Go to Cooks Illustrated.com. They do exhaustive testing on everything related to cooking. I do recall that they did meat thermometers in the last year.

Jumping on the Thermapen bandwagon. In addition to the speed and accuracy, I like the bulkiness of the handle -- much easier to hold with an oven mitt, and the read out is much larger than any of the others I've used. I hesitated for a couple of years because of the price, but I'm with em-i-lis. Worth every penny.

I have to agree with pierino. I have been through a few thermometers and finally broke down and bought the Thermapen. I am happy I did!

Most "instant reads" don't give you an instant read. It can take maybe 20 seconds. That's not instant. I go with the Thermapen which will give you an accurate read in 2 to 3 seconds. They're expensive at about $99 but they are the best. You can buy them through King Arthur Flour or directly from the source.

Love my Polder digital cooking timer/ thermometer - would highly recommend !