Flash in the Pan

Ah, the air is warming, the snow is melting, and a middle-age chef’s mind turns to barbeque. I had a chance to try Taylor’s Weekend Warrior 807 Digital BBQ/Fork Thermometer – inside, actually, which shows that a name can be deceiving.

The BBQ/Fork Thermometer is exactly as it sounds: a two-tined long fork with a display built into the handle. Plunge the tines just into a steak or chops and you can get a more-or-less instant reading. I qualify that because the directions said to wait 10 seconds for the temperature, but I found that a reading kept changing for at least 15 seconds before it finally stabilized. So I’d say wait until things settle down and then go with that reading. The temperature measures seemed more or less accurate compared with an instant read thermometer I used to verify the information. If you’re working on the edge of light, natural or artificial, you’ll welcome the backlit display screen.

This thermometer won’t be terribly useful on thin slices of meat, as you might not be able to sink the sensor tips of the tines down far enough. It also felt light-weight to me, and it wouldn’t be my first choice to use as a cooking fork. That said, it does offer an advantage over traditional thermometers, in that you can reach the tine probes in without having to get your fingers too near the cooking surface, leaving them safely back. So it does seem to be a worthwhile addition if you do a lot of outdoor or indoor grilling. The list price of $17.99 is pretty easy on the wallet as well. But if like me you’d be concerned that the device wouldn’t stand up to regular use as a fork, consider Taylor’s 806 model – a digital thermometer with a single long probe – and stick with your old fork.