I'm finally posting a review of the original Meater that I've had for a while now.
Overall, I like it. But it definitely has some downsides.
The temp (external and internal) seems pretty accurate, and being able to monitor my cook on my phone anywhere is very nice. I can go to the store or dinner and keep an eye on my cook.
The ONLY way it works is to have an intermediary device close to the cooker. It connects to the Meater via Bluetooth and to the Internet via the home WIFI. (You can actually sign into the Meater cloud, which will allow you to see it from anywhere.) I use an old smartphone. The place in the pic is where I've found it can get a steady signal from the device AND from Wifi. Any closer to the smoker and it loses the WIFI signal. Any closer to the house (or inside) and it loses the connection to the Meater.
It's about 10 feet from the smoker (my brand new G2 Chubby), and about five feet from the back wall of the house. But you see the problem. I need the phone to stay on the screen, which draws the power down pretty quickly. so I need to leave it plugged in.
Even with this setup, it will occasionally drop signal. But it usually comes back pretty quickly.
IF YOU BUY the Meater+ or the Meater Block (which is just starting to ship), the block does the job of being an intermediary.
Now... on to how it works.
The meater lives in a magnet-mounted block on my fridge door. The block has a battery in it that charges the Meater. You take it out just before the cook, and it turns on automatically when you do that. Assuming you have previously paired it with your smartphone, it'll show up in the app. Then you can setup a "guided cook" or a custom one. To setup a guided cook, you select the type of meat you're cooking, then the temp you want to cook it to.
Stick the Meater in the meat you're cooking, making sure you put it in past the little line it tells you to go past.
Make sure the Meater will stay parallel or with the head pointing up. I've had it pop out during a cook. I got lucky and it fell in just the right place. (Not in the water pan and not in the fire.) So keep how the meat will move during the cook in mind. This is extra important if you're hanging the meat on a PBC, since the meat moves around as it shrinks. It's less important if your meat is sitting on a shelf.
If you've connected the "intermediate" device to WIFI, you can load the same app on another phone and connect it to the same Meater. If you logged into Meater cloud, you can even do that from anywhere. Pretty cool.
The display shows you the current internal temp, the target temp, and the smoker temp (referred to as the Ambient temp). It also shows an estimate of the amount of time for the current cook. You can also see a graph of both temps by hitting the button on the bottom.
You can see based on the curve that I'm entering "the stall" on my current cook. This is why it NOW says it's going to be 7.5 hours before I finish. I don't think the software understands the stall.
It beeps at you when you're 5 mins from being done, and again when it's time to remove the meat. Pretty slick.
Pros:
1. Single, wireless thermometer. That's kind of the whole point.
2. Monitor cook from anywhere via a smartphone
3. Graph showing your cook that you can refer to later. Very helpful if you're trying different methods of cooking.
Cons:
1. Need a second device if you buy Meater (not Meater+), and you may have to power that device.
2. No way to test the accuracy of the Ambient sensor (not waterproof, so you can't calibrate w/ice & boiling water)
3. Can't monitor smoker temp during its "pre-heat" phase, unless you put it in a glass of water or something. Then you have to take that out and swap it out. (The internal sensor is supposed to be inside something.)
Recommendation: If you want to try it, get the Meater+ It's $99 instead of $69.
What I DON'T know is if it will have any longevity issues. It's not electronics have ever liked heat. It would suck to buy the Meater block for $200, then have it start dying on me.
Addendum: Some of the comments from others are about Meater's "less that upfront" marketing, and I have to agree. Out of curiousity, I went to their page to see what it said about ordering a Meater block. It says I have two days left to order it in time for Christmas. But if I DO order it, the text under the order says this:
"New orders for MEATER Block will ship after crowdfunding pre-orders have been fulfilled. Estimated date: TBD. For pre-orders, we will capture the payment now to hold your place in the order list. Refundable."
So is it a pre-order, or is it a "buy now in time for Christmas?"
