My favorite smart kitchen tool just got a meaty upgrade (and why you need one)

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Meater 2 Plus is available now for $129.95.
• Five-sensor accuracy, a powerful smartphone application, long battery life, and a handy magnetic case are the highlights of the Meater 2 Plus.
• The device is relatively expensive, but the lack of wasted meat thanks to proper cooking makes up for it.

My family enjoys good steak, chicken, pork loin, and other meats cooked on the barbeque grill. After discovering the Meater thermometer in 2018, I never cooked meat without using this wireless device. Steak is a bit easier to grill properly with timing and visual cues, but chicken is so much easier (and tastier) when cooked with the precision thermometer.

Also: Cook a perfect turkey with the help of the Meater wireless thermometer and your smartphone

While at CES in January, I visited the Meater folks and came home with a new Meater 2 Plus to evaluate. I’ve used the device several times during the past six weeks to cook chicken, steak, and pork. All were grilled to perfection and I highly recommend the Meater 2 Plus if you want to cook with confidence.

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One of the new features found in the Meater 2 Plus is the additional sensors found along the length of the metal thermometer. Five internal sensors measure various areas of your meat, with one ambient sensor measuring the temperature in the grill or oven around your meat. This measurement gives you the most accurate picture of your cooking, with each sensor reading available to you in a smartphone application.

The Meater 2 Plus is constructed of stainless steel and is waterproof, so you can even use it to deep fry meat, such as your Thanksgiving turkey. The device connects to your phone via Bluetooth 5.2 and you charge it by setting it on the included bamboo case. But even if your case battery dies, it uses a standard AAA battery, so you can easily swap a new one in. Five minutes of charging will be enough to get you through a two-hour cooking session, from what I’ve tested.

Magnets are attached to the back of the bamboo case. When my family moved into our house, I installed a metal panel in a couple of our cupboards to attach kitchen tools with magnets. The Meater Plus and Meater 2 Plus attach securely to this panel and are always accessible and ready to go when meat is on the menu.

The thermometer has been lab-tested and is accurate to within half a degree Fahrenheit, so you can trust it when it comes to ensuring a proper, thoroughly cooked meal. The device is designed to sustain a maximum internal temperature of 221 degrees, with an ambient maximum of 1,000 degrees. However, if you are cooking meat to an internal temp of 221, you are basically overcooking your meat and should start over at that point.

While the Meater 2 Plus has proven to be a must-have accessory for my kitchen, there’s even more usefulness found in the Meater smartphone application. The updated app now includes a Master Class page, which includes a wide variety of recipes with videos, images, ingredients, additional kitchen tools, and specific step-by-step instructions to help you get creative in the kitchen.

Also: The five best meat thermometers

I enjoy baking and cooking meats, but really appreciate having something like the Master Class utility on hand, especially since my family likes trying new recipes and methods for success in the kitchen. I’ve followed many recipes and instructions in the Traeger app in the past when using my smoker. Now, I look forward to thrilling my family with suggestions from the Meater application.

The app supports customizing your settings for notifications, sounds, and more. There is also an Apple Watch companion app, so that you can make sure you are aware of your meat’s internal temperature right from your wrist.

ZDNET’s buying advice

After discovering the original Meater Plus thermometer, I now don’t cook any meat without using the device to help manage my cooking time. The Meater 2 Plus enhances the cooking experience, with more sensors, an upgraded design, and a reliable thermometer that can be counted on to provide accurate and timely temperature management. 

The big question mark for many users will be the price of the Meater. It’s not cheap at $129. But if reliable and safe cooking is what you’re after, and you don’t trust eyeballing or timing things, then this smart thermometer is well worth the investment.