SMOKED MEATLOAF w/ my new FIREBOARD REMOTE THERMOMETER

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SmokinAl

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Jun 22, 2009
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Judy & I have both had colds for the last couple of weeks & I haven't smoked anything.

We both were craving meatloaf & I had an opportunity to test out a new therm, so I thought meatloaf would be a perfect thing to try it out on.

This is just a basic meatloaf recipe that we took off the back of the Lipton Beefy onion box.


All mixed up & into a loaf pan in the fridge overnight to firm it up.


Here's the new Fireboard therm. It comes with 3 probes, but it has the capacity to monitor 6 probes at once.

Extra probes are $15 each at fireboard.com.

I tested all 3 probes in ice water & boiling water & the results were very accurate.


The probes themselves are the most heavy duty probes I have ever seen.

And they are completely 100% waterproof.


Along with the 6 probe ports & the USB charging port, there is an extra port for future accessories.

A possibility of a fan to control the pit temp like a Guru has been mentioned.

It can be run indefinitely if plugged in or up to 24 hours on it's built in battery.


The unit is both blue tooth & WiFi capable. I had mine hooked up to my WiFi network.

My smoker is in the backyard & where it is located my iPhone doesn't always want to hook up to the network.

But the Fireboard stayed hooked up the whole time.


It comes with a standard clip for the pit probe, & they also have a threaded probe that would screw into a factory therm hole.

I'm going to do a full review of the Fire board in the product review section.


Back to the meatloaf, I took it out of the fridge & put it on a rack with some ketchup & onion on top.

Over an aluminum pan with some water in it.


Into the Lang with a probe in both sides. Not really needed but I wanted to use all the probes for the test run.


As you can see you can name the probes so you don't get mixed up which is which.

I named these meatloaf L, meatloaf R, and Pit temp.

You set the alarms right on your phone, iPad or desktop.

When the temp gets out of range it sends you a text message on your phone.

There is about a 30 second lag between the time it goes out of range & when you get the message.


You can change the view to see all the channels or just the active ones.


Here I'm on SMF & am using a double screen shot to monitor the smoker while I play.


Here it is on my iPad. I could pick up any device & it was giving me real time data on all three.

Windows computer, iPad, & iPhone.


As you can see I also was able to name the session "2/24/17 Meatloaf"

The top line is the smoker temp. In the beginning I was opening up the smoker lid a few times to get the temp down & have the alarm go off.

I wanted to see how long it took before I got the warning. So that's what all those spikes are about in the beginning.

Then it ran pretty steady until I cranked up the temp the last 45 minutes or so to get it done sooner.

We were starving, so I opened up the dampers & foiled the meatloaf to finish it up. So that's the spike at the end.


With about 1 hour to go I put a CI pan on the firebox with a little bacon grease.


Didn't take long to melt.


Judy threw in some potatoes & onions.


They browned up real nice in the CI pan.


She put some fresh dill on them & we just had to have a quick snack.


OK finally the meatloaf is done.


It's a happy meatloaf!


It turned out nice & juicy & the flavor was spot on.


Had to have my veggies!


Judy found a piece of frozen pie dough in the fridge & whipped up a strawberry pie for dessert.


It turned out to be a great meal & the Fireboard is quite an impressive thermometer.

Like I said above it will get a full review in the product review section in the next couple of days.

If you want to take a look at them or buy one they are available at Fireboard.com

Thanks for looking fellas!

Al
 
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Al, that looks real tasty! Like I said in a different thread, the smoked meatloaf is intriguing to me...a few people sent me some recipes for it, just not a chance yet, BUT those potatoes and onions are like a cherry on top! Awesome thermometer setup too. You could open up a restaurant! :biggrin:
 
Looks Great, Al !!
drool.gif
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Glad to se you & Judy are back in action!!
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Meatloaf looks Great, but those Fried Taters & Onions are AWESOME !!
drool.gif
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The Therm set-up is probably over my head, technically, but pretty cool !!

Bear
 
Looks great Al!

Will be following your new therm. Sounds like a great unit.

Point!
Al, that looks real tasty! Like I said in a different thread, the smoked meatloaf is intriguing to me...a few people sent me some recipes for it, just not a chance yet, BUT those potatoes and onions are like a cherry on top! Awesome thermometer setup too. You could open up a restaurant!
biggrin.gif
 
Looks Great, Al !!
drool.gif
----
points.gif


Glad to se you & Judy are back in action!!
icon14.gif


Meatloaf looks Great, but those Fried Taters & Onions are AWESOME !!
drool.gif
drool.gif


The Therm set-up is probably over my head, technically, but pretty cool !!

Bear
That therm looks pretty awesome! Are they available for purchase yet?
Tim they are available from their website. Fireboard.com
Thanks a lot guys & as Brian said there available at fireboard.com

Al
 
 
SmokinAl

I've been looking at the Thermoworks Smoke and I came across the fireboard but couldn't find any reviews. Looking forward to your review. You have a Smoke so this should be a great comparison. Trying to justify the costs as there are only thermometers. 
The Fireboard is a huge step up from the Smoke.

They are not even in the same class.

The Fireboard is pricey, but worth every penny if you want a serious thermometer.

The probes alone are the best I have ever seen!