Overall, I like it. But it definitely has some downsides.
The temp (external and internal) seems pretty accurate, and being able to monitor my cook on my phone anywhere is very nice. I can go to the store or dinner and keep an eye on my cook.
The ONLY way it works is to have an intermediary device close to the cooker. It connects to the Meater via Bluetooth and to the Internet via the home WIFI. (You can actually sign into the Meater cloud, which will allow you to see it from anywhere.) I use an old smartphone. The place in the pic is where I've found it can get a steady signal from the device AND from Wifi. Any closer to the smoker and it loses the WIFI signal. Any closer to the house (or inside) and it loses the connection to the Meater.
It's about 10 feet from the smoker (my brand new G2 Chubby), and about five feet from the back wall of the house. But you see the problem. I need the phone to stay on the screen, which draws the power down pretty quickly. so I need to leave it plugged in.
Even with this setup, it will occasionally drop signal. But it usually comes back pretty quickly.
IF YOU BUY the Meater+ or the Meater Block (which is just starting to ship), the block does the job of being an intermediary.
Now... on to how it works.
The meater lives in a magnet-mounted block on my fridge door. The block has a battery in it that charges the Meater. You take it out just before the cook, and it turns on automatically when you do that. Assuming you have previously paired it with your smartphone, it'll show up in the app. Then you can setup a "guided cook" or a custom one. To setup a guided cook, you select the type of meat you're cooking, then the temp you want to cook it to.
Stick the Meater in the meat you're cooking, making sure you put it in past the little line it tells you to go past.
Make sure the Meater will stay parallel or with the head pointing up. I've had it pop out during a cook. I got lucky and it fell in just the right place. (Not in the water pan and not in the fire.) So keep how the meat will move during the cook in mind. This is extra important if you're hanging the meat on a PBC, since the meat moves around as it shrinks. It's less important if your meat is sitting on a shelf.
If you've connected the "intermediate" device to WIFI, you can load the same app on another phone and connect it to the same Meater. If you logged into Meater cloud, you can even do that from anywhere. Pretty cool.
The display shows you the current internal temp, the target temp, and the smoker temp (referred to as the Ambient temp). It also shows an estimate of the amount of time for the current cook. You can also see a graph of both temps by hitting the button on the bottom.
You can see based on the curve that I'm entering "the stall" on my current cook. This is why it NOW says it's going to be 7.5 hours before I finish. I don't think the software understands the stall.
It beeps at you when you're 5 mins from being done, and again when it's time to remove the meat. Pretty slick.
Pros:
1. Single, wireless thermometer. That's kind of the whole point.
2. Monitor cook from anywhere via a smartphone
3. Graph showing your cook that you can refer to later. Very helpful if you're trying different methods of cooking.
Cons:
1. Need a second device if you buy Meater (not Meater+), and you may have to power that device.
2. No way to test the accuracy of the Ambient sensor (not waterproof, so you can't calibrate w/ice & boiling water)
3. Can't monitor smoker temp during its "pre-heat" phase, unless you put it in a glass of water or something. Then you have to take that out and swap it out. (The internal sensor is supposed to be inside something.)
Recommendation: If you want to try it, get the Meater+ It's $99 instead of $69.
What I DON'T know is if it will have any longevity issues. It's not electronics have ever liked heat. It would suck to buy the Meater block for $200, then have it start dying on me.
Addendum: Some of the comments from others are about Meater's "less that upfront" marketing, and I have to agree. Out of curiousity, I went to their page to see what it said about ordering a Meater block. It says I have two days left to order it in time for Christmas. But if I DO order it, the text under the order says this:
"New orders for MEATER Block will ship after crowdfunding pre-orders have been fulfilled. Estimated date: TBD. For pre-orders, we will capture the payment now to hold your place in the order list. Refundable."
So is it a pre-order, or is it a "buy now in time for Christmas?"
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