Maverick ET-733 Redi-Check Review

NOTE: Supplies on this older model are dwindling. The latest and greatest from Maverick is their XR-50 Remote Four Probe.

This dual-probe transmitter/receiver is designed for simultaneous food and oven monitoring from a remote location. The two probes are identical and either can be used for measuring food or oven/smoker temperatures.

The rain-proof transmitter attaches to the two probes which would then be routed into the cooking unit – one placed into the food being cooked, and the other clipped to a grill to monitor ambient temperature. The receiver simultaneously displays both probe temperatures along with upper and lower alarm limits. An audible alarm sounds when either a lower or upper limit is exceeded, and it can be switched on or off. The receiver has a backlight that automatically extinguishes after five seconds.

You can set both upper and lower alarms, or you can use the food mode and select from 15 different meats and several degrees of doneness. (The ability to select a meat and doneness level is the main difference between this unit and its brother, the ET-732. Otherwise they are nearly identical.) The doneness is overrideable to your preferences. You can work in °F or °C.

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The accuracy of the unit is good. The response times are slow, but that is not a problem for a leave-in probe as temperatures change slowly anyway. Learning the setup is simple enough, and the unit remembers your settings when powered off.

The manufacturer’s contact information, including address, telephone number and website, is found in the instruction booklet. The limited warranty is for 90 days.

We highly recommend this unit for its reasonable price, operational thoroughness and ease of use. All the important bases are covered by the reputable manufacturer.

Meathead’s Notes from the Field:

“One nice feature if you have a large pit or cook a lot of meat, you can run two or more 733s (and 732s) as long as they are synchronized away from each other. They can then be brought together without mixing up the signals.

Complaints are few. As wit so many other electronic gizmos, there are more features built into this one than I need, and that only makes it complicated to learn. But if you sit down with the manual you can figure it out. I’ve also got to complain that the battery compartment of the sender requires a phillips head jewler’s screwdriver to open while the receiver pops open with a finger. If you depend on one of these while you are at a BBQ competition, you’d better remember spare batteries and the tiny screwdriver. Finally, I am baffled that they have been unable to cure the problem of probes failing when they are submerged for washing. You must wash them with a soapy sponge and be careful water doesn’t get into the junction between the cable and the probe. The new probes are better than every before, but they are still not bullet proof.

Note. Like its predecessor, this device is a thermistor and it has a plus or minus error tolerance of 3°F. It is also slow to read and it is not good at reading thin pieces of meat like chicken legs, pork ribs, or steaks and chops. It is best for big thick cuts such as pork butt, beef brisket, turkey breasts, and roasts. For thinner cuts you should get an instant read thermometer like the Thermapen.

IMPORTANT! This thermometer is bundled with the Award Winning AmazingRibs.com All-Weather Meat Temperature Magnet that I wrote. There are other companies selling this thermometer on Amazon, and some are falsely promising the magnet. You can ONLY get the Meathead designed temp guide with this thermometer by clicking the link below.”