Using A Wireless Thermometer In An Air Fryer – Everything You Need To Know

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Using a wireless thermometer will help you reach the exact temperature you need to cook your meat evenly and thoroughly without drying it out. If you love cooking your meat tenderly or perhaps you’re developing your meat-cooking skills, a wireless thermometer is a great instrument you can use.

It is used before you begin cooking, simply insert the food probe into your meat. Although, is it safe to use a wireless thermometer in an air fryer?

Read more to find out!

Can You Use a Wireless Thermometer in an Air Fryer?

Using a wireless thermometer with an air fryer is a great way to know when your meat is ready. Undercooked meat is a problem for obvious reasons, but you also don’t want to overcook it, either.

Using this wireless gadget allows you to keep tabs on the internal temperature of the meat during the entire cooking process.

With a wireless thermometer, you can insert the probes into the meat before placing it in the air fryer. You can then monitor the progress of the meat without constantly opening the air fryer. Depending on the thermometer’s manufacturer, it may come with an app or a physical device you can use to check the temperature.

Safely Using Wireless Thermometers in Air Fryers

Wireless thermometers are safer than you might imagine. Years ago, we would never have dreamed of leaving a thermometer in a hunk of meat in the: 

  • Oven 
  • Smoker 
  • Any other cooking device 

Obviously, technology has become more advanced and safer than ever. The wireless thermometers available on the market today are far more sophisticated.

They are designed to withstand the heat of cooking, regardless of the temperature or the cooking device being used.

If you follow the manufacturer’s instructions, you should have no issues using your thermometer.

Food Safety

While we’re on the topic of safety, let’s discuss why it’s important to know the temperature of the food you’re eating and serving.

The CDC lists four key practices to avoid foodborne illnesses:

  • Wash and sanitize your hands and your prepping/cooking space.
  • Avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw meats away from other foods.
  • Serve food at the appropriate, safe temperature.
  • Store food at the appropriate, safe temperature.

Using a wireless thermometer will help you ensure that you’re serving food at the correct temperature.

Do I Need to Use a Wireless Thermometer in an Air Fryer?

Aside from food safety, there are lots of other reasons to consider using a wireless thermometer.

If you’re a multitasker who likes to keep yourself busy while dinner is cooking, a wireless thermometer is an essential need.

It will help you avoid making a major mistake with your meat because you got distracted doing other things. In short, it just makes life easier!

If you’re still curious why you should use a wireless thermometer with your air fryer, here are some of the major benefits of doing so: 

  • Boost your confidence.
    There’s nothing worse than being nervous about how your meal will turn out, simply because you don’t know how to tell whether or not the meat is fully cooked.
    Having a wireless thermometer will give you confidence that you know the exact temperature at all times.
    This is important because it will allow you to focus on other details of the meal without stopping every ten minutes to check the temperature.
  • Early warning signs.
    This may sound a little odd, but a wireless thermometer is great at detecting troubles with your cooking.
    With an air fryer, the food will brown nicely on the outside, but it can happen quickly.
    If it happens too quickly, you could easily pull the food out before it’s ready.
    A wireless thermometer can guide you through this process and keep you from serving undercooked meat that you pulled out of the fryer because the outside looked done!
  • No wires at all.
    We mean this in every sense of the words.
    There really aren’t any wires!
    With most wireless thermometers, there is a probe that you will insert into the meat and a receiver that will collect its information via Bluetooth.
    Some even have an app for your phone, so you can monitor what’s happening.
  • Better outcomes.
    When using an analog thermometer with a dial, you have to pull the meat out of the cooking device (or at least open the door, lid, etc.) while you insert the thermometer and then wait as the dial slowly climbs to the current temperature, which can take a full minute or more.
    This can have a negative impact on the cooking process because it interrupts the consistent temperature being applied to the meat.
  • Cooking guide.
    Depending on the manufacturer, your thermometer may also come with a cooking guide for common types of meat.
    If this is the case, you can use the guide to help you decide the appropriate settings for your air fryer based on what you’re cooking. You can then make adjustments throughout the cooking process while monitoring the temperature.
  • Preset tools.
    Aside from a written cooking guide, some wireless thermometers also have digital presets built-in to the receiver.
    If you purchase one like this, you can tell the receiver what you’re cooking and how well-done you want it to be.
    From there, the thermometer will do the work for you and let you know when it’s done!

How to Use a Wireless Thermometer in an Air Fryer

Now let’s get to the fun stuff! What are all the different ways you can use a wireless thermometer in an air fryer? Believe it or not, there are a variety of things you can do with it!

1. Monitoring the Temperature of Red Meat

The most common use of a wireless thermometer with an air fryer is to monitor the internal temperature of whatever type of meat you’re cooking.

