AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

BBQ & Grilling In Depth: Up Your Game With Tested Recipes, Science-Based Tips On Technique, Equipment Reviews, Community. We share everything except our toothbrush.

Share on:
buffalo wings You have come to the best place in the world for everything related to outdoor cooking, barbecue recipes, grilling and smoking techniques, food science and mythbusting, and the world’s best buyer’s guides to smokers, grills, thermometers, and grilling accessories, including unbiased reviews. You need this. Hope you brought napkins. It’s football season! That means wings!

Published On: 2/22/2021 Last Modified: 2/24/2021

2021 Winners of the Pitmaster Club’s Great Giveaway

Here is a list of the 2021 Winners of the AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Giveaway, exclusive to Pitmaster Club members.

Weber SmokeFire EX4 and EX6 Wood Fired Pellet Grill Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Weber has a new pellet smoker and it is alone among pellet cookers in that it can properly sear steak across the entire cooking area. Read our review of this groundbreaking design.

Cuisinart 3-in-1 Stainless 5 Burner Gas Grill Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Cuisinart's 3-in-1 Stainless 5 Burner Gas Grill is a pretty nice package deal for a pretty low price. It's called 3-in-1 because it's a gas grill that comes with a smoke tube and a cast iron griddle. we tested and reviewed this model. Despite a few quibbles, we feel 3-in-1 is a good choice in this price range, earning our Best Value Gold Medal.

OXO Chef’s Precision Thermocouple Thermometer Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

The OXO Chef's Precision Thermocouple Thermometer is a high-end instant read thermometer that is waterproof to IP66 standards (excellent protection) and incorporates some features that make it attractive for left-handed users. Its unique features and solid construction rate our top award.

Char-Griller Grillin’ Pro Gas Grill Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Low cost gas grills are the instrument of choice for most residential outdoor cooks. We're always on the lookout to review models that deliver a lot of bang for the buck. Grillin' Pro earns our Platinum Medal for exceptional performance under $200. Not built to last, but it will out sear any comparably priced gasser.

Kalamazoo Shokunin Kamado Grill Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Just when we thought we’d seen everything in the world of kamados, Kalamazoo unveils their striking Shokunin Kamado Grill. Kalamazoo occupies a rarefied space in the BBQ cosmos with some of the best grills money can buy, and you'll need a lot of money to buy one. They can cost as much as a car! We give this unique, ultra-luxury kamado our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Read our review to learn why.

The Science Of Slow Cookers

By:

Dave Joachim, AmazingRibs.com Contributing Author

Slow cookers are not truly “set it and forget it”. If you just throw everything in the crock, turn it on and walk away, you’re likely to get soggy, bland results. A little effort yields much more delicious food. Check out this list of Do's and Don'ts to maximize your cookers strengths and minimize its weaknesses.

Sous Vide Que Made Easy: A Downloadable Deep Dive

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Clint Cantwell, AmazingRibs.com President And BBQ Personality

By marriage of water and fire, sous vide with the grill and smoker, we can achieve extraordinary results, in some cases, better than with either cooking method on its own. You can get extraordinarily tender, juicy, safe, and flavorful foods. With this exclusive book you will learn all the basics of sous vide que.

Remembering BBQ Legend Mike Mills

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Barbecue Hall of Famer Mike Mills died Tuesday morning December 29, 2020 due to issues unrelated to COVID. I first met Mike and his daughter Amy in October 2005 at the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue. He was introduced to me as “The Legend.” And he truly is.

Barbecue Chicken Made Easy: A Downloadable Deep Dive

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Brigit Binns, AmazingRibs.com Culinary Content Contributor

With “Barbecue Chicken Made Easy: Everything You Need To Know About Amazing Chicken On the Grill & Smoker” by Meathead and Brigit Binns, you can master the art of perfectly grilled and smoked chicken. Say goodbye forever to charred skin, burnt sauce and undercooked meat. Explore chicken recipes, tips, and so much more.

Amazing Ribs Made Easy: A Downloadable Deep Dive

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Clint Cantwell, AmazingRibs.com President And BBQ Personality

Discover everything you need to know for preparing America's favorite food, pork ribs, with this comprehensive book. In it you'll find several tasty recipes, a glossary of rib terminology, a guide to prepping ribs including how to remove the membrane and trim them, recommended smokers and grills, and so much more.

The Saintly Swedish Glögg (A Killer Hot Mulled Wine) That You’ll Crave This Winter

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Warm yourself in the winter with this delicious recipe for Scandinavian Glögg, a hot mulled wine made from spices, red wine, port, and brandy. Because it is served warm it is especially popular around Christmas. It is the perfect cold-weather drink, warming the body and soul from the inside out.

Give The Gift Of Membership With The AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club Gift Card

By:

Dave Joachim, AmazingRibs.com Contributing Author

We can up your game! The Pitmaster Club is a real barbecue community, a place to learn, make friends, and have fun. Membership is only $34.95 a year. Give someone the gift of membership and they'll receive a gift that keeps on giving!

