Meater review: this genius gadget takes the guesswork out of Christmas dinner
SORRY, tofu fans – there’s nothing better than a hunk of juicy rib eye steak, a rare roast sirloin on a Sunday and a fat burger straight from the grill. Running with juices, crisp on the outside and – yes, I’ll use that awful word – moist on the inside.
But in the past, I’ve always hovered around the hob, oven or barbie wondering if ‘five minutes more’ will cremate a steak, or whether plating it up now will be a premature move that will have guests asking for it to go back on the grill. Should I prod it, cut it in half or just serve up and hope for the best?
I don’t think that will be a worry in future. I’ve found the Meater+ and from now on it’s restaurant-quality steak, fish, roasts and chops all the way. (And if you fancy buffalo, kangaroo or ostrich, no problem – the Meater+ will handle that too.)
- Meater Plus, £98.99 from Lakeland – buy here
No matter the cut or how you like it, if you can fit the Meater+ probe in the middle of the thickest part of the meat, I guarantee you just can’t fail to cook a blinder. This wireless smart thermometer makes it simple.
Here’s how it works: the chargeable stainless steel and ceramic probe has sensors that take the temperature of the meat and ambient temperatures, calculating how much your favourite dish takes in your preferred style.
Warning exactly when you should remove it from the heat, it sends an alert to your phone via the Meater app, meaning you’ll know exactly when it’s done and how long you should rest it for before tucking in.
It’s the answer to a clueless (or disorganised) cook’s prayers. That’s me on both counts, unfortunately, so the family was flabbergasted at the fabulosity of every dish I tried. More on that later.
Overall rating: 5/5
Pros
- Takes the guesswork out of cooking meat
- Perfect results if you obey the app!
- Easy to set up, use and clean
Cons
- Expensive initial outlay
- Potentially difficult to use on thinner cuts of meat
- Needs Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to work
Meater review: first impressions
The Meater+ arrives in a buff-coloured presentation box around 15cm long and inside there’s a snug-fitting wooden case which charges and holds the thermometer probe.
It’s really well-made and pleasing to the touch, with a magnetic hatch on the back for battery access and indicator lights to show when you’re charged and connected. That’s going to take 4 hours to do, so be sure to engage the included battery to get it going well before dinner time.
It’s easy to detach the probe and closer up, you’ll see a faint line on the stainless-steel casing which is the recommended marker for insertion. In other words, it needs to be a good way inside the meat to get an accurate reading, but that’s easy to do as there’s a sharp pointed end to it.
Strong magnets and a hanging recess on the back of the case mean you can keep it handy on the fridge or on a hook in the kitchen.
- Meater Plus, £98.99 from Lakeland – buy here
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Meater review: performance
Wow – this app is just so easy to use. From washing machines to coffee makers, I’ve tested a lot of ‘smart’ products in my time and some of their overcomplicated instructions leave me bamboozled and wishing I’d stuck to the bargain basics.
Right from the off, Meater walks you through connecting the thermometer to your phone in simple language and in no time at all you’re ready to try it out. You can even hook it up with Alexa.
I started with a chicken for Sunday lunch, and since I was using an air fryer instead of the main oven I wasn’t quite sure how long to cook it for. I knew an air fryer would take less time than my stove, and the Meater + proved me right, showing when the bird had reached the perfect temperature of 73 degrees (and also giving me a warning 15 minutes beforehand it would be ready soon).
The app also directed me to leave the chicken to rest minutes afterwards and the result was a perfectly-cooked roast that took at least ten minutes less than I was expecting – even in the air fryer.
My confidence was sky-high when I made special ‘Saturday night in’ tomahawk steaks that would have been a very expensive meal to ruin if I’d been winging it.
Nope, the Meater+ was popped into one of the whopping beef cuts after searing and I was told it would need to get to 57 degrees to be perfectly medium rare. After 22 minutes in a hot oven, I was prompted to take it out and rest. It was one of the best steaks I’ve ever cooked (see the recipe tutorial here, which I adapted to non-barbie cooking) and I basked in the glory of my giant caveman steaks.
- Meater Plus, £98.99 from Lakeland – buy here
What can I use the Meater+ for?
The app will give you a choice of how to customise your chosen dish.
So, start with the type of meat – say lamb, for example. You can go into menus for chops (loin, cutlet, steak etc), roast (leg, shank, rib rack etc) or ‘other’ (covering things like ground meat and burgers).
You then choose how you’d like it cooked. Meater+ works on the principal of gauging temperature rather than the timing – after all, ovens can vary, right? So, when your meat gets to the perfect temperature, that’s when it’s time to get it out of the oven or off the barbie. Works every time.
The verdict: is the Meater+ worth it?
Definitely. The thing about the Meater+ is that it gives you the confidence to go about your business and let cooking meat do its thing. As long as you’re within range (10 meters on Bluetooth or 50 Wi-Fi) then you’ll get phone alerts if you need to attend to it.
It takes the guesswork out of cooking more expensive cuts of meat and also is a great helper when you have other things to think about. Imagine taking that giant turkey — the most stressful aspect of Christmas dinner — off your list and getting on with the veg and side dishes knowing you don’t need to keep opening and closing the oven door for a check on it. No more poking with a fork – it’s all done for you.
Yes, it’s an expensive outlay for a mere meat thermometer, but in the long run — and this quality gadget is built to last and comes with a year-long warranty — it will pay for itself. Expensive steakhouse or carvery? No, do it yourself. The results will be just as good.
- Meater Plus, £98.99 from Lakeland – buy here
Where to buy Meater+
Here’s a list of where you can buy the Meater+: