Here’s my new favorite gadget along with my other essentials for the good life:

• Sat. TV Remove
• Big Ass Tee Vee Remote
• Wireless Mouse for laptop
• Electronic Wireless Talking Meat Thermometer
• laptop

I got the meat thermomoter from RedEnvelope.com – a really great site for shopping for the unusual.

If you’re like me, you just feel the urge to baby-sit any meat on the grill, whether it’s Pineapple Ribs, like today…

or a big honking piece of expensive steak.  I’m always peeking at the meat thermometer to check temperature. Of course this lets all the heat escape and slows cooking.

There is always some improvisation when it comes to preparation - but there is little room for error when it comes to internal temperature of the meat. No matter what you are preparing, if you don’t know the internal temperature, you won’t have meat/chicken/fish/pig that people will rave about.

This wireless electronic meat thermometer from Oregon Scientific takes all the guess work out of the equation. It’s digital, so no squinting over the heat to try to read within 10-20 degrees of the temperature. The digital readout shows internal temperature to the degree.

And I did mention it’s has a voice, right? Yep, when the meat temperature gets “nearly done” it beeps twice. When the target temperature (set automatically or manually) is reached it beeps four times.

It has a handy clip to wear it on your belt if you need to be moving around.

Here is the sweet spot – the transmitter has a range of 300 feet – yep, you can be a football field away and still know the temp of your meat.

Here’s the specs…

* digital LCD screen
* features five languages, eight entrée programs, four doneness levels, and four verbal and audio alert options—”almost ready,” “ready,” “overcooked” and “out-of-range”
* main unit measures 2 3/4″ x 1″ x 5 1/2″
* sensor unit measures 3 1/2″ x 1 1/4″ high
* stainless-steel meat probe measures 7″ long

This is my first attempt at using the talking thermometer, but I like the reviews I read…

“Unlike all the other reviewers on this product, I actually used it this weekend on a leg of lamb. It worked great! The wire was long enough to reach the transmitter which I had placed on a bench next to the grill. I set the base unit to report “medium rare” for the lamb at 145 degrees. I was able to cook the whole lamb on the grill without ever lifting the lid to check on it. The base unit told me when the meat was done from the comfort of my living room. And the meat came out perfect!”