Burnt 30 steaks on a Friday rush before I figured out my grill temp was lying

Last Friday at my spot in Portland, I went through 30 ribeyes before I realized my grill thermometer was off by 50 degrees. Infrared gun saved my shift but I still had to comp a ton of meals. Anyone else ever get burned by a faulty grill gauge?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciaellis11d ago

Saw a post on another food forum where a chef swore by keeping a backup thermometer in their kit for exactly this reason, guess @spencerl32 is onto something with the infrared trick. 30 ribeyes is rough though, I read somewhere that grill gauges can drift like crazy after a few months of heavy use, especially if they get banged around during cleaning. Infrared guns are cheap and honestly every station should have one clipped to their apron during rushes. Heard a story about a guy in Chicago who ruined a whole catering order because his oven thermometer was reading 50 degrees low, cost him like 2 grand in refunds. Better to learn that lesson on a Friday night than during a wedding banquet or something.

spencerl321mo ago

Read something similar on a chef forum a while back about how infrared thermometers are basically a cheat code for busy kitchens. 30 ribeyes is a brutal learning curve though, at least you caught it before you got too deep into the shift. Probably saved your station some serious headaches for the rest of the night.

gavinhunt1mo ago

Honestly, @spencerl32 is spot on about the infrared thermometer thing. Ngl, once you dial in the temps for different cuts it saves so much guesswork, especially during a rush like that.