Maverick ET-68 Digital Grilling Fork Review
This temperature fork reads temperature via a sensor located in the right tine only. It has a up/down timer and a pie chart showing doneness. The tines are detachable for cleaning. There is no backlight, min/max or hold function. The display is right-side-up when the handle is up and the tines point down, backwards, in my opinion.
The fork has a timer OR a temperature mode, they cannot work simultaneously. If you are in timer mode and switch to temperature mode, the timer stops and resets to zero if up-counting, or your previous time setting if down-counting. In temperature mode, as temperatures rise, a pie chart will display a raw segment, then add a rare segment, a med-rare segment, a med segment, a well-beef segment, and finally a well-poultry segment. The temperatures for these displays correspond to the values found on the AmazingRibs Meat Temperature Guide, and are printed in the user’s instructions. You can also set your own temperature value that will trigger an audible/visible alarm. This setting will be remembered when the unit auto-shuts off. (The auto-shutoff feature does not work in Timer mode. This is sensible. When the timer times out, the auto-off function will then work.)
The fork takes several readings when inserted into a hot material like meat. I simulated this by heating up some water in a bowl, and comparing the temperature read by the fork to the value obtained from a thermometer of known accuracy. The fork read within a couple of degrees of the reference unit. This is acceptable accuracy for a device like this.
The manufacturer’s contact info, including address and website, but no telephone number, is found on the instruction sheet. The unit is covered by a 90-day limited warranty.
I’ll admit to a personal bias: I don’t like these fork thermometers. I think they’re a gimmick. I prefer a fast hand-held with a long, thin probe shaft to the relatively short and fat fork tines. However, this unit performs as advertised, is sufficiently accurate and fast-reading, and may work perfectly well for some users. I will ignore my personal preferences and give this unit a Bronze medal for performing according to specs.
Product Information:
- Thermometer Function:Hand Held/Instant Read
- Item Price:$ 24.39
*Price Subject To Change - Where to buy (buying from this supplier supports this website):
- Probe:Length: 3" (7.5cm), diameter: 0.2" (5mm)
- Battery Type:2xAAA (included)
- Battery Life:up to 6 months
- Safe Operating Range:
- Min & Max Temp:32 to 212ºF (0 to 100ºC)
- Display Precision:0.1º
- Actual Temp at 32 Degrees:32.5
- Actual Temp at 130 Degrees:n/a
- Actual Temp at 225 Degrees:n/a
- Actual Temp at 325 Degrees:n/a
- Speed from 32 to 212 Degrees:3*
- Speed from 32 to 212 Degrees:10
- Numbers Display Size:0.25" (6mm)
- Water Resistance Rating:
- Weight:5.35oz (152g)
- C/F Switch:Built in CF switch
- Backlight:No Backlight
- Auto shutoff:1
- Color Options:Black
- App:No
- Logging:No
- Included:Fork with detachable tines, instructions
- Available Accessories:None
- Alarms:Visible, audible
Published On: 5/7/2014 Last Modified: 1/25/2021
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators