MEATER Block

UPDATED REVIEW AFTER FIRST USE! UPDATED 18 NOV 2021 PROS: 1) EXCELLENT QUALITY PRESENTATION FROM THE SHIPPING BOX, THE PRODUCT BOX TO THE APP 2) HIGH QUALITY BUILD: IT LOOKS EXPENSIVE 3) IDEAL FOR ROTISSERIE COOKING 4) 4 PROBES ALLOWS DIFFERENT FOODS TO BE COOKED AT THE SAME TIME 5) NO NEED TO KEEP OPENING YOUR KAMADO TO CHECK TEMPERATURES 6) USB DIRECT POWER AVAILABLE FOR LONG SESSIONS 7) UNBELIEVABLY EASY ROTISSERIE COOKING CONS: 1) NON-RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES 2) MAXIMUM AMBIENT TEMPERATURE USAGE = 275 DEG C 3) YOU CANNOT USE THIS IMMEDIATELY: PROBES NEED TO CHARGE FOR 8 HOURS FIRST UPDATE 2: 8TH JAN 2022 OK, further to the original and last update I’ve got something further to add. If you have an irregular shaped cut of meat you can use multiple probes in the same joint of meat. A few days ago, my son’s friend stayed over. I cooked a nice fillet beef joint on the Kamado Joe, Rotisserie (I refuse to call it Joetisserie, it’s naff and embarrassing). Anyway, knowing that the friend was a fussy eater, I had a joint that was tapered. Using multiple probes allowed me to cook different areas of the same joint to different levels of “doneness”. Simple physics will tell you the thin end will cook quicker than the fatter end. By inserting multiple probes, I was able to serve well done meat and medium rare beef to my family. Seriously, you must buy this system, and remember, you can use it in your kitchen’s oven(s) too. It not just for barbecuing. ===============UPDATED REVIEW=======18 NOV 2021=================== Well, I used the Meater Block to rotisserie a chicken today. It’s like a fire and forget missile! Get the Kamado going (I have a 2 month old Kamado Joe Classic III) stick the temperature probe in the chicken’s breast and just watch the cooking from an information screen. I set temperature alerts, but if the ambient temp drops, all the app does is add or freeze time. This way you know for certain your chicken (or whatever is cooked). You don’t need the weight, since you’re cooking to the temperature of the meat, not the bbq. This is a fool proof way to roast, bake or bbq safely. The chicken I had for dinner was delicious, especially after wrapping in foil, then towels and putting in an insulated cool bag for 2 hours. The meat was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection. It’s a lot of money, but then so is the Kamado Joe. Why ruin it by constantly opening the kamado to use a thermoprobe, when for a couple of hundred pounds, you can sit back and relax? BUY THE MEATER BLOCK, IT’S DOTTORE APPROVED!!! ===============ORIGINAL REVIEW=====17/11/2021============= Last week I submitted a rather scathing review. Amazon didn’t like it, and it was my intention of changing it, because I actually supplied incorrect information. The reason it was scathing was it comes supplied with alkaline batteries which I heavily criticised. Part of my criticism was levelled at what I believed to be the case. That is there was no usb option. I was stressed last week rushing around trying to sort out a party that night. I didn’t examine the product properly. Behind the metal stand, is a Micro USB port. This allows long cooks. However, as it’s microUSB it’s still not great since long microUSB cables are not common place. I still would have preferred a rechargeable unit, and I don’t doubt that the next version will no doubt include it. I am yet to use it, as my other gripe was that you had to wait 8 hours for the probes to charge. I think this is something that should have been mentioned in the details section. Thus, if you plan to use it on a particular day, leave at least two days before the event to receive and charge your probes. I will use this at the weekend, and I will report back on its usage characteristics. However, looking at the quality of everything from packaging, product and App, you can tell that this is a premium product.

I've been using the meater block for 12 months now for barbecuing and smoking and I can say it is very good. OK yes it might be on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for and it is very good quality. You connect the block to your WiFi then you can monitor your cooks in the app from anywhere. It works great. I have done numerous cooks and smokes using the meater block from Xmas day turkey to brisket and steaks. Battery life is great, I havent had one run out on me yet whilst cooking. Longest cook using them so far was 16 hours. The app is also pretty good, has everything you need. It estimates cooking time quite well too and it is usually pretty accurate unless it's a big cut of meat, where it doesn't really take into account the stall well enough. Some reviews mention connection problems. I have experienced them for two reasons: 1. When your phone switches Internet connection e.g. WiFi to 4g or if you have multiple WiFi access points at home and your phone switches between them then the app will say connection to meater lost which isn't the case. Once you open the app back up the connection is fine. 2. The probes do not charge up properly and have low battery, which makes them disconnect. To solve this make sure you thoroughly clean the ends of the probes after each cook so the contact a the end is totally clean and silver again. Use wirewool scourer or if they are really tough, sandpaper. Also remember the probes do not charge when the block is turned on, so you need to make sure they are all charged before you start cooking. Having put the meater block through its paces for 12 months i can thoroughly recommend. As long as you keep the probes charged and clean, you'll have no problems.

I like that it is fairly compact and it works almost as intended. My main problem with it is that it loses connection often through the kamado classic, especially if something gets wrapped in foil, making it fairly useless at times. Apart from that it does the job at a premium.

I've had the thermometers for around 2 years, and mostly use them for steaks. I've also used them for the Christmas turkey and a few roasts. The thermometers easily slide into the meat to be cooked, and the phone application is very straightforward to use, giving you step by step instructions from setting up the cook, to monitoring whilst cooking and providing further instruction when the meat is resting. Since I bought the thermometers. I've used them to reverse sear my steaks, cooking them in the over first. They've come out perfectly medium rare and juicy every time. On top of assisting with cooking, it also helps me to regulate the temperature within my oven, so I can adjust the temperature if it is too low or too high. There is a real quality feel to the Meater. The charging block is reliable and looks nice and in keeping in my kitchen.