Slow ‘N Sear Kettle Grill Reviewed And Rated

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

The Slow 'N Sear Kettle Grill is mighty nice, but very similar to the Weber Performer, which is not a bad thing. If you're in the market for a new charcoal kettle grill, read our review because this one may be for you. It's definitely worth consideration. We award the Slow 'N Sear Kettle Grill our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medal.

ThermoWorks Thermapen IR Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

The ThermoWorks Thermapen IR has both an instant-read temperature probe and an infrared sensor in one package. It features a rotating display to enable easy reading in any orientation. It is well constructed, as is usual for ThermoWorks products and exhibits excellent performance. A solid top rating!

Professional Brazilian Steakhouse Knife Set

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Machine washable professional Brazilian steak knife set hand selected by Meathead.

Grilltastic Introduces The Best Grill Brush Ever

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

This superb Grilltastic grill brush is well built but its superpower is that it sprays steam and that removes everything, including all grease and carbon, in a hurry. Simply fill the water tank, plug it in, click the switch, and in a few seconds the 1500 watt steam generator will have the grates looking like new.

Pit Boss 5-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker

By:

John “Spinaker” Bowlsby

The Pit Boss 5-Series Vertical Cabinet Smoker is a good unit for this price point. It's easy to use and maintain, produces great results on a variety of meats and has a small footprint coupled with a large cooking capacity. Read our review to learn why we give the Pit Boss 5-Series our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.

Hasty Bake 357 PRO

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Our new favorite charcoal grill is the Hasty Bake 357 PRO. It is just about the perfect charcoal grill/smoker combo. The core concepts of the design go back to 1948. Since then, Hasty Bake has refined and polished off the rough edges. We tested and reviewed their new 357 PRO which easily earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.

Hestan Outdoor GMBR36-LP Gas Grill Review

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The Hestan GMBR36-LP is one of the best gas grills we have tested and reviewed. Period. And we've cooked on a multitude of gassers. There is so much right about this innovative design we struggle to find something to criticize. Hestan easily wins our AmaziingRibs.com Platinum Medal.

ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk 4 Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

The ThemoWorks Thermapen Mk 4 is the latest version of a product that has long been considered the gold standard thermometer. The Mk 4 has the original Thermapen's shape and basic operation, but includes features that are common on high-end instruments: automatic backlight and rotating display. It gets our top rating.

Gunter Wilhelm Premier ProCut 10 Inch Serrated Offset Bread Knife

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The Gunter Wilhelm Premier ProCut 10 inch Serrated Bread Knife is a superb blade with a wicked sharp cutting edge that is also drop dead gorgeous.

GoBQ Grill Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Constructed of flame resistant, silicone coated, fiberglass fabric, GoBQ rolls up and fits in a backpack or over your shoulder on a carrying strap. Read our review. It's not for everyone, but if you value extreme mobility, you may be willing to work around its shortcomings. GoBQ earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.

The Delta by Nuke

By:

Dave Joachim, AmazingRibs.com Contributing Author

The Delta by Ñuke is an Argentinian grill that burns wood or charcoal and comes with an adjustable height grill grate. This affordable and stylish entry into the gaucho grill market also comes with a warming drawer, a lid, a fire poker, shovel, carbon steel griddle, and a rain cover. Read our review of this Gold Medal Grill.

Slow ‘N Sear Deluxe Kamado Reviewed And Rated

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Most kamados can't be set up for 2-zone cooking with a hot direct zone and moderate indirect zone. Not the new Slow 'N Sear Deluxe. Read our review to learn why. Built around Slow 'N Sear's patented Slow ‘N Sear charcoal kettle insert, It is a kamado grill that has true 2-zone cooking and wins our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.

ThermoWorks ThermoPop (TX-3100-XX) Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

The ThermoPop is an inexpensive, high-performance, rapid-read handheld thermometer for food usage. It has a rotating display that makes it easy to read from any angle. It gives precise readings in under four seconds. We tested it thoroughly and gave it a top rating for its performance and build quality.

Fireboard 2 Drive FBX2D

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

FireBoard Drive 2 is an updated version of a well-received product that sets the standard for performance and functionality in the wireless food thermometer/thermostatic controller class.

The Messermeister Meridian Elite Knife Kit Travels Well

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

My travel knife kit is a Messermeister Meridian Elite Knife Set. These are quality forged knives, and if you're looking for a basic knife roll, it makes a great choice.

ThermoWorks Smoke X4 Four Channel Wireless Food Thermometer

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

Read our review of the ThermoWorks Smoke X4, a long-range remote four-channel digital food thermometer that will satisfy the pickiest chef; a Platinum Medal easily.

Meatstick Wi-Fi-Bluetooth Food Thermometer Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

The Meatstick Wi-Fi-Bluetooth Food Thermometer is a tool that allows a wireless temperature probe to communicate with a smart phone to monitor cooking progress.

We Discover The Best Burger Flippers Ever

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

These double spatulas, or oversize tongs if you prefer, made from sturdy stainless steel, are the best thing to happen to burgers since buns and fish filets since tartar sauce. Slip it under the burger or filet, clamp down, flip and gently slide back onto the grates. No more broken burgers or filets.

