Every month, three winners are selected in a random drawing conducted by an independent sweepstakes administration company. All active members of the Pitmaster Club who are at least 21 years old and reside in the 50 US and DC are automatically entered. Learn more about the great smokers, grills, and accessories you can win by clicking here.
JOIN THE PITMASTER CLUB
Take A 30-Day Free Trial
With our no-risk 30 day free trial, you can post questions, join conversations, and enjoy an ad free environment on the AmazingRibs.com site. Plus we don't ask for your credit card information so your privacy is guaranteed. Learn more about what the Pitmaster Club has to offer by reading below!
Note that some benefits such as our free temperature magnet and monthly giveaways are exclusive to paid members.
Why join the Pitmaster Club?
Now the largest membership-based BBQ and grilling community in the world, the Pitmaster Club is the perfect place to step up your outdoor cooking game.
In addition to being a forum filled with ideas and insight from other backyard cooks, benefits include three monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000; a free large temperature magnet; free ebooks; free digital editions of Barbecue News magazine; exclusive product discounts; and much, much more!
Start a 30-day free trial
Explore everything that the Pitmaster Club has to offer by starting a 30-day free trial. When you join, we do not ask for your credit card so your privacy is guaranteed. We also NEVER EVER track you or share your info with anybody. Click here to read our Privacy Promise.
Note that some privileges are reserved for paid members including the free temperature magnet, entry into our monthly drawings, and the ability to download all of our e-books (you get one with your free trial).
Become a full-time member for only $34.95 annually or redeem a gift membership
Click to pay and join now, risk-free! You’ll get full privileges including being eligible for our monthly drawings with prizes worth up to $2,000, six of our ebooks (each retail for $3.99), a free Award-Winning Temperature Guide (MSRP $9.95), and other exclusive perks. Plus: you can cancel and get your money back anytime in the first 30 days!
Get your 90-day free trial (code required)
Start a 90-day trial by using the coupon code/password found only on the cover of the hardbound version of the book “Meathead: The Science Of Great Barbecue And Grilling” and with the Fireboard Spark thermometer.
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Show the outdoor cook in your life just how much you care with a gift card good for a 1-year subscription. Gift cards are $40 which covers the cost of the card, shipping and handling, and the $34.95 one-year membership fee.
Explore The Benefits
You get freebies that sell for $76.87 and we block all 3rd party ads from members, all for only $34.95/year! Membership has its privileges!
Great Giveaway Sweepstakes Each Month Worth Up To $3,000
Food Temperature Guide Magnet
Once you become a paid member, we send you a welcome packet highlighted by our 8.5″ x 11″ Comprehensive Food Temperature Safety Magnet with more than 80 temperature benchmarks for meats, sugar, oil, sous vide, and more. It sells for $9.95 on the SnS.com website. That’s 42% of the price of a membership as soon as you join! Learn more about the comprehensive temp magnet here.
Six E-Books
We have published six e-books under our publishing banner, Deep Dive Guides, and, although they are sold on Amazon, Apple, Google, and Nook for $3.99, you’ll be able to download copies for free. As the name implies, each one takes an in-depth look at a single topic, including steaks, ribs, brisket, chicken, turkey, and sous-vide-que. Learn more about our deep dive e-books here.
Members only recipes, plus advanced looks at other new recipes and reviews!
Our professional recipe developers set aside some of their most creative tested recipes just for members. In addition, we provide members with sneak peeks of all new content on the AmazingRibs.com site.
Free sneak preview of Meathead’s book in progress
Members get exclusive excerpts and recipes from Meathead’s forthcoming book, “The Meathead Method, Barbecue Science Meets Culinary Art.”
Barbecue News Magazine
Members get the digital version of Barbecue News monthly. The print version sells for $35/year and the digital version is $20/year. Founded in 1989, Barbecue News features columns from BBQ Hall of Famers Ardie Davis, Paul Kirk, and our own Meathead; recipes; news from BBQ associations; a calendar of events; a restaurant guide; book reviews; and ruminations by other experts. The digital version is especially cool because it is interactive. Many articles and ads are clickable so that you can learn more.
Audio and video content
Members get access to numerous audio and video interviews with top pitmasters and other industry tastemakers. On the left is a screenshot from a panel discussion regarding pellet cookers. On the right is a 7-minute outtake from a discussion regarding salt. All audio and video content is recorded and archived in the Pitmaster Club for future access.
Inspiration from members
Our section “Show Us What You Are Cooking” is foodporn at its best. We go there for inspiration and ideas, tips on technique, and to marvel at the photographic skills of fellow members. On the left is a delicious photo of beef ribs by Pitmaster Club member "Ernest."
Great discussions and debates and knowledgeable moderators to help you
Moderators and members share tips, opinions on cookers, restaurants, tools, butchers, techniques, and more, all respectfully without flame wars, politics, race, religion.
