I have used my Meater block for four cooks so far. 2 spatchcocked turkeys and 8 bone-in butts cooked in two batches of 4. One turkey I did in the oven and the other in the Yoder 640. All butts were cooked on my Yoder 640 pellet grill.
The two turkey cooks were my first cooks with the Meater and the internal temp part of the probes performed well, but the ambient temps were off due to positioning of the probes and the use of pans for both turkeys. The turkeys were cooked at 350. The butts were also panned but cooked at 250. The probes performed decently in both internal and ambient temps in the pit. The butts were cooked on two levels and the probes indicated the ambient temps were cooler on top by about 20 degrees. The internal temps were within 1 degree of my Thermopen readings, so I'm confident in their accuracy.
A few pros and cons I've observed:
Pros
1 - No wires. I can't tell you how nice this is. No dirty black wires to fight or clean.
2 - Water resistant. Clean them by running under water and giving them a scrub with soap and water.
3 - Wifi - allows me to move about without having to leave my phone next to the grill. I haven't tried checking from a different town, but that test is coming.
4 - Accuracy on internal temps is very good and ambient also appears to be close. The position of the probe definitely impacts the readings on ambient temps though. This isn't an indication that the probes are reading the wrong temp, they are just reading the temp where they are at. They are located within a couple inches of the meat surface so they are pretty close to, if not in, the cool zone around the HOM, so that's the temp they read. For me this isn't a deal breaker. Any time you change sizes of your HOM you change the inner workings of the grill so temps won't be the same in a specific spot any way. I'm a true believer of setting the temp, letting the Yoder do it's job, and enjoying the great results.
Cons
1 - I already have one probe that is not responding. I've sent an email for support and we will see how well support responds. I've emailed questions before and they have gotten back to me in a day or two and have been very helpful. Hopefully this can be taken care of quickly and easily and it's a fluke event. Time will tell.
2 - Bluetooth signal from probes to the block itself is very weak. I have to have the block within about a foot of the grill when using the Yoder. I'm sure part of the issue is the heavy steel used to build the cooking chamber. Throw a welding blanket on top of that and it gets even worse. I actually had to put the block on the grill yesterday. Today for some reason, I could leave the block in the house a couple feet away next to our glass patio door. The probes in the oven didn't seem to be an issue with the block setting about 5 feet away.
3 - Audible notifications only occurs if you have the app running on your screen. If you open something else on your phone or if you put your phone in standby you won't receive an audible alarm, I was hoping this would notify me regardless of what was being done on the phone, just like setting the alarm on the phone.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the Meater Block. I plan on mainly using it to get me close to probe tender, and it does a great job doing that. The non responsive probe is my only major concern.
The two turkey cooks were my first cooks with the Meater and the internal temp part of the probes performed well, but the ambient temps were off due to positioning of the probes and the use of pans for both turkeys. The turkeys were cooked at 350. The butts were also panned but cooked at 250. The probes performed decently in both internal and ambient temps in the pit. The butts were cooked on two levels and the probes indicated the ambient temps were cooler on top by about 20 degrees. The internal temps were within 1 degree of my Thermopen readings, so I'm confident in their accuracy.
A few pros and cons I've observed:
Pros
1 - No wires. I can't tell you how nice this is. No dirty black wires to fight or clean.
2 - Water resistant. Clean them by running under water and giving them a scrub with soap and water.
3 - Wifi - allows me to move about without having to leave my phone next to the grill. I haven't tried checking from a different town, but that test is coming.
4 - Accuracy on internal temps is very good and ambient also appears to be close. The position of the probe definitely impacts the readings on ambient temps though. This isn't an indication that the probes are reading the wrong temp, they are just reading the temp where they are at. They are located within a couple inches of the meat surface so they are pretty close to, if not in, the cool zone around the HOM, so that's the temp they read. For me this isn't a deal breaker. Any time you change sizes of your HOM you change the inner workings of the grill so temps won't be the same in a specific spot any way. I'm a true believer of setting the temp, letting the Yoder do it's job, and enjoying the great results.
Cons
1 - I already have one probe that is not responding. I've sent an email for support and we will see how well support responds. I've emailed questions before and they have gotten back to me in a day or two and have been very helpful. Hopefully this can be taken care of quickly and easily and it's a fluke event. Time will tell.
2 - Bluetooth signal from probes to the block itself is very weak. I have to have the block within about a foot of the grill when using the Yoder. I'm sure part of the issue is the heavy steel used to build the cooking chamber. Throw a welding blanket on top of that and it gets even worse. I actually had to put the block on the grill yesterday. Today for some reason, I could leave the block in the house a couple feet away next to our glass patio door. The probes in the oven didn't seem to be an issue with the block setting about 5 feet away.
3 - Audible notifications only occurs if you have the app running on your screen. If you open something else on your phone or if you put your phone in standby you won't receive an audible alarm, I was hoping this would notify me regardless of what was being done on the phone, just like setting the alarm on the phone.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the Meater Block. I plan on mainly using it to get me close to probe tender, and it does a great job doing that. The non responsive probe is my only major concern.
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