everything would come out of my kitchen double well done.
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Yes, I frequently cook for my family and I use it on steaks, roasts, whole birds, pretty much anything big or where temperature is super important. I don't use it for chicken breast though as I tend to like that cooked beyond the recommended temperature anyway.
Yes, but never for meat. I use it when I make toffee, bake bread and some other things.
Yes.
Yup, all the time, whether I'm cooking meat in the oven, on the grill, or on the stove top. They're so handy!
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