When I first moved into my apartment, my oven was churning out pale chicken skin, limp broccolini, and underbaked cookies. It wasn’t until I invested in a probe thermometer that I realized my oven’s display was off and that preheating took twice as long as it claimed. I also often cook for family and friends in their homes, so whenever I pack my cooking bag for a dinner party, I tuck my ThermoWorks Square DOT into my apron’s pocket. This tiny thermometer has made an outsized impact on my life.
Why The ThermoWorks Square DOT Is Great
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The ThermoWorks Square DOT is like a hybrid between the ThermoWorks Chef Alarm and the ThermoWorks DOT, both winners in our leave-in probe thermometer testing. Like its siblings, it reliably monitors temperatures and has a simple, backlit display for easy reading.
What sets the Square DOT apart is that it has two temperature-tracking channels, versus the standard DOT’s single channel. I’m a big multitasker in the kitchen, so I love having two channels to, say, monitor oil for deep frying while also tracking the preheating oven for roasting. I also use it every time I smoke meat with my dad—one probe keeps an eye on the smoker’s ambient temperature while the other monitors the internal temp of the brisket. The alarm is also loud enough that we can hear it from inside, which has saved us a few times when we added a bit too much wood to the smoker. The “average” mode is a nice touch, too, since it measures the average temperature over fifteen minutes instead of beeping anytime the temperature fluctuates. And it’s magnetic so I can stick it onto the grill or refrigerator door.
Serious Eats / Octavio Peña
The SquareDOT comes with a penetration probe and an air probe, but ThermoWorks has a large selection of probes available to customize your experience. This includes ambient probes to track low temps in refrigerators or freezers; waterproof probes for simmering pots or sous vide baths; and extension cables for versatility across different kitchen layouts. I like to keep two penetration probes handy for monitoring two roasts simultaneously. The cables themselves are high-quality and can withstand being pinched between the door of an oven or the lid of a grill.
Anyone who wants a little more control in the kitchen (whether it’s to see how a roast chicken is coming along or to keep an eye on a sizzling steak) should own this thermometer. It’s like having a little sous chef trained solely in the art of temperature management.
FAQs
How do you use a ThermoWorks Square DOT?
Turn on the device by pressing the power button on the back. To set an alarm, press the left or right arrow buttons to select a desired temperature. Holding an arrow button in a single direction lets you speed through the temperature range. Once the desired temperature is reached and the alarm beeps, tap any arrow on the device to dismiss the alarm. Pressing the left and right arrow buttons in a single row disables the alarm function. To turn off the device, hold the power button on the back until the display turns off.
Which probes are included with the ThermoWorks Square DOT?
The device comes with a 4.5-inch straight penetration probe and an air probe with a grate clip. The cables are both 47 inches long and can handle up to 700˚F (370°C).
How do I monitor my oven temp?
To monitor your oven’s temperature, connect a probe to the channel two socket and hold the “AVG” button until the “A” icon appears above the temperature. This sets the channel to average mode which automatically calculates the 15-minute average temperature.