Accurate After-market Dome Thermometers?

[TBoneJack]

I have a Weber WSM. I've used a Thermoworks ThermaQ (and now a Thermoworks Smoke) to monitor grate temp during cooks. And my dome thermometer is definitely inaccurate.

Does anyone make accurate after-market dome thermometers?

I've always read that even if the dome thermometer is accurate, it is still misleading because the dome temp and grate temp can vary by 50 degrees. However, I recently attended Myron Mixon's BBQ School and noticed that none of his staff used grate thermometers. I asked a couple of his staff members if they ever use grate thermometers, and they said "no". They simply go by the door thermometers, and judiciously use a Thermapen.

[Willy]

Do you feel Mixon's school was worthwhile?

[JPGators17]

I think that is a rare case where decades of experience supersedes technology. Unless you're a seasoned pit master, I'd stick with the grate thermometer by itself, but I'm definitely not a seasoned pit master.

[lschweig]

I would ignore the dome thermometer and pay attention to the digital grate thermometer.

[TBoneJack]

Do you feel Mixon's school was worthwhile?

Yes, in the sense that it showed me that competition BBQ is not for me. The number of complex rubs, marinades, and injections he uses probably comes close to doubling the cost of his meat, other than Wagyu briskets, which cost $300 (according to him).

From a "tourist" standpoint, the class was worth it for me because I had never seen whole hog preparation or cooking, and I was very much entertained by that. Kinda strange though, considering I have no interest in cooking whole hog.

I also loved looking at all his water smoker models. I'm definitely wanting to buy his MMS-36 water smoker.

From a recipe standpoint, you get all his exact competition recipes for rubs, marinades, and injections. But you sign an agreement saying you will never put them on the internet. And they claim they have software to detect if you ever do (but how?).

From an eating standpoint, it was good as well. First of all, from the time you get there Friday night until 2:00 Sunday afternoon, it's all the free draft beer you can drink. And yes, some guys started drinking beer at 7:30AM. Friday night was a fried catfish and chicken buffet, with excellent side dishes and deserts. Saturday for lunch we had some really good burgers. Saturday night was all the spare ribs you could eat, with more excellent sides and deserts. And then we snacked all day Saturday and Sunday on beef ribs, turkey, chicken, etc. All the stuff we cooked. And we got to take several pounds of meat home with us, including some sliced brisket and burnt ends.

So for me, it was worth it as a fun weekend getaway of tourism and eating.

But the class was not organized very well. All the class is taught outside, hot or cold, rain or shine. While there are covered buildings, they are still subject to wind, cold, rain, heat, etc. And it was very cold in the mornings when I was there. The tables we sat at were very crowded, with fold-up hard metal chairs.

You are given notebooks and pens with which to take notes, but we all seemed to spend more time trying to write things down than we did actually observing what was going on. A class that costs $800 should provide a detailed set of notes to everyone, so we can watch and jot down side notes, instead of writing a narrative on our own as we try to watch as well.

His persona is the same as you see on TV. Every sentence that comes out of his mouth contains at least one curse word, even though there were a couple of 10-year-old boys taking the class with their fathers. For my taste in people, his shtick is old and tired.

But he has the patience of Job. He will answer any question you have, take pictures with you, sign books, etc. Whatever you want. I'm not into hero worship, but there were plenty of guys there that were, and almost peed their pants waiting to take selfies with him.

[Willy]

Thanks for taking the time to write that!

[Nate]

What is this mythical invention you speak of? An accurate dome thermometer?

The two that have gold medal ratings in the reviews tab are the Engelbrecht 10776-03290 and the Tel-Tru BQ300.

What kind of smokers were the Mixon crew using? From what I know about the Myron Mixon line of smokers they are mostly cabinet style and the placement of their thermometers looks like they could be close to grate level. That makes for a completely different situation than just a regular dome thermometer on a horizontal style cooker or even a bullet or kettle style.

[Nate]

lschweig , yes i've seen that video before. What was it that surprised you?

[lschweig]

Nate that he shows a calibrate able Tel Tru thermometer.

[Nate]

lschweig , yeah they are nice thermometers. It talks about being able to calibrate them in the link to AR review of them I posted in my original comment.

[Lowjiber]

I think it sounds like fun from a "tourist" perspective. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Here's Aaron Franklin installing a thermometer in a new grill. Note his comments about placement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gybrM6EQ6fg

[TBoneJack]

What is this mythical invention you speak of? An accurate dome thermometer?

The two that have gold medal ratings in the reviews tab are the Engelbrecht 10776-03290 and the Tel-Tru BQ300.

What kind of smokers were the Mixon crew using? From what I know about the Myron Mixon line of smokers they are mostly cabinet style and the placement of their thermometers looks like they could be close to grate level. That makes for a completely different situation than just a regular dome thermometer on a horizontal style cooker or even a bullet or kettle style.

Yes, his smokers are all cabinet style, with the thermometer(s) mounted on the door(s), nearer the grate than they would be if they were mounted to a dome of some sort.

[lschweig]

I was surprised that Tel Tru makes a calibrate able thermometer as shown in the video Lowjiber posted above.