This is important for a variety of reasons, but the main one is safety. As we discussed earlier, undercooked meat and poultry is a surefire way to cause a foodborne illness. In this case, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Here’s how to use your wireless thermometer to monitor the temperature of your meat while it’s cooking:

  1. The first thing you should do is read the manufacturer’s instructions. They will likely differ a little bit from these, and it’s important to do it correctly.
  2. After prepping your meat with seasoning and pre-heating your air fryer, insert the probe into the center of the meat. This should go into the thickest part of the meat. This will vary, depending on the type of cut you’re using. Steaks will obviously be much smaller than a full roast, brisket, or other large cuts of beef.
  3. Use your app or other device provided to tell the thermometer what you’re cooking. For example, most wireless thermometers come with a mobile app or digital receiver. You should input all the necessary information into the device, such as the type of meat you’re cooking and what temperature you’re looking for when the meat is done. Red meat is the most lenient in terms of cooking temperature because it’s generally okay to have some pink or red in the center.
  4. Place the meat in the air fryer and start the app or device.
  5. You can monitor the internal temperature throughout the cooking process by looking at your app or receiver. Most wireless thermometers will give you a current internal temperature, along with an estimated completion time for cooking. The CDC recommends a temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit for safety in whole cuts of red meat.
  6. When the thermometer tells you it’s done, remove the meat from the air fryer and let it rest. Some thermometers will even guide you through this process!
  7. And the best part – dig into your perfectly cooked meal!

2. Monitoring the Temperature of Poultry

The steps in this process are basically the same, with one major difference: the final temperature.

Red meat can have some pink or red spots in the middle that are not fully cooked without too much concern for foodborne illness. However, poultry does NOT allow that kind of flexibility!

When cooking turkey or chicken in your air fryer, you need to make sure that you cook it all the way through.

This can be tricky without a thermometer because you want to cook it completely, but not to the point of drying it out. The CDC recommends a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit for poultry.

Here’s how you achieve that with your wireless thermometer and air fryer:

  1. The first thing you should do is read the manufacturer’s instructions.
    They will likely differ a little bit from these, and it’s important to do it correctly.
  2. After prepping your chicken or turkey with seasoning or basting juice, insert the probe into the thickest part.
    If it’s a whole bird, the thickest part will be on top. If it’s a thigh, breast, or another cut, use your best judgment.
  3. Use your app or other device provided to tell the thermometer what specific cut of poultry you’re cooking if it allows you to do so. In this case, more information is best.
  4. Place the poultry in the air fryer and start the app or device.
  5. Monitor the temperature as it cooks.
  6. When the thermometer tells you it’s done, remove the poultry from the air fryer, slice into it and make sure it’s fully cooked before serving it.

3. Monitoring the Temperature of Other Meat and Seafood

As you might’ve guessed, the process is the same here, too. Our recommendation is to follow the cooking guide that was provided with your thermometer or use the CDC guide that we linked earlier in this article.

The key consideration when cooking different types of animal products is to make sure you’re cooking them to a safe temperature.

Once you know what temperature you should be cooking your foods to, you can follow the steps provided above. This is an excellent way to make sure your meals are not only safe but also juicy and cooked to perfection!

4. Monitoring the Temperature of the Air Fryer

Some wireless meat thermometers come with an additional probe that will allow you to monitor the heat of the: 

  • Grill
  • Oven
  • Air fryer 

These tend to be more accurate than the dials that are on the outside of the air fryer because the probe is inside during the cooking process.

This works really well when you’re cooking something like French fries or another item that you can’t really insert a probe into while it cooks.

Here’s how to monitor the internal temperature of your air fryer using a wireless thermometer:

  1. Read the manufacturer’s instructions to make sure you do this process correctly. 
  2. Insert the “oven probe” into the air fryer. These are generally called oven probes because they are designed to be inside the oven during the cooking process. Most of them can be used in air fryers as well.
  3. Use the app or receiver to choose your settings, including the type of food you’re cooking and the desired final temperature.
  4. Once you place the food in the air fryer, you can start the app, and it will monitor the cooking process for you.

Features to Consider When Buying a Wireless Thermometer

If you’re super excited about using a wireless thermometer, it’s time to buy one for yourself and start cooking!

But before you do, here are a few things to consider before you purchase one:

Dual probe vs. single probe. We talked about the difference between measuring the internal temperature of your food and measuring the internal temperature of your air fryer. If you purchase a wireless thermometer with more than one probe, you can measure multiple things at once, which is a major plus.

The display. This is an important consideration because you may or may not enjoy having apps on your phone.

Here’s how the whole display situation typically works:

Option 1: You can purchase a wireless thermometer that has a receiver. The receiver will look something like a walkie-talkie or an electrical meter.

You can carry it around with you while you do other tasks and prepare other items for the meal. However, most of them have a short-range, so you don’t want to wander off too far because it will disconnect.

Option 2: Purchase a wireless thermometer that allows you to download an app to one of your mobile devices. This seems a little over the top for a thermometer, but it can be awesome.

Here’s a great scenario: your family is in town for Thanksgiving, and you have the turkey cooking in an air fryer outside on the patio. You want to enjoy your time with friends and family without constantly running outside to check the temp. If you have an app on your phone, all you have to do is glance at it, and you’ll know all the details you need to know.

Reviews: Whether or not you’re a fan of reading reviews, we recommend that you do so in this case. Regardless of where you’re buying your thermometer, there are a ton of things that could go wrong. It’s important to educate yourself about the item prior to purchasing.

Do your due diligence and read about a couple of different options before making your selection.

Conclusion

Using a wireless thermometer with your air fryer is an awesome way to perfect your cooking skills. You can feel confident that your food is cooking to the perfect temperature and still be free to do other things at the same time!

This is especially helpful when you have a house full of guests, and you prefer to focus on them rather than the temperature of the food in the fryer!

If you’re curious about wireless thermometers, try one for yourself. Do a little research, find the one that will fit your needs, and give it a try! We’re pretty sure you won’t regret it!