It can be a tricky business, determining when grilled meat is properly cooked inside. You could buy a probe-equipped thermometer, but that would still need to be checked periodically – if you’re entertaining guests out by your barbecue, checking a thermometer is something that you could easily forget to do. What someone needs to invent is a cooking thermometer that notifies your iPhone, iPod or iPad via Bluetooth, when your steaks have reached the desired internal temperature. Needless to say, such a product has, in fact, been invented – it’s made by iDevices, and is called the iGrill.
The device can read temperatures ranging from 32F (0C) to 400F (204C), and runs on four AA batteries. Although it comes with one probe, it can accept two at once, for simultaneously monitoring two pieces of meat. And no, the electronic part of the device does not sit inside your barbecue or oven – only the probe goes in there, which is connected to the device by a 48-inch (122-cm) heat-resistant cable.
The included Bluetooth app, besides simply relaying the meat’s temperature, also advises what temperatures you should be aiming at for different types of meat, and lets you know approximately how long it will be before your meat is ready.
If you’re not part of the Apple cult, or you simply don’t want to bother setting up the app, the iGrill also works as a stand-alone tool. Sealed controls allow you to enter the desired temperature directly on the device itself, which has its own LED temperature display, and which will beep when the meat is done. If you do take advantage of its Bluetooth feature, it will be able to communicate with your chosen i-whatzit from a range of over 200 feet (61 meters).
The iGrill is available at Apple stores and through the product website, for US$99.99. It currently comes only in white, although a black version is coming out in February, along with custom skins “in a variety of colors and styles to express your individual mood” (oh, brother). An Android version is also in the works.
