July 2007
BBQ thermometer, my new best friend
I was a little envious at previous BBQ competitions when I noticed that a couple of the BBQ teams were using Dual probe thermometers. I guess you could say it was gadget envy. This was especially the case in the last competition when I had forgotten my meat thermometer/timer at home. Up until this point I had only seen them at the store and wondered if they were actually useful or were they just for lazy folks.
I use a single probe meat thermometer and a separate gauge-style smoker thermometer which I have had for quite sometime… they have served me well over the years and give me all of the information that I need. Who could ask for more? While I was at Barbecues Galore picking up some hickory wood chunk I saw that dual probe thermometer staring me in the face. I couldn’t resist… after all, everyone else is using it… right? So I dropped the extra $50 ($49.95) and got myself a handy dandy dual probe Redi Chek BBQ thermometer and I couldn’t wait to use it.
There I was unpacking it and as my wife looked over shaking her head as I try to justify the purchase. Fortunately she likes BBQ and didn’t challenge my decision-making abilities… this time. One added bonus that I hadn’t noticed, or didn’t bother to notice, was that it was a remote thermometer. I have a remote thermometer, that I have never used, that I picked up at one of those end of season sales a while back. It was under ten bucks and I couldn’t say no. These things always seemed like a gimmick to me, kinda like the BBQ set that has that fork with an instant-read thermometer built into it. Remote thermometers have one more piece than your standard probe thermometer. Thats in my book one more piece that can get broken, lost, or just run out of battery juice. Well, what the heck, lets give it go anyways.
The learning curve was a little steep, but if it gave me both temperatures it would be worth it. After all, that what I really wanted. As I sit programming this thing i notice that it also lets me set an alarm for high and low temperatures for both probes. Sweet, so I go ahead and do that put my butts in the smoker and go. And there they were, the temperatures for both my smoker and my meat.
The beauty of the remote BBQ thermometer was made apparent once I went inside and started, surfing the web, watching TV, cleaning the kitchen, and just doing my thing. I could just take a look at my thermometer and have peace of mind that my temps are all good. It was amazing, just like magic. All of these year I have been going outside and checking my smoker and meat temps. Now I can do that from indoors. Yay! It’s just like using WiFi for the first time, you wonder how you ever lived without it.
Overall, I’m very pleased with my purchase except for steep learning curve required to use this thermometer. I have to make sure that I keep the instructions in a safe place. I wonder if other brands are easier to use? I love what it does, gives me smoker and meat temperatures from the comfort of my living room, just wish it was a little easier to use.
Cookouts are always fun.
Swift loves BBQ.
Mmmmmm, pork butt.
Barbecuing for friends and family is always fun especially when you have your trusty dog and he is willing to help you with any scraps. The mid-week festivities threw me for a loop where I had to pre-cook all of my meat the weekend prior to the Fourth. The pulled pork sandwiches were the hands-down winner. I also made a batch for the peeps at work and they seemed to enjoy as well. There were even a couple of vegetarians who crossed over, just for the day. The ribs were good, but didn’t fare nearly as well as the pulled pork. Those butts are pretty indestructible.
One thing that I did notice is that we cooked way too much food. Perhaps we’ll plan better next year, but BBQ is one of those things where you can’t just put one rack of ribs in the smoker. Might as well fill the thing if you’re going to cook anything at all.
I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked to have taken. But you can check out my photo set by clicking here.
4th of July BBQ
This year the 4th falls on a Wednesday, which sucks because I only get one day off for the holiday. I like having an extra day before to prepare and start to cook my BBQ. Our menu will usually consist of BBQ pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. These are great because I cook the pork overnight in my smoker and they are ready to eat as people arrive. The ribs I like to do the day of so that guests can enjoy them with the rest of the meal.
This year things are a little different and I had to pre-cook all of my meat. This is a pain because I like cooking on that day, but BBQ takes time and this year I have none. It also means that I am going to have to reheat all of my meat, hopefully it wont be overcooked.
I would like to hear about what is on your menu for the Fourth, post a comment and let me know.