There’s nothing more discouraging than dishing out dry, overdone, or even worse, undercooked meat to your buddies at a dinner party. Making sure you get the temp just right when you’re cooking – whether you’re on the stove, in the oven, or grilling – is super important for serving up tasty and safe food.
This is my honest Thermoworks Thermapen review. But spoiler alert – I love this thing. I’ve always got my Thermapen ONE or IR by my side when I’m cooking. I’m such a fan that I’ve even gifted Thermapens to my friends for their birthdays and Christmas because I believe in it that much.
If you want to achieve perfect temperature every time, then the Thermapen digital thermometer is a must. It is reliable and long-lasting – I’ve had my own for 8 years and counting!
The Thermapen ONE is the workhorse of all digital thermometers, while the IR version has a built-in professional infrared thermometer. The Smoke X4 is great for smoking and grilling.
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s overcooked dry meat. The only way to make sure you’re not overcooking it is to check the internal temp. Using a digital thermometer will make sure you don’t overcook your meat – your friends won’t be able to get enough of that perfectly cooked medium-rare steak you’re dishing out.
I used a couple of pretty awful meat thermometers before I found the Thermapen. Inevitably inferior thermometers stop working after a few uses and start telling me lies about the true temperature of the meat. Fool me once, but then I’m just going to replace you.
If you want to be 100% sure of the temperature of the meat or whatever else you’re cooking, the Thermapen is the way to go. It’s the only thermometer you need.
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Thermapen Review for 2023
Thermapen Features
The Thermapen MK4 has so many great features. Where other thermometers fail, the Thermapen excels. My number one feature is the incredibly battery life. It’s one AAA battery Here’s a quick list of the features:
- 2-3 second readings
- High accuracy to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C)
- Foldaway probe
- Patented auto-rotating display
- Use in either hand
- Motion-sensing sleep & wake mode
- Intelligent backlight
- Waterproof to IP67
- 2,000 hour battery life (AAA Battery)
- 10 colors
- Display temps in °C or °F
Orientation
The awesome auto-rotating display feature on the Thermapen makes it a great choice for both right and left handed people. I’m right-handed and Nick is left-handed. Doesn’t matter. No matter how you hold it, the display will always turn to match your grip! This ensures that everyone can use it in a way they’re comfortable with.
Battery Life
One of the best features of the Thermapen is its impressive battery life. I’ve been using mine for 8 years now and it’s still going strong – despite me using it 2-3 times a week to check temperatures of steaks, roasts and even oil for frying.
Accuracy
The accuracy of the Thermapen is pretty darn impressive. It’s one of the reasons I keep using it after 8 years. It has always been spot on. I use it for all different types of things, not just meat, such as measuring the temperature of milk for making homemade ricotta, which needs to be very precise.
Even if Thermapen didn’t have all the bells and whistles, it really comes down to accuracy. After using different types of thermometers, I’ve learned that while they always work really well at first, they tend to get more finicky and less accurate over time. I haven’t had that problem with this Thermapen even after all these years.
I’ve tested it alongside other thermometers to gauge its accuracy, but the real demonstration is how the food comes out. It’s spot on most of the time.
Temperature Range
The pen has a pretty good temperature range, though it doesn’t work for every situation in the kitchen. It can read from -60 degrees F to 600 degrees F. It’s pretty sufficient to cover the general uses. I can’t even think of anything outside of that range I’d need to measure.
You can use it to measure water temperature, oil, meat, chocolate, etc.
I’ve used mine to make sure water is the right temperature to allow yeast to bloom. I’ve used it to temper chocolate. I’ve used it to make sure oil remains at the right temperature for frying.
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Versions & Variations
Rated #1 by Cook’s Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen
Thermapen ONE
The Thermapen ONE is Thermowork’s best thermometer. It gives a reading in one second or less and it costs $99. This is the best money you’ll ever spend for a thermometer. As I said, I’ve had mine for 8 years, using it constantly in the kitchen, and it’s still working like a champ.
It has the following features:
- Less than 1 second readings!
- Automatic backlight and light sensor
- High accuracy of ± 0.5°F (± 0.3°C)
- Water-resistant
- °F to °C reconfigurable
- Auto on/off—no buttons!
- 5-year warranty
- 1.5 volt AAA, 2,000 hours typical
- Available in 6 colors
Thermapen Classic
The Thermapen Classic is also available. It costs $79 and just a few different specs. The most notable being that it gives readings in 2-3 seconds. It has 1500 hours of battery life, and an accuracy of ±0.7°F (±0.4°C), no backlight, and no rotating display.
To me, the ONE is worth the extra $20 for a much longer battery life, backlight, and auto-rotating display (among other things).
