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Comment by tonyb | Hacker News Reader

I'm a professional cook (I do professional BBQ competitions and own a food truck) and I own at least 5 Thermapens and several other Thermoworks products.

For me the Thermapen is worth every penny to me. It's fast, accurate, and reliable. I know that if I pick it up it is going to work and that alone is worth a premium. I've also had good experiences with their customer service - they will replace or repair them with little or no hassle.

Yes they are expensive but my oldest Thermapen is at least 10 years old. If you keep an eye out it's not hard to get them 25% off or more.

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I use a thermometer that looks like a thermapen knockoff and costs about $15. I’ve used it regularly (but not professionally) for four years and I’ve seen it give the exact same readings, swiftly, as one more expensive thermometer of the same kind, a cheaper one, and a body thermometer to measure fever. What makes the Thermapen worth every penny? I haven’t had this break, but if it does I will probably order one of the same, which will arrive in a day or two without needing to (a) contact support or (b) send something in the mail. What am I missing? As a professional, what would you be missing if you used a cheaper model?

I think it is mostly an issue with quality control. I've had horrible luck with thermapen knockoffs. Temps all over the place, battery compartment loose, miscalibrated out of the box. If you found one that works, awesome! But I'd venture to guess that most people weren't that lucky.

Excuse my complete ignorance but how does measuring the temperature of food help you with cooking? When I do a BBQ, I've only ever judged by colour and appearance. Usually the challenge is not to burn the outside while the inside is undercooked.

In every modern recipe for cooking almost any type of meat, there is an internal temperature listed at which the meat can officially be considered "safely" done. Restaurants, etc., have to follow such guidelines per government food safety standards.

Not a professional, but I find meat thermometers even more useful because I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what every type of meat looks and feels like when cooked, especially with different marinades and seasonings changing the appearance. I also hate overcooked meat. With a thermometer I can try a new technique and always pull the meat off at the right time. I'm also more comfortable letting the outside get crispy if I know I'm not overcooking the inside.

Everything I cook is temperature + feel. For example on pork once it hits 200-205 (depending on what temp I'm cooking at, the higher the cook temp the higher the finish temp) the thermapen becomes an expensive toothpick to feel for tenderness. Color is used as a element when I might move on to the next step but not at all for when it is done - for example I wrap pork once it hits 160 + has the color I want.

It has to be a repeatable processes, especially if you are doing it commercially and you need to train other people. Temperature is a measurable thing vs look or feel which is subjective.

For some things accuracy is extra important, one or two degrees won't make or break a pork but but can greatly impact something like steak.

Large chunks of meat are best done by temp. A brisket, for example, can look the same if the internal temp is at 150 vs 210. One is pretty much inedible. Same for large chunks of pork. You want to cook these to where they are tender, but not dry. For brisket, that is normally around 203-210 when measured at the largest part of the flat. You would just be completely guessing without a good thermometer.

I mean, if you know what you are doing because you have made for instance BBQ many times before, especially even on the same equipment, it's not exactly "completely guessing".

People did make good BBQ for many years before digital thermometers existed, and without using meat thermometers! I suspect professional experts barbequing all day probably still don't use thermometers. They are have the same heat source many times, and know how it cooks and know how to judge the size of meat, because they've done it hundreds of times.

But yeah, for those of us who are less expert, a meat thermometer can get us much better results.

Sure, if you have the same heat source, in an environment with the same atmospheric conditions, working on a piece of meat similar to what you've cooked many times before, you likely don't much need a thermometer, not that it'll hurt.

But a thermometer let's you transfer those skills much more easily to environments with varying conditions, It's especially common for professional cooks to be expected to cook in varying conditions.

You can go by feel and sometimes appearance (and pretty much have to for some things like pork ribs), but the size and shape of large chunks of meat vary quite a bit, so does the weather, heat source, etc...

If you're a restaurant that is constantly smoking meat, you probably don't need a thermometer, but you probably have one. If you're an ordinary person, I would recommend a decent one at least. I have a thermapen. I don't regret buying it. If my fire dies and I don't feel like chopping more wood, or if I just put the brisket in the oven to finish overnight after it gets smoke, I can still know exactly when it's ready. I don't have to repeat the exact same process every time for a good result.

The difference between amateur and professional grillers is that professionals use instant-read thermometers for everything. One, because the difference between a rare and medium-rare steak is only about 5F internal temperature, which is too small to eyeball. Two, because if you’re not checking internal and hold temps, then it’s way too easy to poison your guests.

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