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Cooking to temp, rather than time, is key for delicious meat. It ensures that you have proper doneness. The easiest way to monitor a cook is with a product like the FireBoard 2 which has six probe ports for both food temp and ambient temp. FireBoard Labs sent us one to test out.
Overview
To monitor the temperature of food during a cook, you can either use a meat thermometer over and over again at certain intervals, or you can use temperature probes that stay in your meat through the whole cook. The FireBoard 2 is the latter, with the ability to measure the temperature of up to six different probes.
The FireBoard 2 has an LCD display that shows the temperatures on-screen and transmits the data wirelessly to view in the FireBoard app. It doesn’t just show the temperatures either, it graphs them so you can see how your cook is trending, and it saves the data to view historical sessions.
The app also gives you the ability to set alerts to notify you when user set temperatures a reached. That way no matter where you are, or what you’re doing, you’ll know when your food is perfectly cooked.
In addition to checking the temperature of your food, the FireBoard 2 can tell you the temperature of your grill or smoker. It works with ambient probes that clip to your cooking grate and relay the temperature information just like the food probes.
Ambient probes are especially useful for cookers that don’t have onboard temperature readings, but they also are helpful when trying to create a zoned setup. The grill will tell you the temperature of one section and an ambient sensor is helpful for the other.
Features and Specs
- Retail price of $199 (check price)
- Includes 2 food probes and 1 ambient probe
- Has a rechargeable Li-ion battery and operates for about 30 hours off a charge
- Water resistant case
Pros
Wonderful Display
The display on the FireBoard 2 is top notch. It has different view options where you can view things like a graph of your cook, or just the temperature readings with large digits.
For cooking after the sun sets, the display is backlit. It’s a very bright display, so it’s easy to read at a glance.
Quality Product
The display and the probes have a quality feel to them. They’re top notch compared to other similar products. They give the feeling that they’ll last for a long time and look good doing it. Plus, they’re made in the USA.
Functionality
From the number of probes to the display capabilities, the FireBoard 2 has some of the best functionality on the market. You can even pair the FireBoard 2 with the Spark thermometer to have a permanent wireless display. That’s especially helpful when you need to constantly be monitoring ambient temperature, so you don’t have to keep going to an app on your phone.
Cons
No Magnetic Back
On thing I missed on the FireBoard 2 that other products have is a magnetic backing. This frees up valuable side shelf space by allowing you to stick the unit to the side of a cooker. FireBoard Labs does offer a magnetic back, but you have to buy it as an accessory.
Large Probes
This is a little nitpicky, but there are metal reinforcements where the probe itself connects to the probe wire. This is great for quality because that’s the weak part of any probe. Where it becomes a problem is the reinforced area of the probe is large, so you can’t fit the probes through probe holes some grills. You have to run the wires through the lid.
Conclusion
The FireBoard 2 is one of the best products on the market for monitoring temperature. On top of looking great, it worked flawlessly every time I’ve used it. A device like this is almost essential for long cooks, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the FireBoard 2.