Reviews, Ratings, And Buying Guides To Hundreds Of Grills, Smokers, Thermometers, Accessories, Tools, Meats, Sauces, And Other Products
"We have the tools, and we have the talent." Winston Zeddemore, Ghostbusters
Read these truly unbiased reviews and ratings before you buy. We do not sell anything other than memberships in our Pitmaster Club, and our advertising is sold by third party ad networks so we are free to be brutally honest. For the best deals, pay attention to our Best Value Awards, especially the Best Value Gold Medals.
Gold Medal Gift Guide
Some of our favorite Best Value Gold Medal winners, perfect for gifts for the grillmaster or pitmaster. No ugly ties here!
Ratings & Reviews Of 500 Grills, Smokers, Pizza Ovens, Hog Roasters, And More
Max Good has the coolest job. He works full time for us kicking the tires on grills and smokers and researching user experiences with them. This makes him the world's leading authority on the subject. Our searchable database of his ratings and reviews has more than 500 cookers, many with reader comments, and many with links to suppliers. Start with our Top 10 Lists and pay attention to our Best Value Awards. We also have several in-depth articles to help you decide which type of grill or smoker is right for you and what to look for when you are shopping.
Click here to go to our ratings and reviews of grills, smokers, and more.
Ratings & Reviews Of 100+ Thermometers For Food, Grills, Smokers, Ovens
This may be the single most important page on this entire website because you cannot be a good cook if you cannot control temperature. Unfortunately, with today's food supply, undercooking dinner can do more than ruin your meal, it can kill you. And overcooking can ruin pretty expensive meat. A good digital thermometer is an essential tool that every kitchen or backyard barbecue should have on hand. You will be amazed at how having good digital thermometers can improve your cooking. Dial thermometers are technology from the 1800s and they are often waaaay off. Cooking without good digital thermometers is like driving at night without headlights. Our electrical engineer has tested more than 100 with precision instruments and used them in real life situations. Don't be making excuses for overcooked expensive meat, or apologies in the hospital.
Best BBQ Accessories, Tools, Toys, And Gadgets And Buying Guides
Here are the cool tools and toys that will make you a better outdoor cook. There are attachments that will turn your trusty old Weber Kettle into a serious smoker, gadgets that you can toss onto a gas grill and make it belch tasty smoke, a cutting board that collects all the juices, pork pullers, grill toppers that will keep the veggies from committing suicide and jumping into the fire, tongs for flipping fish, bright LED lights for the grill handle, a spot and grease remover that will absolutely remove sauce stains from your shirts, and much more.
Click here to check out our favorite BBQ accessories and gadgets.
Best Kitchen Tools And Gadgets And Buying Guides
Here are the essential tools that every kitchen needs from knives to pots and pans, all tested and beloved by our staff. You'll find our favorite cast iron Dutch oven, a cast iron griddle, wok, steamer basket, whisk, the best garlic press, citrus juicer, an adjustable pepper grinder that really works, poultry shears that can cut through chicken bones easily, and much more.
Best Grill Grates And Buying Guide
Yes, I know you've been indoctrinated all your life to start drooling when you see grill marks, but the truth is that grill marks mean much of the meat's potential has been lost. Tan meat is meat that has less flavor than brown meat. So the goal should be an even dark brown all across the surface. You will be surprised, but we hope convinced, when we explain that in many cases cheap wire grates are the best and heavy cast iron are the worst.
Click here to see which grill grates we love and which we hate.
Best Grill Grate Cleaning Tools And Techniques And Buying Guide
Grease and oils get rancid and they can make your food taste bad. Then there's the black crust that makes the food stick. It is vital that your food go on clean grates. Here are the tools that work best, and tips on how to spot the ones that can send you to the hospital.
Click here to see which grate cleaning tools work best and which are safest
Best Tools For Starting Charcoal And Wood Fires
Please don't use starter fluid, mineral spirits, gasoline, kerosene, or any hydrocarbons to start charcoal. There are much better ways. When your neighbor smells the hydrocarbons, she knows you're a beginner.
