Best Meat Thermometers For Cooking With a Wok

by R7eagle | Last Updated:  May 7, 2021
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Both digital and analog thermometers will do the job depending on the dish you are preparing in your wok. No matter what type of dish you are cooking with your wok, from Asian inspired dishes to home-made Thai food, there is a thermometer that will keep you safe.

We need to specify what cooking method you are using to determine the thermometer you should use. These thermometers are listed below. Later, I’ll dive into why I recommend these solutions:

Analog Temperature Thermometers

If you use this analog temperature gauge in a wok make sure the gauge does not tip over and fall into any liquid you may have in your pan.

This temperature gauge is perfect if you have larger pieces of meat, fowl, or fish cooking in your wok or in your stove.

This thermometer only has a temperature range of 120°F to 200°F so be careful where you use it. I would not use it inside of your oven that could get from 450-500 degrees F.

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Digital Temperature Thermometers

You can actually leave this probe and cable inside of your wok lid or inside your oven and get very accurate measurements. Check this thermometer’s reviews at Amazon.

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Foldable Digital Portable Thermometers

Oven Safe Thermometers

Are Meat Thermometers Even Useful For Wok Cooking? 

There are many ways to cook with woks. This 2,000-year-old appliance can cook with all methods, aside from modern cooking techniques like sous vide. (Ha!)

The truth is that woks are best for stir-frying and cooking soups. These dishes typically have small bite-sized pieces of meat. Thus using a meat thermometer reliably is difficult when cooking with woks.

The readings will be inaccurate most of the time because of the meat’s size and the heat from the bottom of the pan. However, there are some tricks you can employ to ensure your dish is safe to eat:

You don’t need to check the meat’s pieces in the dish for cooking soups in a wok. Use a long probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the soap in the dish. If it’s at 165 degrees, it’s safe to eat.

When Roasting and Stewing Meats with a Lidded Wok

Roasting and stewing with a wok is not used often in-home cooking, but it can still be done right. Using oven-safe cooking thermometers is best for reliably checking the doneness of your meats when using these methods.

Using a short or long probe thermometer that isn’t oven-safe interrupts the cooking process entirely. You have to open the lid and release the heat held inside the wok, which will prolong the cooking time.

Do not put a non-oven-safe thermometer in with the food. The good news is that oven-safe thermometers are cheap. The chances are that you already have an oven thermometer you could use.

In Conclusion, Long Probe Thermometers Will The Job

Now that we know that woks are used for various cooking methods, you should use two thermometers for wok cooking:

  1. A long probe digital thermometer.
  2. An analog and oven safe dial thermometer for roasting. (Digital if you prefer.)

The long probe thermometer is reliably used for checking individual pieces of meat, such as stir-fries, and long enough to accurately read the internal temperatures of soups.

Every other cooking method listed above can utilize long probe thermometers reliably when you follow the instructions above. Well, except for roasting and closed lid cooking methods. –That’s where the oven dial thermometer comes in. You could use short probe meat thermometers, but I do not recommend them. Woks are kept at hot temperatures. Oil and heat will burn you as you check the dish with a short probe. Not fun.

Now you can enjoy cooking meat-based dishes safely in your wok without a second thought. So, why wait? Get cooking?