If you’ve ever cooked a steak that looked perfect on the outside and then betrayed you on the inside, welcome to the club. I don’t believe any piece of meat until a thermometer tells me the truth. The problem is that most thermometers come with a wire — and wires are fine until you’re juggling a hot grill lid, managing two proteins, and somehow the wire becomes the main character in the story.
That’s the whole pitch of the MEATER Plus: a wireless probe, an app, and considerably less chaos.
Worth it if you grill or smoke regularly
The MEATER Plus is the cleanest wireless thermometer experience available at this price. Fully wireless probe, a genuinely good app, and it works for grilling, smoking, and oven roasting equally well. If you cook expensive cuts and you’re still guessing doneness, this pays for itself on the first steak. If you grill twice a year and don’t care much about precision, save your money and grab a cheap instant-read instead.
At a Glance
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Connection type | Fully wireless Bluetooth probe + WiFi via charger block |
| Probe count | 1 (add more probes separately for multi-protein cooks) |
| Temp sensors | Dual — internal meat temp + ambient cook temp simultaneously |
| Wireless range | Up to 165 ft (real-world varies with walls and setup) |
| App | iOS + Android — guided cook mode, doneness alerts, rest timer |
| Works with | Grill, smoker, oven, stovetop — any cooking environment |
| Charging | Bamboo charger block (also acts as Bluetooth repeater) |
| Price range | $$$ — premium, but the most capable single-probe option available |
The Honest Pros and Cons
What works
- Fully wireless — no cables running out of your grill ever
- Tracks internal AND ambient temp simultaneously
- App is genuinely good: setup fast, guided mode useful
- Estimated finish time + rest timer built in
- Works across every cooking method in one device
- Removes doneness guesswork entirely
What to know going in
- Single probe — can’t monitor two proteins at once without buying more
- Range claims are optimistic — thick walls and distance affect real-world signal
- Requires the charger block nearby to maintain the WiFi bridge
- Premium price — more expensive than wired alternatives
- Not dishwasher safe — requires careful hand cleaning
What Makes It Worth the Price
No Wire — and That Actually Matters More Than You’d Think
With a wired thermometer, there’s always a cable running out of your grill or smoker lid — it gets pinched, it gets too close to the burners, and every time you open the lid you’re doing a small awkward dance to avoid pulling it out. The MEATER probe sits entirely inside the cook environment. Nothing hanging out. You just open the lid normally, flip, close, and check your phone. For outdoor cooking especially, this is a meaningfully better experience.
The App Is Actually Good
Most “smart” kitchen apps are a gimmick. This one isn’t. The MEATER app gives you a live graph of internal temp and ambient cook temp over time, estimates when your cook will finish based on real-time data, tells you when to pull the meat, and then starts a rest timer automatically. The rest timer alone is underrated — it’s the step most people skip, then wonder why their cutting board looks like a crime scene. Setup takes about 90 seconds and the guided cook mode works well even for cuts you haven’t cooked before.
Ambient Temp Tracking — The Feature That Matters for Smoking
The probe measures two temperatures at once: the internal temp of the meat and the ambient temperature of the cooking environment around it. For grilling, the ambient reading is nice-to-have. For smoking, it’s essential — it tells you when your fire is losing heat before your meat temp starts dropping, which is the difference between catching a stall and losing 30 minutes trying to figure out why your brisket stopped climbing. No other single-probe wireless thermometer does this as cleanly.
The Limitations Worth Knowing
- Range is real, but marketing numbers aren’t. The 165 ft claim is open air. In practice, through walls, around corners, and with appliance interference, keep your phone within a reasonable distance and don’t expect to wander freely around the house.
- One probe means one protein. If you regularly smoke a brisket and ribs simultaneously, you’ll want to buy additional probes or consider the MEATER Block (4 probes). One probe covers most home cooks most of the time — just not all situations.
- Probe placement still matters. Stick it in the thickest part, away from bone and fat pockets. No thermometer can fix a probe that’s in the wrong spot.
- Clean it carefully. The probe is not dishwasher safe. Wipe it down after each cook while it’s still warm, and let it dry completely before putting it back in the charger. Not hard — just a habit to build.
Who Should Buy It — and Who Should Skip It
Buy it if…
- You grill or smoke at least a few times a month
- You cook expensive cuts and want to nail doneness consistently
- You hate wires and want a clean outdoor cooking setup
- You smoke meat and want ambient + internal temp in one probe
- You tend to hover over the grill instead of just walking away
Skip it if…
- You only grill a couple times a year
- You genuinely don’t care about hitting a target doneness
- You need 4 probes — look at the MEATER Block instead
- Budget is tight — a $25 instant-read will get you most of the way there
How to Get the Best Results With It
- Use a thick cut. Thin steaks cook too fast to benefit much from a monitored approach. A 1.5″+ ribeye or NY strip is the ideal use case.
- Insert the probe in the thickest part of the meat, away from any bone or large fat pockets. The reading will be off otherwise.
- Pull 3–5°F before your target. Carryover heat carries the meat the rest of the way during the rest. If you pull at target, you overshoot.
- Actually rest the meat. The app tells you when to pull and starts a rest timer automatically. Use it. The rest redistributes the juices — skip it and your cutting board gets what your plate deserved.
- Keep the charger block within 10 feet of the grill for the most reliable connection, especially through walls or on large decks.
The Practical Move
The MEATER Plus is not a must-have for everyone, but if you cook meat regularly and you care about getting it right, it’s one of the few tools that genuinely makes you feel like you leveled up. Set it, walk away from the grill, and eat dinner when your phone says it’s done. If you’re cooking an expensive cut this weekend and you’re still guessing, it’s already paid for itself.
