Matthew DeCarlo
If you wish your grill wasn’t so dumb but can’t justify the cost of a fully-fledged smart grill, Weber and June have teamed up to develop a new device that can equip nearly any grill with support for wireless connectivity.
Created in conjunction with smart cooking company June, the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub is a small device that sits next to your not-so-smart grill. It has sensor cables that run inside your grill to monitor the temperature of your food as it cooks and it pairs up with Webster’s smartphone app so you can keep an eye on everything from a distance.
The app will let you know when it’s time to flip your steak and when it’s time to grab your fork, and you can customize the settings so it’s cooked exactly how you want it, whether that’s well-done, medium-rare, or still mooing. You can also use up to four sensors at once, so you can track different food items at the same time.
If you’d rather not be surprised by a dinner bell, the app can display the current status of your food, such as its current temperature and a readiness countdown. Information such as temperatures are likewise visible straight on the Connect Smart Grilling Hub itself without checking your phone if you happen to be near the grill.
Weber’s app also has various tips and tricks from expert grillers about cooking your food to perfection. Going forward, the company plans to add support for Amazon Alexa, which will bring even more features to the hub. The device is expected to launch in more than 30 countries sometime in early 2020 and US pricing is currently set at $129.99.
