These are the best wireless cooking thermometers you can buy right now

There are over thirty wireless cooking thermometers on the market, all of which promise to make grilling and roasting more accurate, more convenient, and more flavorful by letting you keep an eye on your food even if you're not in the kitchen. And while competition means consumers are spoiled for great remote thermometers, you still need to actually pick one to buy. So which one's it going to be?

After reading user reviews, we deliberately chose three models to test: The iDevices iGrill Mini ($24.05), which is the bestselling Bluetooth thermometer on Amazon; the Maverick ET-733 ($69.95), which is the most popular radio thermometer; and, finally, the radio thermometer most highly rated by customers—the ThermoPro TP07 ($35.99).

If you want to cook for friends and family over the holidays but still want to step out of the kitchen every now and then, we invite you to think of this article as a "best of the best" for wireless thermometers. Three models went through our tests—but only one can win.

Which one should I buy?

{{ amazon name="Our Pick: The ThermoPro TP07 Remote Kitchen Thermometer", asin="B014DAVCP4", align="right" }} Without question, you should buy the ThermoPro TP07. We know this thing looks like it belongs on a construction site, but ThermoPro's thermometer was accurate in testing, and—more importantly—offered the most painless user experience by far. We also found its wireless range adequate for both kitchen and backyard use.

In second place was the iDevices iGrill Mini, a model similar to the winner of Cook's Illustrated's remote thermometer round-up from last year. By a fraction of a degree, this was the most accurate thermometer we tested, but the Bluetooth connectivity features weren't worth the effort.

{{callout}}Without question, you should buy the ThermoPro TP07{{//callout}}

We think you should avoid the Maverick ET-733. This was the least accurate thermometer we tested, with the worst user experience. In fact, the transmitter and receiver need to be manually synced before each use. The ET-733 was the only model we tested with two temperature probes, but with its $70 price tag you'd be better off buying two ThermoPros.

How do we know?

To measure accuracy, we dipped the tips of all three temperature probes into circulating water that we heated to exactly 160.0°F with an immersion circulator. iDevices' iGrill Mini read 159°F, while the other two were a bit over: the Maverick read 162°F, while the ThermPro read 161.2°F.

We conducted a second test at 129°F, the ideal internal temperature of medium-rare steak before resting. Here we recorded equivalent results: the iGrill Mini was again under by 1°, and the Maverick and ThermoPro were over by 2° and 1.2° respectively. When you're using your new ThermoPro, we suggest simply setting it at 1° below your true target temperature.

To illustrate the difference between each thermometer and also test their usefulness in real-world cooking, we roasted three 1.3 lb. pork tenderloins according to this recipe—delish, by the way—and a fourth loin cooked sous-vide style with our precision cooker set to exactly 145°F. We roasted the first three tenderloins simultaneously in the same oven, probed each one with a different thermometer, and removed each loin at the very moment its thermometer claimed the internal temperature was 145°F.

We chose pork tenderloin because its color changes particularly dramatically from medium to medium-well. Below, you can clearly see the difference in color—and therefore texture and juiciness—that just a few degrees can make. You should always insert temperature probes so the tip is in the middle of the thickest part of the cut, and we did. But we also bisected our loins in the same spot the probes were inserted to make sure the illustration was fair.

The iGrill Mini really nailed our real-world cooking test. We saw the same shade of pink inside that thermometer's tenderloin as we did inside the precision-cooked meat. The loin measured with the Maverick was a little overcooked, and, to our eye, the ThermoPro's loin was in between the other two.

To test range, we walked the receivers away from their transmitters while their probes sat in room temperature water that was slowly being brought to a boil.

That way, we'd know if our receivers stopped getting data or stopped getting up-to-date data. Although the ThermoPro and Maverick both fell out of range across the street, the Maverick failed to beep a warning and instead continued reporting incorrect temperature data from minutes before. Our receiver for the Bluetooth iGrill was an iPad, and it quit as soon as we walked out the front door of the apartment. Not terrible, considering all the drywall and brick in the way, but it still remained the worst of the bunch.

We also learned a lot about using each device by simply cooking with them. We certainly appreciated the permanent Bluetooth pairing of the iGrill Mini, along with extra features like temperature charts and custom alerts.

Still, using the ThermoPro proved utterly headache-free: No apps to download, no manual pairing required, and near-perfect performance right out of the box. Pre-programmed doneness levels are available if you'd like, or you can use a single button to choose the exact temperature you prefer.

The Maverick, on the other hand, requires manual syncing each time, makes it hard to diverge from pre-programmed doneness levels, looks and feels cheap, and has a confusing control scheme that isn't always responsive. All this for twice the cost of the ThermoPro—or almost three times the cost of the iGrill Mini.

So while we enjoyed using iDevices' iGrill Mini, we think serious cooks need serious tools. That's exactly what the ThermoPro TP07 is, and why it gets our highest recommendation.