A wireless grill with unmatched precision

The heat is . Whether you’re grilling steaks and burgers or slowly smoking, you need to accurately read the temperature of your grill and the internal temperature of your food. There are many options, from instant-read thermometers to tracking devices that keep track of your cooking. Of the latter, some are wired and some are wireless, and the lack of cables running through your glasses can be a real upgrade.

Wireless thermometers are not new, but they are popular in grill thermometers . ThermoWorks, the company behind the popular Thermapen, has finally launched a wireless thermometer. . In order to be more precise, the company takes a different approach than most of its competitors, offering both the back and the grill suppliers a reliable and versatile sous chef.

RFX technology

ThermoWorks’ RFX series relies on GHz wireless (RF) technology instead of Bluetooth. This allows for 1,500 feet of line of sight between the probe and the receiver, although you may want to keep the monitor close to your grill just to be safe. Like the previous ThermoWorks there’s a magnet on the back of the probe’s recording base and receiver, so it sticks to the cooler side of your grill easily. The RF signal is strong enough to always illuminate even the thickest walls of a smoker or the edges of a dutch oven even inside the grill.

Beyond wireless technology, ThermoWorks offers other great products that are well suited to the wireless competition. For example, by charging the RFX Meat probe in its thin log for just 10 minutes, you’ll get up to 52 hours of cooking time. The Gateway receiver provides the essential Wi-Fi connection that allows you to monitor the grill remotely from anywhere. It can also connect to up to 70 wireless probes simultaneously, making it suitable for commercial environments.

The RFX steak is IP69K rated, so it’s dishwasher safe and designed for deep frying and sous vide cooking. This grill can also withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which means you can use it to properly sear steaks at high temperatures.

Finally, RFX Gateway supports . This device turns smokers – offset, ceramic, barrel or drum – into smart grills by maintaining the desired temperature. Billows receives temperature updates from the Pro-Series Air Probe via an RFX receiver. It is better to use wood or charcoal for slow and slow cooking instead of the grill and you still want to do a little work.

RFX’s basic tools are stand-alone options

Since you need both RFX Meat and RFX Gateway to get started, the best way to start is to get one of the ThermoWorks bundles. Called the RFX Starter Kit, this package includes a Gateway receiver and a wireless probe. Includes Pro-Series Air Probe for ambient temperature, grate cabinet, charger (for Gateway) and colored probe rings.

The company allows you to choose one, two or four bundles, all of which will save you money over buying each item separately. They currently cost $159, $239 and $349 respectively, but ThermoWorks says these are the “lowest prices,” so I expect everything to be more expensive soon. If you actually you have to buy the RFX Meat or the RFX Gateway separately – in case you lose one or have another cooking disaster – the wireless probe is $89 while the receiver is $79. Again, those are starting prices that I expect will go up.

Using RFX Meat on the grill

RFX Meat is the fourth ThermoWorks product I have tried. I have used two types of Thermapen-read thermometers as well . The it remains the kitchen and the balcony in my house, especially when looking at the internal temperature of meat and fish. I am constantly amazed at how reliable, easy-to-use and highly accurate this company is. These three values ​​also apply to the RFX pair.

Like other competitors, ThermoWorks puts several sensors in the probe tree. The four zones give you an accurate reading of the internal temperature of your food to within 0.9 degrees. The company opted for a separate, wired Pro-Series circuit tester that plugs into the RFX Gateway receiver to keep tabs on the grill. There are several advantages to this.

First, the separate probe moves the device away from your meat, so that the first cold spot or the evaporation around the big cuts of the meat does not interfere with your reading. Second, you have the freedom to move the probe around because it is not attached to a large wireless device. Even if your grill has a probe located inside the cooking chamber, ThermoWorks’ Pro-Series is a good second option because most grill companies do not place their probes with the cooking cabinets where the food is stored.

The RFX system provided consistent connectivity during my test sessions, which included an all-day, low- and slow-smoked pulled pork and a quick, three-hour Thanksgiving turkey. I didn’t experience any dropouts, and like the bird, I was able to keep the RFX Meat probe in place during the break. This was very important since I pulled the steak from the oven at 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the breast, so I had to make sure it hit 165 with the carryover cooking before I grilled it.

ThermoWorks software won’t win any design awards, but it gets the job done. To be honest, I’ll be more reliable and easy to use for daily makeup wipes. There are many grilling programs that look good but don’t work, and when you’re trying to cook a $100 brisket, any source of uncertainty can be a concern. Like the competition, the ThermoWorks software allows you to set high and low alarms for each probe, and you can choose how often the software updates its readings. This means that when grilling meat, you can follow any degree, but for long-term cooks you can choose three degrees. RFX sends updates based on temperature changes, not time, so you’ll want to be careful.

True grilling nerds will also appreciate the temperature graphs and the ability to add notes as needed. The company has recently added an Advanced Method that plots the temperature information of RFX Meat’s four internal sensors on a graph. Each row has a different color, giving you a closer look at the changes over time across the field.

One of the first things I noticed on the app’s main screen (Tools) was that a carousel of company products and cooking tips appeared randomly. This was difficult for me, taking the place where I just wanted my cooking data. Fortunately, you can hide the box, and I’m sure I won’t be alone in wanting to do so.

Competition

There are several companies that make wireless monitors, but the brand I’ve been with for a long time is Meater. The Traeger company has several different options and already being the perfect Bluetooth accessory for most home cooks. It has several sensors for the internal temperature of the animal and a rotating device on the other side. The Meater Pro is extremely durable and can withstand high temperatures and high temperatures. It’s a dishwasher like RFX Meat, which is great. If you want built-in Wi-Fi, you’ll have to splurge to get those two which is another $100. The Meater app also provides estimated times, which are nice to have, but the estimates aren’t always accurate.

Wrap up

ThermoWorks’ first RFX bundle is a reliable and easy way to store tabs on your grill without standing in front of it. These devices ensure that you are cooking at the right temperature and to achieve your desired results. I like the RFX round wire probe at the gate because of its versatility, and it’s easy to run the cable.

Sure, the basic RFX kit is more expensive than the likes of the Meater Pro, but ThermoWorks has already confirmed that more products that work with the Gateway are coming soon. The company needs to make good on its promise of providing outdoor features via Bluetooth faster, so grills that aren’t connected to a Wi-Fi network can still use the RFX to cook. But having both is a huge advantage over some of the company’s competitors. And no matter how you connect it, the original RFX equipment is yet another testament to why chefs and pitmasters rely on ThermoWorks precision for their cooking needs. The company does not miss the bus.