Thermapen IR
The Thermapen IR has been a really fun piece of kit. It’s an advanced infrared thermometer with a wide range of features to help you get precise temperature readings in all situations. I find it particularly useful for things like wood-fire cooking, pizza ovens, and beer making (yep, you read that right!).
It has the auto-rotating display like the ONE, as well as motion sensing sleep and wake mode, and the a foldaway thermocouple probe that takes fast and accurate readings in 2-3 seconds with an accuracy of ±0.7°F (±0.4°C).
Its adjustable emissivity infrared allows you to set the measurement range from 0.1 to 1.0. I’m not going to try to explain this feature. I had to study up on emissivity myself. You can read more about it here.
One of the features I didn’t mention on the other Thermapens is the Biomaster silver ion technology which helps reduce microbial growth on its surface. That gives me a bit of piece of mind while I’m busy and touching a lot of different things between hand washings.
The display unit can show temps in °C or °F, with 1 or 0.1° resolution, and comes with a NIST Traceable calibration certificate. While it’s not waterproof, it has an IP54 rating which means it’s resistant through water splashes when used outdoors.
Overall, the Thermapen IR is an excellent choice of thermometer if you’re looking for precision readings without compromising on speed or accuracy.
Thermapen Smoke X
I do a ton of smoking and grilling, so a high-quality grilling thermometer is necessary. My smoker and grill both come with built-in probes, but neither of them has a wireless remote.
The Thermapen Smoke X is a long-range, 4-channel, remote BBQ alarm thermometer. That means it comes with three probes so I can track the temperature of three different things on the grill at once, plus my pit temp.
And because it’s long range, not only can I take the remote inside and not have to traipse outside every hour to check on my smoker, I can monitor it from inside, no matter where I am in the house. The range on this thing is 6,562 feet. That’s 1.24 miles or 2 kilometers. It’s the longest range and transmission strength available for an alarm thermometer.
The large box gets hooked up to the probe and I attach it to the top of the pellet tray on my smoker. It’s magnetized, so the thing will not move, no matter how windy it is. The other box is smaller and easy to carry around the house with me as I go about my day (smoking takes a long time!).
There is seemingly no end to the amount of information displayed on the screen. It shows the food’s temp, the high and low set temperature for your alarm, and the max and min temperature, in F or C.
As for the batter, the Smoke X can be used up to 330 hours on a pair of AA batteries, or you can plug it in with an AC power adapter. I haven’t used it nearly 330 hours yet, so I’m not sure if that stands true, but I have high confidence in it, based on my experience with the Thermapen ONE.
Overall, I have found it to be really accurate and reliable. I’ve used it about a dozen times in both my smoker and grill and it’s been a pretty great piece of kit.
The one thing I don’t love so far is that the remote monitor refreshes about every 30 seconds, so the outdoor box starts beeping really loudly 30 seconds before the one inside does. Might annoy the neighbors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Thermapen Worth It?
I know the price for this thermometer is a bit higher than others, but in my opinion it is absolutely worth the cost. As they say, you get what you pay for. When you buy the Thermapen, you’re getting a high-quality, reliable thermometer that won’t stop working abruptly, run out of battery quickly, or become inaccurate. You’ll have this thermometer for years!
Is ThermoPro the same as Thermapen?
I’ve gotten this questions a few times so I thought I’d help clear up the confusion. ThermoPro is a different company that makes similar, but not nearly as high-quality thermometers that you’ll find on Amazon. Thermapen is made by a company called Thermoworks. Don’t be fooled by the name. Thermopro is NOT the same.
What is the difference between Thermapen Classic and ONE?
There are a few differences between the Classic and ONE Thermapen. There is a $20 price difference, with the classic being the lesser expensive model. The classic also lacks a few of the upgraded features of the ONE, such as backlighting, rotating display, and a better and faster reading.
Can I use Thermapen for frying oil?
This is one extremely useful tool. You can use it for many different things, including gauging the temperature of oil for frying, as well as tempering chocolate, candy, and the more typical meat application. The Thermapen ONE has a range of -58 F to 572°F (-49.9 to 299.9°C).
Conclusion
In the end, I think it all comes down to accuracy, convenience, and price. The Thermapen might be one of the more expensive options for cooking thermometers, but it’s also the most accurate and convenient to use.
The fact that the battery lasts so long makes it that much more valuable for the money. When the other thermometers give out after while, the Thermapen will keep working long into the future.
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Laura is a passionate home cook and grill enthusiast who has spent years perfecting her culinary skills, with a particular focus on grilling techniques and flavor combinations. Her fascination with the grill, smoke, and the mouthwatering results they produce has led her on an exciting journey to discover the best methods for grilling delicious and unforgettable meals.