Food Cooking Tips & Techniques Grilling How to Check the Temperature of Your Grill You don’t need a built-in thermometer to gauge the temperature. Just your hand. By Leslie Corona Leslie Corona Leslie Corona is the Associate Home Director at Realsimple.com. She has been styling, organizing, writing, and reporting on all things in the home space for a decade. She was previously at Good Housekeeping, HGTV Magazine, and Parents. She has shared her expertise on the TODAY show, Cheddar, and local television news outlets. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 20, 2022 Close RealSimple.com. Photo: Michele Gastl In an ideal world, your grill comes with a built-in thermometer. But if not, use the hand test: Hold your open palm about 3 inches above the grill grate and count how many seconds you can keep it there before pulling away. Then check the chart below for the corresponding temperature. Temperature: High Thermometer reading: 450 F to 500 F Hand check: 1 to 2 seconds Temperature: Medium-high Thermometer reading: 400 F to 450 F Hand check: 2 to 4 seconds Temperature: Medium Thermometer reading: 350 F to 400 F Hand check: 4 to 5 seconds Temperature: Medium-low Thermometer reading: 300 F to 350 F Hand check: 6 to 7 seconds Temperature: Low Thermometer reading: 250 F to 300 F Hand check: 7 to 9 seconds If you're just learning how to barbecue, this primer will help you get your grill started. Then, learn how to grill just about anything with this printer-friendly PDF. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit