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Temperature is a crucial aspect of grilling. Whether you’re searing steaks and burgers or slow smoking brisket, you need an accurate reading of both your grill’s heat levels and the internal temperature of your food. There are tons of options, from instant-read thermometers to probe-based devices that keep tabs on your cook the entire time. Of the latter, some are wired and some are wireless, and the lack of cords criss-crossing your grates can be a real upgrade.
Wireless grilling probes aren’t new, but they are for a big name in grill thermometers that only launched one this year. ThermoWorks, the company behind the popular Thermapen, finally debuted its take on wireless temperature tracking with the RFX Meat ($159). For the sake of supreme accuracy, the company takes a different approach than many of its competitors, giving both backyard and commercial grill masters a reliable and versatile sous chef.
ThermoWorks/Engadget
ThermoWorks’ long-awaited wireless grill probe doesn’t pack all of the sensors inside a single device, which means its readings are more accurate than the competition.
ThermoWorks’ RFX series relies on sub-GHz radio frequency (RF) wireless tech instead of solely using Bluetooth. This enables 1,500 feet of line-of-sight range between the probe and the receiver, although you’ll likely want to keep the latter close to your grill just to be safe. Like previous ThermoWorks probe-based grilling thermometer sets, there are magnets on the back of the probe’s charging cradle and receiver, so they’ll stick on a cool side of your grill with ease. The RF signal is strong enough to consistently beam though the thick walls of an offset smoker or the confines of a Dutch oven even when it's inside the grill.
Beyond the wireless tech, ThermoWorks offers some key features that stack up well with the wireless probe competition. For example, by charging the RFX Meat probe in its skinny charging block for just 10 minutes, you’ll get up to 52 hours of cook time. The Gateway receiver provides the necessary Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to monitor the grill remotely from anywhere. It also can connect to up to 70 wireless probes at once, which makes it suitable for commercial environments.
The RFX Meat is IP69K rated, so it’s dishwasher safe and built for deep frying and sous vide cooking. The probe can also withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which means you can use it to precisely monitor steaks during a high-heat sear.
Lastly, the RFX Gateway supports ThermoWorks’ Billows BBQ temperature control fan. This device turns smokers — offset, ceramic, barrel or drum — into smart grills by maintaining the desired temperature. Billows gets temperature updates from the Pro-Series Air Probe via the RFX receiver. It’s great when you prefer to use wood or charcoal for low-and-slow cooking instead of a pellet grill and still want a slightly hands-off workflow.
Since you need both the RFX Meat and the RFX Gateway to get started, the best initial option is to get one of ThermoWorks’ bundles. Dubbed the RFX Starter Kit, this package includes the Gateway receiver and the wireless probe. It also includes a Pro-Series Air Probe for ambient grill temperatures, a grate clip, charger (for the Gateway) and colored probe rings.
The company gives you the choice of one, two or four-probe bundles, all of which will save you money over buying each item separately. They currently cost $159, $239 and $349 respectively, but ThermoWorks notes these are the “introductory lowest price,” so I expect everything to get slightly more expensive soon. If you really need to purchase the RFX Meat or RFX Gateway separately — if you lose one or encounter some other culinary tragedy — the wireless probe is $89 while the receiver is $79. Again, those are initial prices that I anticipate will go up.
The RFX Meat is the fourth ThermoWorks product I’ve tested. I’ve used two models of the Thermapen instant-read thermometers as well as the Smoke X. The Thermapen One remains a kitchen and patio staple at my house, especially for checking the internal temperatures of meat and fish. I’m consistently amazed by how the company builds devices that are reliable, easy to use and highly accurate. All three of those traits also apply to the RFX duo.
Like some of the competition, ThermoWorks put multiple sensors in the shaft of the probe. Those four components give you a more accurate reading for the internal temperature of your food within 0.9 degrees. The company opted for the separate, wired Pro-Series ambient temperature probe that plugs into the RFX Gateway receiver for keeping tabs on the grill. There are a couple of benefits to this.
First, the separate probe moves the sensor away from your meat, so that the initial cool zone or evaporation around larger cuts of meat doesn’t skew your readings. Second, you have the freedom to move the probe around since it’s not attached to the main wireless device. Even if your grill has a built-in sensor inside the cooking chamber, ThermoWorks’ Pro-Series option is a good secondary sanity check because most grill companies don’t position their probes level with the cooking grates where food sits.
The RFX system provided a consistent connection during my test sessions, which included an all-day, low-and-slow smoke for a pork butt and a quicker, three-hour cook for my Thanksgiving turkey. I didn’t experience any drop-outs, and in the case of that bird, I was able to keep the RFX Meat probe in place during the rest phase. This was crucial since I pulled the turkey off the grill at 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the breast, so I needed to make sure that it hit 165 with carryover cooking before I carved it up.
ThermoWorks’ app won’t win any design awards, but it gets the job done. Frankly, I’ll take reliability and ease of use over aesthetic polish any day. There are plenty of grilling apps that look better but don’t work as well, and when you’re trying to cook a $100 brisket, any source of uncertainty can be stressful. Similar to the competition, ThermoWorks’ app lets you set high and low alarms for any of the probes, and you can also choose how often the app updates its readings. This means that when you’re searing a steak, you can track every degree, but for longer cooks you can opt for three-degree intervals. RFX sends updates based on temperature changes, not time, so you’ll want to give this some attention.
True grilling nerds will also appreciate temperature graphs and the ability to add notes as needed. The company recently added an Advanced Mode that plots temperature data for all four internal RFX Meat sensors on a graph. Each line is a different color, giving you an in-depth look at changes over time during the entire session.
One of the first things I noticed about the app’s main (Devices) screen is that a carousel of the company’s products and cooking tips appears by default. This was off-putting to me, taking up space in an area where I just wanted my valuable cooking data. Thankfully, you can hide that box, and I’m sure I won't be alone in desiring to do so.
There are a few companies that make wireless grilling probes, but the brand I’ve spent the most time with is Meater. The Traeger-owned company has several different options with the Meater Pro ($99.95), formerly the Meater 2 Pro, being the best Bluetooth tool for most backyard cooks. It has multiple sensors for internal meat temperatures as well as an embedded ambient sensor on the opposite end. The Meater Pro is extremely durable and can withstand both high-heat searing and deep frying. It’s also dishwasher safe like the RFX Meat, which is a big perk. If you want Wi-Fi built in though, you’ll need to splurge for the two-probe Pro Duo, which is $100 more. Meater’s app also provides estimated completion times, which is nice to have, but the guesses are not always accurate.
ThermoWorks’ initial RFX bundle is a reliable and simple way to keep tabs on your grill without standing right in front of it. The devices ensure that you’re cooking at the correct temperature and that you achieve the exact doneness you desire. I like the separate wired ambient probe for the RFX gateway for its increased accuracy, and it’s easy enough to route the cable out of the way.
Sure, the RFX starter 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 does need to deliver on its promise to offer an offline mode via Bluetooth quickly though, so grillers who aren’t in range of a Wi-Fi network can still use the RFX to cook. But having both is a key advantage over some of the company’s rivals. And no matter how you connect to it, the RFX starter kit is further proof why chefs and pitmasters rely on ThermoWorks’ accuracy for their cooking needs. The company simply does not miss.
