[Wood]

I have an old Weber one-touch grill in my backyard. It doesnt have a built in thermometer so I just use briquette count to get a ballpark idea of the internal temperature. HOWEVER, i was wondering if i could just place the stem of a meat thermometer into one of the vent holes on the top of the grill and just let it rest there throughout the cooking process to get an accurate measurement of temperature. Either that or i was thinking i could buy one of those smoker thermometers from walmart or something and bore a hole in the lid or something along those lines. Any ideas/suggestions/remedies will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance

[teamfat]

Putting a thermometer in one of the vent holes could end up being misleading. There could be a 50 degree or so difference between the temp at the grill surface and the top of the hood. If you learn to compensate for the difference, no problem.

Best bet is to get one of those remote probe thermometers with a fairly thin cord that won't disrupt the seal between the kettle and the lid, no need to cut a hole. One common practice is to put the probe through a small potato and set the potato on the grill. This gives a pretty accurate indication of actual cooking temperature at the grill surface, assuming of course you pay attention to whether you are using direct or indirect heat.

Personally I think that Weber Kettles are one of the best ways to introduce food to fire. Sure, when starting out you'll occasionally end up with a solid carbon crust over a block of cold, raw chicken or whatever, and you might lose a few eyebrow hairs, but with some practice and attention paid to fire, food placement and cooking times you can produce some of the most delicious, satisfyng stuff to ever come from a backyard or patio.

Now bigger, offset smoker type cookers for low and slow "real" barbeque are a whole different story. But Weber Kettles can do a great job on your typical burgers, steaks, zucchini, loin back ribs, marinated tritip, chicken parts, portabella mushrooms, shrimp, skewers of various meats and veggies, tomatoes, fish, sausages, leeks, lamb chops, bell peppers, game hens, jalapenos, .....

mjb.

[Johnnybones]

Get a remote probe thermometer.

[boar_d_laze]

"Regular" thermometers, whether digital, remote probe, or dial and stem will not take prolonged exposure to the intense radiant heat at grill level over live fuel. To measure the grilling temperature -- that is actual temperature at grill height above a live charcoal or wood fire you need a special kind of contact thermometer. They aren't expensive and are sold by most barbecue specialty stores. In my opinion, you can get as much information by holding your hand an inch above grate height and counting, "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc. But if you like gimmicks, you might as well treat yourself.

If you want to measure the temperature at the grill for indirect heat -- in other words the thermometer is not directly over the fire, I agree with teamfat about using a probe connected to a digital read-out. For most grills, the temperature at vent height -- no matter how correctly measured is spectacularly uninformative. You really want to take the temperature as close to where the food is cooking as possible. You also want something that can move easily enough to measure the temperatures in various portions of your grill. They won't be as close as you think unless your grill is "tuned."

I highly recommend the Maverick (aka Redi-Chek) ET-71. (About $40 online, and available from numerous e-tailers) It has two probes -- one for the pit and another for the internal temperature of whatever you're cooking. It also comes with a little spring-metal clip to hold the chamber probe just above the grill. It also has a remote, wireless readout which allows you to get other things accomplished while your grill is working away. I also recommend you avoid the Weber and Oregon Scientific remote read thermometers. They have limited range, and are not only fragile but also seem to give up the ghost without apparent cause.

If you do bore a hole for the probe/lead -- don't bore it in the f#c%!ng lid! Think about what will happen when you lift the lid. Yes. Oh.

Instead, bore the hole just below the top rim of the bottom bowl. If you care about doing a "sano" job you can get eyelets which are exactly sized. Check around at The Virtual Weber Bullet - For the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker enthusiast the information you need regarding eyelets is there somewhere. If I were going to all that trouble, I'd also drill a couple of holes for a bracket to hold the thermometer body.

Hope this helps,
BDL