That $30 infrared thermometer lied to me about my oil temp

I thought I was being smart buying a cheap infrared gun off Amazon to check my deep fryer oil. Turns out those things only measure surface temp, not the actual oil temp inside the pot. I spent a whole Sunday trying to make crispy fried chicken and ended up with greasy, pale skin every single batch. After my third try I finally stuck my old candy thermometer in there and saw the oil was barely 275 when the gun said 350. Wasted about 15 bucks on chicken and another 8 on oil before I figured it out. Has anyone else gotten tricked by those infrared gadgets or is it just me being cheap?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_ramirez1d ago

You'd think a laser pointer thing would give you the right temp, but nope, total fail. My buddy swore by his for grilling so I almost bought one too, but this makes me glad I held off. Back to the old school thermometer for me, cheap tricks just don't work out.

oliviagrant1d ago

My buddy Tim got a bad burn testing one of those on a pan handle.