Al
 
Very nice Al...the meatloaf looks terrific! Point! And thanks for posting the info on that new therm...looks like a good one! Thumbs Up

Red
 
SmokinAL

I realize they are very different thermometers that's why the huge price difference I assume. I equate this to and igrill 2 and several others like it on the market. Price difference aside what can the fire board do? A few questions you should get able to answer as you have both. What is the thermometer response time for the fire board when checking meat temperature, 4-5 seconds? How about the range of its blue tooth and wifi capabilities? How long does it take to reconnect when going out of range and coming back in range? What happens when wifi is not available? Looks good on and IPhone or pad but what about on the display of the device when you don't have such devices. Lots of questions I know but I think people would like to know.

Thanks Tom

Tom,

I am also testing out this FireBoard so ill try to answer some of these.

First the FireBoard has the ability to monitor 6 different temp probes at 1 time. As for the response time I haven't timed it but it was very quick once I put it in the meat. I also just turned it on and put a probe in it. within 5 seconds it was showing the room temp and it was only 1 degree from actual room temp. The FireBoard measures temp every 4 seconds or so.

Now the bluetooth is impressive. I have been 70' away thru a garage and multiple walls and it worked great. When wifi isn't available then you just use the bluetooth. I just turned my unit on and it took about 30 seconds to boot and once it booted wifi was connected. I then turned bluetooth on for my phone and launched the app. When the app loaded(5seconds) the bluetooth was already connected. So pretty quick and faster than any other one that I have had.
 
Hi Al, the ports where the probe and the usb plug plugs into, are they secured to the case? Could you please put up a pic of the side where everything plugs into?

This is the weakest point of the Tappecue. 

tks

wayne
 
Good looking vittles, Al, but at $189 for the basic and $249 for the "extreme barbecue edition"?  Wow.  A thermometer. Just wow.  Thanks, but no, boys:  I'll stick to my ThermoPros with lifetime probe replacements.  I'm looking to relax around a pit, unwind and unplug, and get rid of the electronic leash--not having to have another reason to be tied to a cell phone and have the choke chain snapped even tighter.  My $0.02--your mileage may vary.
 
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Al the meatloaf looks great I like it with the onions on top (not inside)

The new probe looks great Points

Richie
 
Very nice Al...the meatloaf looks terrific! Point! And thanks for posting the info on that new therm...looks like a good one!
icon14.gif


Red
Thanks Red!

Appreciate the point too!

Al
SmokinAL

I realize they are very different thermometers that's why the huge price difference I assume. I equate this to and igrill 2 and several others like it on the market. Price difference aside what can the fire board do? A few questions you should get able to answer as you have both. What is the thermometer response time for the fire board when checking meat temperature, 4-5 seconds? How about the range of its blue tooth and wifi capabilities? How long does it take to reconnect when going out of range and coming back in range? What happens when wifi is not available? Looks good on and IPhone or pad but what about on the display of the device when you don't have such devices. Lots of questions I know but I think people would like to know.

Thanks Tom
I think Brian answered most of your questions, except about the display.

It cycles between the channels every couple of seconds or you can press the select button until you get to the channel you want & it will stay there for 15 seconds.

Al
Tom,

I am also testing out this FireBoard so ill try to answer some of these.

First the FireBoard has the ability to monitor 6 different temp probes at 1 time. As for the response time I haven't timed it but it was very quick once I put it in the meat. I also just turned it on and put a probe in it. within 5 seconds it was showing the room temp and it was only 1 degree from actual room temp. The FireBoard measures temp every 4 seconds or so.

Now the bluetooth is impressive. I have been 70' away thru a garage and multiple walls and it worked great. When wifi isn't available then you just use the bluetooth. I just turned my unit on and it took about 30 seconds to boot and once it booted wifi was connected. I then turned bluetooth on for my phone and launched the app. When the app loaded(5seconds) the bluetooth was already connected. So pretty quick and faster than any other one that I have had.
Thanks for helping me out Brian!

Looking forward to seeing your review!

Al
Nice plate of food! Looks like a impressive therm.
Thanks B!
Great looking meal Al, I hope you guys are feeling better
Thanks for asking Dan, were both feeling much better now!

Al
 
Hi Al, the ports where the probe and the usb plug plugs into, are they secured to the case? Could you please put up a pic of the side where everything plugs into?

This is the weakest point of the Tappecue. 

tks

wayne
They seem to be very secure, however this unit does come with a 1 year warranty, so I would think that if something was going to break it would happen within the first year.

Anyhow here is a photo of the port side of the case.

Al

 
Looks awesome! I did a meatloaf a while back, smoked is the way to go.

points.gif
Thanks B, it sure was tasty!

Al
 
Good looking vittles, Al, but at $189 for the basic and $249 for the "extreme barbecue edition"?  Wow.  A thermometer. Just wow.  Thanks, but no, boys:  I'll stick to my ThermoPros with lifetime probe replacements.  I'm looking to relax around a pit, unwind and unplug, and get rid of the electronic leash--not having to have another reason to be tied to a cell phone and have the choke chain snapped even tighter.  My $0.02--your mileage may vary.
Your absolutely right, this therm is not for everybody. This is for serious cooks, caterers, competition teams, commercial applications, & for the gadget guy who wants the latest equipment. It is pricey, but in my opinion it's well worth the money. 

Al
 
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