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MEATER Plus Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer — 165ft Range
Wireless thermometer with no wires on the grill. Monitors from your phone.
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May 1, 2026 · 6 min read
The First 5 BBQ Upgrades Every Griller Should Make
Most people grill for years with equipment that works against them. A bad thermometer costs them overcooked meat every time. A wire brush with missing bristles is a food safety problem waiting to happen. The right rub has been sitting unopened on a shelf somewhere. These five upgrades make more real difference than any other gear change at the grill. Here they are in order of impact.
A real thermometer — stop guessing doneness
Poking the meat, cutting it open to check, or trusting the grill's built-in dome thermometer — none of these are accurate. For fast cooks like steaks and burgers, a good instant-read gives you a number in three seconds and costs under $15. For low-and-slow cooks — brisket, ribs, pork shoulder — a wireless leave-in probe like the MEATER Plus lets you monitor internal temperature from your phone without opening the lid. Every time you open the lid on a low-and-slow cook you lose 15 minutes of heat recovery. A wireless probe pays for itself the first time you run a proper brisket without babysitting it.
A grill brush that does not leave metal in your food
Wire bristle grill brushes shed. Bristles stick to the grate. Bristles end up in the food. This has been documented as a health problem for years and most people keep using wire brushes anyway because they don't know a better option exists. The Grill Rescue uses a replaceable scraper head you dip in water — when it hits the hot grate, the steam cleans it without any metal debris. Thirty seconds, done. Once you switch you'll wonder why you used a wire brush for so long.
A real rub — not the grocery store generic
A good rub builds a bark on the meat, adds flavor that complements smoke, and creates a surface that caramelizes properly at grill temperature. Most grocery store BBQ seasonings are heavy on salt and sugar, light on everything else. Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub is what Malcom Reed — one of the most respected names in competitive BBQ — developed for his own competition cooks. Balanced between sweet, savory, and heat, it works on ribs, pork butt, chicken, and brisket. At $13 for 16 ounces, it's the cheapest upgrade on this list with one of the most noticeable results.
Meat shredding claws — faster than two forks
Pulling a pork butt or shredding smoked chicken with two forks is slow, messy, and hot on your hands when the meat comes straight off the smoker. Bear Paw shredding claws do the same job in a third of the time — you work both hands through the meat simultaneously, pulling it apart much faster than forks allow. They handle heat, clean in the dishwasher, and double as lift handles for moving whole cuts off the grate. Small upgrade, but once you've shredded a pork shoulder with claws you won't go back.
Smoke wood — because smoke is where the flavor actually comes from
If you cook on charcoal or have a gas grill with a smoker box, wood chips are the fastest and cheapest way to add real smoke flavor to your food. Different woods produce different flavor profiles: hickory is the classic strong smoke for pork and beef, apple is mild and sweet for chicken and ribs, cherry adds a subtle sweetness and helps build color, mesquite is bold for beef brisket and burgers. A four-variety pack lets you experiment across proteins instead of defaulting to whatever was cheapest at the store. It's a $28 upgrade that changes the flavor of everything you cook.
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