Probe or not

[bowmanmt]

On my Weston 48 inch smoker the temp gauge gave out. So I bit the bullet and bought the 4 probe Maverick digital. After rigging it up where the old gauge was in the door it seems to work great. My question is I just read that wired probes have to actually be inside of meat of some kind. That you cant just put it inside the smoker without it in something.. Is this true. Its really nice to have the temps of the meat and the temp of the smoker all on the same remote. enclosed are 2 pics on the situation

 

[SmokinAl]

That is fine, but most of us put the pit temp probe on the grate next to the meat.
Aren't one of the probes that you got, a pit probe with a clip to clip it on the grate?
Al

 

[bowmanmt]

yes you are correct. Thats what I will do. Thanks

 

[gmc2003]

Make sure you put it about an inch away from the meat to get an accurate grate reading.

Chris

 

[pops6927]

I use one of my probes to track the smokehouse temp:

I had a digital thermometer in the smokehouse door, but pulled it out and just shoved one of the 6 probes into the door and it works fine. A probe them is commonly used for internal temp without being near any meat.

 

[oldsmokerdude]

I just read that wired probes have to actually be inside of meat of some kind. That you cant just put it inside the smoker without it in something

Unequivocally not true. Many of us place a probe at grid level to get an accurate reading of the temperature the meat is exposed to. If I'm cooking on different racks, I actually place a probe on both racks. I can set alerts for if my temperature goes too high or low, notifying me so that I don't need to stay by the cooker all the time.

Your Maverick that you bought should have come with at least one grill clip to hold the probe near the grill. If not, you can always use a ball of foil to hold the probe.

 

[Bearcarver]

I like to keep my Smoker Probe about 3" from the meat.
Far enough away so the Cold meat in the beginning of the smoke won't effect the "True" Temp Reading, but close enough to be measuring the Temp of the area of the smoker that the meat is in.

Bear