I love my instant read.

For years, the CF concensus has been Thermoworks, who make every version. I love my Thermapen ONE, which is an automatic on (wakes when you open it), instant read, probe thermometer. They're always having online sales, so check for one, and/or sign up for e-mail alerts for them. They have a variety of leave in the roast in the oven or grill thermometers as well, including ones which will alert at your set temperature.

https://www.thermoworks.com/

I was given a combo IR (infrared) and probe thermometer many years ago. It's hard to use. I suggest one or the other, rather than a combo,

IR measures surface temperature, useful if you want to know how hot your empty pan is, your bbq coals are, etc. Probe tells you the internal temperature of the food, or pot contents.

I love gadgets and I would love to buy an expensive instant read thermometer.

But, I have to be pragmatic.

We have several cabled probed thermometers by Taylor. They read about 1/5th of a second ”later” than a fancy $100 instant read. We can and do use the cabled probe thermometers for roasts (cable can be put into the oven and oven door closed while mIn brain sits on shelf near the oven. Similarly, we can use it to see the temperature of the refrigerator. It costs about $15 and takes regular AA bateries. It is about as accurate as I need.

There is also this thing that I might buy someday (below):

I use this ThermoPro, which has a magnet so that I can store it on the side of the fridge. It uses a AAA battery, which you can replace, unlike the original Thermopen than I bought many years before.

I always use this when grilling fish so that it does not get overdone. Wild salmon should not be cooked over 125°, and I cook swordfish to 135°.

We have other probes that work inside the oven or grill, but I do not know what brands they are. My main concern is that they use batteries that are easy to replace.

I have an Inkbird BBQ thermometer, but it's not limited to the BBQ - I use it in my oven (indoors) and in my smoker (outdoors). Mine offers 3 probes, so you can monitor 3 different foods' temperatures at the same time, and it has an environment probe so you can monitor the temperature in your oven (or BBQ or smoker). It's rechargeable, and links to an app on your phone that will beep when your preset temperature is reached.

I love it. https://inkbird.com/products/bluetooth-grill-thermometer-ibt-4xs $40 on Amazon.

(you can switch from C to F temperature - this was just an easy photo to grab)

Thermo Works. I have both the instant read that looks like a folded knife and the big one that has a probe and is for roasts and stuff.

I have a Thermapen One which is my third Thermapen but only the first to live up to the hype in my opinion. And even then, is it worth $70 more than a cheapo? I don’t know. If this one lasts, I’ll be happy.

For the leave-in type, I’ve got Thermorks’ Smoke. I like having the dual probe and remote. It's good for keeping a general eye on things but if I'm looking to be exact I'll doublecheck with the instant read.

Meatloaf in the oven! Love it!

I have an instant read digital thermometer but I don't use it most of the time. When I'm cooking something I've cooked before, cumulative experience helps me judge doneness by time, appearance, and touch. I'll pull out the thermometer when unsure (a piece of meat thinner or thicker than "normal" as a double-check). I almost never cook something to a greater degree of doneness than intended - I sneak up on doneness by monitoring it well beforehand.

We were once at a friend's house for dinner, with grilled salmon on the menu. The host put it on the hot grill and started to walk away. "Do you want me to stay here and keep an eye on it?" I asked. "No, we can go back inside. I'll know about when it's done"

That violated my principle of never leaving something cooking unattended. We had salmon jerky for dinner that night. No thermometer needed, neither for her approach nor for mine.

I use the instant read I got at the county fair from the local pork producers. no complaints. I have two.

I admit I'm more like John, cooking roasts until they're done, but sometimes a temperature probe is nice. This is the in-oven one I have, but I use it infrequently. It works great. (Had to check to be sure which model.)

https://www.thermoworks.com/chefalarm/

I have to use an instant read thermometer all the time. I wish I could be psychic about internal temperatures but I am NOT! If I buy a new one, I'll get a thermoworks one, the fastest one, Thermapen One. I had the older one before this came out and it was just OK. I currently have a Lavatools Javelin, it's fine but not super fast. I think it's comparable to my old Thermapen original one.

When I follow methods such as Serious Eats’ reverse sear prime rib I find that the timing guidelines are just that, guidelines. Very loose guidelines in fact, you may have to add 50% more cooking time.

Place in oven and cook until center of roast registers 120-125°F (49-52°C) on an instant-read thermometer for rare, 130°F (54°C) for medium-rare, or 135°F (57°C) for medium to medium-well. In a 150°F oven, this will take around 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours; in a 250°F oven, this will take 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Not sure how anyone short of a restaurant cook would gain enough experience to know when that roast is perfect without a thermometer, but I do know for sure that’ll never be me!

Roast chicken, the old “cook until juices run clear” you’re spilling juices anyway, I say insert thermometer from above and you save juices and get a more objective reading.

Steaks, burgers, chicken breast, fish filets, yeah it’s not an uncommon skill to have a feel for when they’re ready. No shame in being doubly sure when in doubt though. Maybe there’s shame in a restaurant kitchen? Given how hit-or-miss ordering a medium rare burger can be, I wish egos could be put aside in favor of thermometers, for the diner’s sake!

We've been using Thermopens for at least 10 years and I really appreciate the fact that they now use regular AAA batteries rather than the flat round ones that I never happened to have on hand. I've given them as gifts to my kids and siblings but wait until there's a good sale.

I've also learned to buy the really brightly colored ones so that you can readily find them in the utensil drawer ----- or outside on the ground under the grill where they fell.

https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen-one/

If my Thermapen broke, I would have a new one ordered the same day. Love, love, love the instant read.

I have had the same Thermapen for at least ten years. DH puts a new battery in it every couple of years. It replaced a myriad of those old fashioned ones with dials on the top. Expensive but I am worth it. I also have one of those exterior things with a probe on a cord. I was using it to check the oven temp of my now replaced oven. DH has some sort of cheapy plastic handled ice pick looking thing that he uses mostly for bread as he is not allowed to use mine. It works just fine but I dont expect it will be working in ten years. I seldom use my Thermapen as I can usually tell by feel or appearance but when I need it I like a good one.

I didn't have very good luck with my Thermapen that I had. It didn't last very long, maybe 4 years.

Moisture was the death of my first one, and near death of my second. It came back to life after I bought my third. The third was my first One, and aside from performing better than the first two, it’s also more water resistant. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc.

How do you get them wet?

One way is to immerse them in water or otherwise when washing to dampen the section where the display and electronics are. With most brands, these are not waterproof.

No, never washing. Rain. The ONE is IP67 waterproof rated. prior models only ”splash resistant.”

Ah. I suppose you could put it in a ziplock when using it outside in the rain-sort of like a rain coat. DH has a rearview bike camera and he puts the monitor in a ziplock because despite claims to the contrary by the manufacturer it is not waterproof or even resistant. They claimed IP67 as well.

Update: I ended up getting the TermoPro TP620: ThermoPro - Cooking Like A Pro

There were so many models to choose from, and I ended up going with this one specifically for the large display with white on black numbers = easy to see (getting older, you know...). I've only used it once but so far so good. If I end up being sold on this brand I'll check into a corded probe model for roasts.

We love our basic Thermpro. I bought ones for our DD and SIL for Christmas. SIL was underwhelmed at this grown up present he received. He has since come to love it and has used it for many other things other than cooking.

I have used it to check my iron temp when using a fusible product and for checking the room temp.