Grilling Safe this Memorial Day

I remember when digital meat thermometers first came out.  Digital meat thermometers allow you to insert a probe into your food while on the grill, to check the internal temperature of your meat.  I love it, it takes all the guess-work out of whether your meat is ready to take off the grill or not.  I couldn’t wait to get one for my husband, but he declined.  He said grilling is an art and he had no interest in cheating his system.

Hmmm, interesting.  As I hardly never grill, I let it slide.  But the times I have grilled, I have found it particularly tough to assess whether my chicken breasts are cooked in the middle or not.  The only way to know is to take it off the grill and cut it open in the middle to see if it’s pink.  And quite frankly, I’ve seen my husband do this with red meat too.  Besides taking extra time, this method results in the juices flowing out of the meat before you eat it.  Not the best solution.

Backyard Grill 17 Piece with Digital Meat Thermometer

With Memorial Day approaching, I decided to go out and buy a digital meat thermometer fork and try it out myself.  I headed out to my local Walmart and found a 17 piece premium BBQ Set, complete with a digital meat thermometer fork. It even comes in it’s own plastic custom molded box! The whole set cost only $18.97.  I can just imagine my husband’s face when I pull out my tools and begin cooking!

I’ve tried the fancy thermometers before where you put the probe in the meat and then can sit down and have it notify you on your phone when it’s ready.  These are really cool, but since I don’t do most of the grilling and since my husband prefers the “art” method, it doesn’t get used much.

What I like about this digital temperature fork is that the temperature gauge is built-in right into the fork.  So, most likely my husband will be enamored by the new tools (what husband doesn’t like new BBQ tools?) and he might find it’s handy to use…occasionally.

Nonetheless, it gives me confidence in knowing that what I grill will be safe and at the right temperature to serve.  The digital meat thermometer fork also can help ensure that the meat doesn’t sit too long on the grill in the warming area after it’s cooked.  I can easily check the temperature and serve it.

Here’s what else is cool about this great inexpensive gadget.  You can set the temperature to what you want the meat to be (the digital meat thermometer fork as a meat guide on the back of it) and it will tell you the current temperature as well as the temperature you want to achieve.  So if someone else has taken over the grilling for you, they too can keep track of the ideal internal temperature goal.  The fork will beep when you reached your desired temperature.

Another great feature is the digital meat thermometer’s built-in timer.  On the back of the fork, you can move a switch from Thermo to Timer.  Now you can set an alarm to go off to remind you to check the meat.  Clever.  I know when I have guests over, I tend to get distracted, helping someone with a drink, getting the side dishes prepared, etc.  Having a timer is great to remind me.  I can simply set the alarm and bring the digital meat thermometer fork inside with me as I carry out these duties.

Memorial Day Grilling

One other fun feature I stumbled upon was that there is a built in light that lights up your meat if you’re cooking at night.  This digital meat thermometer really packs a lot of punch!

I have to say, I would expect this Backyard Grill digital meat thermometer fork to cost $20 by itself.  I’m amazed that you  get the digital fork and the 17 piece BBQ set as well all for under $20, what a bargain!  If you don’t grill much, there’s no need to be intimidated.  This meat thermometer fork from Walmart grills meat perfectly and efficiently, without guesswork, allowing you to multi-task your way through cooking a wonderful Memorial Day BBQ meal with all the trimmings!  Enjoy this Memorial Day with your family!