Lost $80 on a cheap smoker thermometer that lied to me for 3 months

I bought this $20 digital thermometer from a hardware store in Tulsa back in June. Every brisket I pulled at 203 degrees was dry as leather. Turns out it was reading 30 degrees off the whole time. I finally tested it in boiling water after ruining my third pork shoulder. Has anyone else had a cheap probe completely mess up their cook times like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah9171mo ago

Did you test it in ice water too, or just the boiling point? That 30 degree gap could be way worse at lower temps where you actually cook.

amy6921mo ago

@noah917 totally called it. Yeah I only did the boiling point test because I was too lazy to dig out my candy thermometer for the ice water. My analog oven thermometer is probably off by 50 degrees in both directions knowing my luck, so that 30 gap is probably the least of my worries. Have you ever tested your own oven or just assume it's accurate like I did for years?