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Food Thermometer Guns for Cooking: Uses and Limits

An infrared food thermometer gun reads surface temperature without contact. It is useful for griddles, pans and pizza stones, but it cannot confirm that meat is safely cooked inside.

A food thermometer gun is a non-contact infrared instrument for checking the surface of a pan, griddle, fryer oil or pizza stone. It is fast and keeps your hand away from heat, but a thermometer gun for cooking does not see through food. Use a probe thermometer to measure the centre of meat and poultry.

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Common questions

Questions before you buy

Can a thermometer gun check meat doneness?

No. It measures the surface only, so use a clean food probe in the thickest part to confirm the internal temperature.

Can an infrared thermometer measure frying oil?

It can estimate the oil surface, but steam, reflections and movement can affect the reading. A suitable immersion probe is better when the internal oil temperature is critical.

Why is a shiny pan hard to measure with an infrared thermometer?

Reflective surfaces have low emissivity and may reflect nearby heat. Use the method recommended in the instrument manual rather than aiming at bare polished metal.

Is the laser on a thermometer gun the measuring point?

The laser is an aiming aid. The sensor reads an area that grows with distance, as defined by the unit's distance-to-spot ratio.