Three monthly newsletters
Every month we send members an exclusive email newsletter, “Hot From The Pit," with recipes from members and highlights of discussions from The Pitmaster Club. The food porn is amazing. Members also get “Smoke Signals," our monthly email newsletter with news of new articles and recipes on the free portion of the website. We also send “DigestThis.news,” a curated round-up of all the food news from around the world from farm to fork. Sign up for "Smoke Signals" and/or "Digest This" now by clicking here.
Discounts on products we love
Manufacturers recognize our members as important opinion leaders in the barbecue and grilling world and often provide discounts or gifts-with-purchase exclusively to Pitmaster Club members, including meat from various online purveyors including this beautiful porterhouse from Meat 'N Bone. And because our robust product review program is well respected for its integrity and honesty, we know many of the top brands in the industry so we can step in if you have issues with a product but aren't having luck with their customer support teams.
Member Meat-Ups
In February 2017, we held our First International Meat-Up in the Bahamas with more than 50 members of the Pitmaster Club. Check out the video here.
In addition, members organize local Meat-Ups in BBQ joints and their own backyards around the world all year long. On the left is a picture of the gang gathered in Texas for a run to Snow’s and other top-rated pitstops.
Pitmaster Club Swag
The beautifully embroidered shirt pictured below is the same one our team wears in public and on TV. It’s wash-and-wear and doesn’t need ironing, but it has soft cotton-like feel. There is a choice of four colors and it is available in both men’s and women’s sizes.
Members can also order Pitmaster Club patches, stickers, reasonably priced men’s and women’s t-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, mugs, baseball caps, tote bags, flasks, and more. There’s even a spiral-bound journal where you can make notes on your cooks.
Membership certificate
Impress your friends and family by showcasing this official Pitmaster Club membership certificate. Print it out and frame it as proof that you are a true master of smoke and flame
Support for Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
We also donate to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. This remarkable a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization develops and distributes high efficiency low or no-smoke cookstoves to the needy around the world. Many require much less fuel than old fashioned stoves that fill their huts, eyes, and lungs with soot. Below is a well insulated high efficiency unit that can burn wood, crop byproducts like corncobs, it can run on solar, and can even store enough energy to power a light or charge a cell phone. Reducing the amount of wood means less deforestation in dry areas and women spend less time collecting wood and are at less risk. Click here to read more about this remarkable organization.
Support for Operation BBQ Relief
Every month we donate to Operation Barbecue Relief, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit disaster relief program that sends pitmasters into US disaster areas to feed the first responders and homeless. If there is a tornado or flood, OBR is there within hours. By joining you help support this amazing service. Click here to learn more about the remarkable work Operation BBQ Relief does.
The Pitmaster Club is a real community, a place to learn, make friends, and have fun regardless of your level of BBQ and grilling expertise. This is your hotline for cooking tips and techniques minus the flame wars common on Facebook and other forums. Plus, you get freebies that if combined would sell for $76.87. We even block all 3rd party ads from members and you get it all for only $34.95/year!
Our privacy guarantee
We will never sell or share your private info. Our privacy and security promise is as good as it gets.
Secure transaction
Your payment is secure. We never see or store credit card info. The subscription page is a portal directly to Stripe.com, a huge respected card processor that is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1, the most stringent level of certification available. It is also GeoTrust Secured. They have never been hacked. This is far more secure than handing your credit or debit card to a stranger in a restaurant, gas station, or a grocery store.
Easy renewal
For your convenience, when the year is up, you don’t have to do a thing to renew. Three weeks before your membership expires we’ll send you an email asking if you want to renew. If you do, don’t do a thing as you will be renewed automatically. If you don’t want to renew, just click the cancel link in the email or on any page of the website. But our money-back guarantee extends to renewals too: If you renew and change your mind within 30 days, we will refund your money promptly and with no questions asked. This is a lot better than bombarding you with emails, snail mail, and telemarketing phone calls begging you to renew.
We can up your game! The Pitmaster Club is a real barbecue community, a place to learn, make friends, and have fun.
"I have been on forums for years for different topics. There always seems to be a bit of unneeded drama and people just trying to stir things up. That doesn’t occur here." - Member 'clb239'
"The staff and members are the gold standard of how social media should be." - Member 'Rod'
"I used to work as a chef and have learned more here than I ever did in restaurants." - Member 'Captain Awesome'
"What you learn in one hour on here is worth more than the fee." - Member 'ontheranch'
"After unpleasant experiences in a group on Facebook, I was struck by what a great community we have here. Everyone treats everybody with respect and is welcoming to newbies." - Member 'Buck Flicks'
"I've learned more about BBQ in the last five months than I had in my entire life. The Pitmaster Club is a wealth of informattion." - Member 'Panteracfh3'
"I'm loving the Pitmaster Club. The Doc Blonder videos rock! I belong to two other private clubs, but the Pitmaster Club brings me the most fun of all!" - BBQ Hall Of Famer & Member John Markus
Post comments and questions
Have questions or comments? Before joining the discussion below, try using the search box at the top of every page to find the answer.
Still stumped? Try to post your question to the appropriate page so that our team can reply in a timely and accurate fashion. Note that posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