Amazingly fast delivery from Amazon Prime, as always. Received in about 16 hrs from order. The Meater Block; this is a very classy looking product that has clearly had design gurus on the case. Right from opening the product, the packaging sets the scene and makes you feel like you've just bought into something very high-end. The product itself is solid and heavy, not the usual light and flimsy rubbish, with very nice touches like a magnetic back panel, solid bamboo case & an elegant touch screen display used for monitoring and setting up your cooks when not used in WiFi mode. Each probe docks into the block and is automatically charged keeping them ready to use at all times. The device setup is slick! Just download the app and follow the onscreen instructions to connect and add to your device list and home WiFi. Starting a cook is intuitive but you are also guided through at all times. I've completed a few cooks with it now and all have been spot-on. I always test my food temps with a Thermapen before removing to rest and the Meater Block hit the mark perfectly every time. Just remember that the temp sensor in the probe is about 3cm up from the tip so make sure this part is in the centre of your meat. The app is very slick and has been built with modern design standards meaning navigation is easy and is very feature rich enabling you to configure your cook as you like with many different alarm functions. The probes are easy to clean and can even go in the dishwasher, but my nerves won’t allow this! Just remember to not extract the probes after the cook with bare fingers – they are still very hot! Support is second to none, assisting my query even out of hours! The only issue I had was with the cloud service and that turned out to be a fault with my own home router. Once this was removed from the equation everything worked flawlessly. ***** 5 STAR PRODUCT and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED *****

I bought this with the hope and expectation, that I would be able to cook great meals, perfectly every time. I have tried this a few times, and get a few different issues. 1st cook: Sirloin steak and Ribeye steak - typically I would be able to estimate the cooking time pretty accurately, and I would then insert a temperature probe periodically to check the internal temperature. I decided to follow the Meaters and it is recommendation on timings. I was aiming for Rare, one steak ended up well done, the other one medium well done. It was unable to accurately determine how the steak would react during resting time - despite being one of the key features. 2nd cook: Roast chicken. Quite simple, chicken packet said 1hr 45. Meater ranged all over from 4hrs to lots of different durations, until I suddenly get a 20mins warning the chicken was almost ready to take off the heat. Overall cooking time was 1hr 15. The Chicken was not cooked, it had to go back in for another 15 mins. - as I was already sceptical at this point, I had decided to put 2 thermostats in the chicken, one in the breast, the other in the thigh. Both gave similar misleading durations. 3rd cook: Four fillet steaks, they were all of a similar size, so I put one Meater in each. All of the durations ranged from 45mins to 15mins. We were aiming for two rare, and two medium. One of the rares ended up well done, one of the mediums ended up rare, and the other two were just right. Again, not particularly great from Meater. On all of the cooks, I regularly have issues where one or two of the thermometers drop out connection, it eventually comes back - but usually with a massive jump in time or temperature, making prediction times nearly impossible to follow. I am tempted to give them another shot, but not sure if I want to risk ruining another meal! I would suggest given my experience, these do not represent value for money, as they clearly do not perform quite as well as you might expect from the polished videos, and great marketing.

Great but if kit. Have to agree it’s expensive but it works and looks very nice. I have used it 3 times so rare and had great results every time. The app is also great and as I bout the 4 probs and block the cloud access works very well. Links well with my Apple Watch and I have also loaded it in the wife’s phone and watch so she can use it as needed in the kitchen. Would recommend.

What I like: The app is simple and clear, the times and temperatures are easy to understand and the level of information is useful. The probes are easy to place and the build quality of the block is good. WiFi connectivity from the Block to my home network is solid but then I do have a fully WiFi 6 Mesh at home with strong signals throughout and into the garden. What I don't like: The probe Bluetooth signal to the Meater Block can be very intermittent. I use the probe inside a Weber Summit Kamado kettle which has a double walled metal lid and this impacts the probe to block connectivity. It is better on a stationary piece of meat but on the rotisserie it drops out regularly. This impacts the calculation on cooking time, internal meat and ambient temperature estimates. The only way I can seemingly improve the connection is to move the kettle as close as possible to the block, what I need is a side platform accessory for the Kamado that I can stand the block on without it touching the hot lid. The trade off is I don't want wires across the kettle's lid gasket as over time it will dent the metal braided gasket. I simply have to find a way to place the Meater Block and Meater probe(s) as close together as possible to maintain the apparent very short Bluetooth range.

The best thermometer. Expensive but worth it if you love cooking. At first, we had trouble connecting one probe, nothing was working. Turns out, letting the block charge for longer solved the issue. Contrary to what I've read, we don't have connection problems. We used it on the bbq outside with the block in the kitchen (at least 5 meters between them (plus the door closed)) and it was working fine.

This is a seriously nice piece of kit. It not only looks great, but is easy to use and works exactly as I hoped. The app is really nice and easy to use. The only minor criticism I have is that the little numbered clips that identify each probe fall of easily and can be lost. Expensive at $450 in Australia but you get what you pay for.

Set up complicated and did not work. Suggested I needed to change my internet settings to accommodate the item which I was unable to do. What should be a ‘plug and play’ item turns in to an expensive annoyance…

The MEATER is the best meat probe I have ever used. I love the WiFi I get the temperature anywhere I’m at. I really like the probe telling me the intior temp and also the smoker temp. I would suggest to anyone, beginner or expert cooking on a grill or smoker. Shannon W.

User friendly, very accurate, easily to maintain, its app is easy to navigate and agin work very well.