Grilling? Is the Meat Ready Yet?

One of our top gadget recommendations for Dads and Grads this Summer is the iGrill mini.  Do you hate having to lift the grill lid constantly to see, is the meat ready? The iGrill mini includes one meat probe that you put into a piece of your meat and which connects to the iDevices Connected app to let you know when your meat has reached the right temperature.

Putting steaks on the grill?  How about chicken?  Pork?  Just tell the app what you’re cooking and it will alert you when your meat has gotten to the right temperature.

To begin, download the iDevices Connected app from the Apple App Store.   The iGrill Mini is only compatible with the iPad, (Mini, 3rd Gen. & newer), iPhone(5, 5c, 5S, and 4S), and iPod touch 5th Gen.

Choose any one of the preset alarms for meats from fish, to steak, to lamb, and more as well as the doneness you prefer…Rare? Medium? Well done?  Or if you prefer your meat cooked at just a right temperature, you can choose a custom min/max temperature.  Once you set the temperature and use the probe, you no longer need to wonder, is the meat ready yet?

Barbeque Tip:  Sear the meat on both sides first with high heat, than lower the temperature so the meat can sit on the grill without burning.  Now stick the iGrill probe into your meat and go sit down, take a rest…or prepare the other dishes for the day.  Let the iGrill do the cooking and temperature watching for you.  If you have several pieces of meat on the grill, stick the probe in the smallest or thinnest one, as it will need to come off the grill faster than the other pieces of meat due to its size.

Pull up your iGrill app on your phone and watch the temperature progress on a graph while the meat cooks.

I was able to work on our fried rice inside the house while the meat was slowly cooking, not worrying, is the meat ready yet?  As you can see in the picture, iGrill was about to let me know that my chicken was ready, using the preset Chicken temperature iGrill recommended.

When it reaches the temperature you prefer, your app will alert you, by a visual alert and by beeping.

Typically, you are grilling more than just one piece of meat.  Perhaps you are also cooking fish or chicken too.  The iGrill mini probe can only track one meat at a time, but the iGrill version ($99) comes with 4 probes.  You can also buy additional probes to track several meats at once.

Features:

• Single meat probe
• Temperature LED Indicator on iGrill
• Free app which can track multiple probes

Pros:

• Reasonably priced at $39.99
• Having the option to customize the alert to your ideal setting is helpful
• You can set an alarm to remind you to turn the meat at a certain point
• Gives you the flexibility to socialize or cook side dishes rather than watch the grill
• Is multi-functional – can use on the grill, in the oven, for stovetops, even in crockpots

Cons:

• The iGrill Mini uses a CR2032 coin battery, which means it is not rechargeable and will need to be replaced
• the iGrill Mini only works for one meat at a time.  Though, you can take it out of one meat and put it into another to check the temperature if you need to
• Does not work with Android phones

The iGrill Mini sells for $39.95 at the Apple store.

I love the fact that the iGrill takes all the guesswork out of grilling, there is no more asking is the meat ready yet?  You don’t have to constantly lift up the grill lid to see how your meat is doing.  You don’t have to cut the meat at the grill to see how pink it is in the middle.  And best of all, you don’t have to stand around a hot grill while neglecting your guests/family anymore.

The iGrill is a durable enough to keep the temperature probe in the meat while it cooks on your BBQ grill and we found you can also use it in your kitchen oven or in your crockpot.  The iGrill Mini is very versatile and gives you the freedom to focus on working on the rest of the meal while having confidence your meat is cooking to just the right temperature.

It’s going to be a fun Summer with lots of barbecuing!  Enjoy!

 

 

 

*  I was given an iGrill Mini for purposes of review.  All opinions are my own.