Best meat thermometers

The best meat thermometers help you to avoid plating up undercooked meat that could be unsafe to eat. 

We've tested the most popular meat thermometers from Heston Blumenthal, John Lewis, Lakeland, Oxo and more to see how accurate they are and how easy they are to read. 

You can spend anywhere from a few pounds to three figures for a meat thermometer but paying more doesn't always get you better. One meat thermometer got our Best Buy recommendation and will help you cook a perfect roast.

The best meat thermometers

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The meat thermometers we tested

All the meat thermometers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

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Apption Labs Meater+ Smart Wireless Meat Thermometer

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Protective sheath No (but comes with a wooden storage unit)

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries 1x AAA (included)

Oven safe Up to 275°C (527°F)

Gladworts Meat Thermometer Cooking Roasting Probe

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Protective sheath No

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 2x AAA (not included)

Oven safe No

Heston Blumenthal Precision Meat Thermometer

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Protective sheath Yes

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 2x AAA (included)

Oven safe No

MasterClass Meat Thermometer

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Protective sheath No

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed n/a

Oven safe No

Find out how to perfectly cook a turkey crown, leg of lamb and roast beef and swot up on the best electric carving knives

Oxo Good Grips Chef's Precision Digital Instant Read Thermometer

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Protective sheath Yes

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 1x CR2032 button battery (included)

Oven safe No

Polder Digital Meat & Poultry Probe In-oven Thermometer

Available from Lakeland £25

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Protective sheath No

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 1x AAA (included)

Oven safe 200°C (392°F)

Thermo Chef Measuring Fork Digital Meat Thermometer

Available from Amazon Lakeland (£16)

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Protective sheath No

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 2x AAA (included)

Oven safe No

Thermospatula Silicone Spatula and Thermometer

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Protective sheath Yes

Temperature reading Both °C and °F

Batteries needed 1x LR44 (included)

Oven safe No

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How we test meat thermometers

To find out meat thermometers are the best, we put them through the following tests. We regularly revisit the meat thermometers on sale to see if there are any more popular versions that need testing and when we find them we do.

Accuracy

• The accuracy of each meat thermometer is compared against a platinum-resistant industrial standard thermometer. These are used both for precision measurements of the highest accuracy and for routine industrial work.
• Both thermometers are used to measure the temperature in Celsius of cold tap water, warm tap water, boiled water and boiling water and the results are compared. 

Readability

• We also check each thermometer to see how easy the screens are to read while using them to cook food. 
• The more clearly the information is displayed, the better we consider the thermometer. 

Ease of use

• Each thermometer is used to get a temperature reading from a roast chicken, joint of beef and joint of gammon. 
• We judge each thermometer on how easy it is to insert and remove the probes into the various meats. 

Build quality

• We check for any flaws or design issues. The best meat thermometers have easy to press buttons, clearly labelled or identifiable parts and no sharp edges or gaps.

Durability

• To test the durability of each thermometer they are each dropped five times from a kitchen counter (about 90cm off the ground) to a linoleum floor.
• After being dropped they're examined for any damage and checked to make sure they still work.

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Types of meat thermometers

• In-oven thermometers This heat resistant meat thermometer remains in the meat while you cook it - ideal if you don't want to remove your roast from the oven to check it. 
• Analogue thermometers Often bulky and not the best meat thermometers for smaller pieces of meat, such as a drumstick or chicken thigh. 
• Probe thermometers: Come with a probe to insert into the meat. They're normally connect by wire to a magnetic reader kept outside the oven. 
• Instant read thermometers Require you to take the meat out of the oven to do the reading. Some simply tell the temperature but others show the current and required temperatures for the meat and how you want to cook it.
• Thermometers with app New and hi-tech, this type of thermometer is often a probe that remains in the oven while your smartphone or tablet displays the reading.

Temperatures and timings for cooking meat

The UK Food Standards Agency says: 'Before you serve pork, poultry and minced meat, make sure it is steaming hot and cooked all the way through. When you cut into the thickest part of the meat, check that none of the meat is pink and that any juices run clear. In a whole bird, this is the area between the leg and the breast.'

Here are the internal temperatures you'll be looking for your probe to display to ensure meats are properly cooked, alongside cooking times for beef, lamb, chicken and pork.

Oven symbols and controls explained

Dangers of undercooked meat

Eating undercooked increases the risk of food poisoning from various nasty bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli.

To avoid these microscopic horrors you need to make sure you cook your meat thoroughly. Applying heat is the best way of destroying bacteria, parasites and microbes.

The UK Food Standards Agency says: 'Cooking causes the proteins in bacteria to break up so they no longer function and the bacteria die. This is why cooking removes the risk from harmful bacteria that are in some food.

'Bacteria usually grow in the "danger zone" between 8°C and 60°C. Below 8°C, growth is stopped or significantly slowed down. Above 60°C the bacteria start to die. Time and temperature are both important because proteins need to be heated up for a long enough time for them all to be broken down.'