Click here to see which methods and devices work best for starting a charcoal or wood fire.
Best Add-ons For The Weber Kettle
The Weber Kettle has been around since 1952 and it has been fine tuned but not changed drastically. Meahwhile devotees have been adding on to their favorite grill and some of them are pretty impressive. Like the Slow'N Sear.
Click here to see which add-ons for the Weber Kettle grill that we like best.
Best Add-ons For The Weber Smokey Mountain
The Weber Smokey Mountain is tried and true. Easy to use, with good temperature control right out of the box. But there are some clever entrepreneurs out there who have found ways to make it even better.
Click here to see which add-ons for the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker that we like best.
Parts To Repair, Modify, And Upgrade Your Grill Or Smoker
It can occasionally be a lot cheaper to modify, patch up,or upgrade your current smoker. Here are some tools to help you. Then again, sometimes you just need to haul the old clunker into the alley and get a new one.
Artisan Foods From Great BBQ Restaurants And Butchers
Sometimes we just want something special, like USDA Prime steaks, or Wagyu brisket, or Heritage hog meat and, darn it, the local grocery just doesn't carry it. It is still too rare. Also, many of our favorite restaurants now ship. But shipping food cross country has to be done carefully. We recommend only suppliers who make sure the food is properly sealed, chilled, packaged, insured, and shipped expeditiously at the best rates.
Click here to see some of our favorite artisan butcher and restaurants who can ship to you.
BBQ Sauces
There are so many great sauces and we really can't taste them all. But American history and geography has given us some fascinating regional styles: Mustard based sauces from South Carolina, vinegar based sauces in North Carolina, tomato based from Kansas City, to name a few. Here are some that we think represent the style of their region.
Best Injectors And How To Use Them
Injecting is a fast and efficient way to drive flavor deep into foods. Turkey breast too dry? Ever heard of butterballing? Yup, that's where they got the name.
Click here to see a selection of injectors we've tested and tips on using them
Some Of Our Favorite Cookbooks, Books On Food, And Magazines
We give you a lot for free, but if you want more, here are books with recipes, food science, butchery, sauces, smoking, history, food politics, and some good magazines.
Hundreds Of Fun Designs For Aprons, Hats, Shirts, Underwear, Mugs, And More
Order cool, humorous gear designed by Meathead and custom printed by CafePress.com. Many items have the design printed front and back. They make perfect gifts for the food and drink lovers in your life. There are aprons, underwear, T-shirts, golf shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, baby clothes, caps, mugs, pet bowls, and more.
Click here to see more of your options and all the humorous captions from which you can select
Our Favorite Bar Tools
If you want to serve drinks in style, you need a shaker, strainer, stirrer, juicer, muddler, mugs, glassware, and a book. Here are some of our faves.
The Best Corkscrews And Foil Removers
Corkscrews do not have to be torture devices. The best do not depend on strength, they give you a mechanical advantage. Here's how they work and our recommendations.
Pizza Tools For Professional Pizzas
If you haven't tried it you will be surprised to learn that making pizza at home isn't all that hard, you can make them exactly as you like them, and nothing beats fresh hot pizza still crispy from the grill or oven rather than soggy from the cardboard box. You don't need much in the way of tools.
Click here to see which tools we recommend, and a popular one we don't recommend.
Music About Barbecue, Drink, And All Kinds Of Food For Your Party Playlist
Make your own mix tape of barbecue, food, and drink music from this list of hundreds of tunes just a click away from downloading (OK, so some of them are really not about food): American Pie by Don McLean, Birthday Cake by Cibo Matto, Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones, Burger Man by ZZ Top, Call Any Vegetable by The Mothers of Invention, Caramel by Suzanne Vega, Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffett, Cheese Cake by Dexter Gordon, A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird by Cab Calloway, Chicken Shack Boogie by Lionel Hampton, and The Closer to the Bone (The Sweeter Is the Meat) by Louis Prima to name a few.
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