The Rapala Fillet Knife Is Cheap, Sharp And Versatile

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

This cheapo knife has a thin flexible blade with a dangerously sharp edge and a wicked sharp tip. It's good for just about everything except cutting through bone. And it costs less than $15.

FireBoard FBX11 Review

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

FireBoard has set a new standard in food thermometry. It is a remote read, cloud connected, data logger, with connections for up to six probes. It can communicate with a smart phone via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to monitor the temps of both cooker and food. It received our top rating for its full feature set and performance.

Maverick PT-51 Instant Read Thermometer Review

By:

Bill McGrath, AmazingRibs.com Chief Thermometer Reviewer

Read our comprehensive review of the Maverick PT-51 instant read food thermometer that garnered excellent accuracy scores at a very reasonable price.

Ooni Koda Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The Ooni Koda is a superb portable pizza oven capable of making restaurant quality pies in 2 to 3 minutes. Completely redesigned from the ground up, Koda outperforms its predecessor, Ooni 3, in every way. It requires no assembly and is ready to cook right out of the box. We reviewed Koda and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal!

Why We Eat Black Eyed Peas For New Years: Hoppin’ John Recipe

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Celebrate a Happy New Year and give yourself some good luck with the ultimate black eyed pea recipe, flavor packed Hoppin' John beans and rice. Black-eyed peas' most popular expression is classic Hoppin' John, a steaming bowl of beans, rice, and pork that is especially popular in coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

Once You Make Maple Bacon, You’ll Never Get Store Bought Again

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

You seriously need to make this bacon. It's not hard. And it is so worth it. It's one of those processes that mostly just takes time. And for your patience you are rewarded with some the most delicious, homemade smoky bacon you'll ever taste.

Easy Tempura Beer Batter For Deep Frying

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Tempura batter is light, lacy, and ultra crispy. It is ideal for deep frying vegetables and seafood. In this recipe, the bubbles from beer or club soda help achieve the right texture.

Smoked Chocolate Chips Amp Up Any Dessert

By:

Clint Cantwell, AmazingRibs.com President And BBQ Personality

Take your desserts over the top with this recipe for smoking chocolate chips at home. Cold smoking is the key to this recipe and creates just enough smoke to add a subtle touch of BBQ to the chocolate. Once smoked, the chocolate chips can be stored in an airtight container in order to mellow the smoke flavor.

What Fuel Is Right For You?

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

There are six heat sources for cooking outdoors. Each produces a different flavor, and each has its strengths and weaknesses.

The Science of Corn

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Fresh sweet corn is a seasonal pleasure you should enjoy every year! Here's what you need to know about different types of fresh corn, including varieties such as yellow, white, bi-color, Silver queen, and supersweet. Learn how to buy them, store them, grill them, savor them, and cook the best corn on the cob.

Sweet And Sour Coleslaw, The Perfect BBQ Side

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Looking to step up your coleslaw game? Here is a simple recipe that is sure to impress your guests. In the South there are two kinds of slaw: Sweet-sour and creamy. Sweet-sour is vinegar and sugar based. Creamy is mayo or sour cream or buttermilk based (or a blend of them). This sweet-sour recipe is super easy to make.

The Best Competition Chicken Ever, Tips from Top Competitors

By:

Greg Rempe, AmazingRibs.com Multi-Media Content Contributor

If you're planning on entering a BBQ contest then this guide to smoking perfect award winning chicken is a must read. Ask competitors which category keeps them staring at the ceiling at night, and most will answer "chicken." From prep to flavor profiles, here is what's competition teams are doing with chicken.

Bayou Bite Louisiana BBQ Sauce Recipe

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

This Louisiana BBQ sauce recipe is spicy and sweet with Chipotle Tabasco, roasted jalapenos, red peppers, and Steen's Cane Syrup. Referred to as Bayou Bite, this delicious sauce blends sweet and hot peppers for a mildly spicy finishing and dipping sauce for ribs, chicken, steaks, chops and so much more.

Hot Southern Comfort Cider Recipe

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

This hot Southern Comfort cider recipe is the perfect cold weather drink, après ski if you will, or après snow blower. While it can be made with other liquors and liqueurs, Southern Comfort works best. It is technically a liqueur, but not as sticky sweet as most, making it perfect for the hot cider.

This Perfect Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough Recipe Needs No Kneading

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Create delicious Neapolitan style pizza on the grill thanks to this no knead pizza dough recipe. True authentic Neapolitan pizzas have a tender, pillowy bottom with big blistery bubbles in it after cooking very quickly over extremely high heat. When cut, it is pliable and bends easily under the weight of toppings.

This Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce Is The Real Deal

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Say so long to bottled BBQ sauce and hello to amped up homemade Kansas City-style sauce with this step-by-step recipe. Thick and sweet, Kansas City barbecue sauce has been a crowd favorite since the introduction of KC Masterpiece in the 70s. Our delicious recipe features multiple layers of flavors, sweets, and heats.

Green Mountain Grills Wood Fired Pizza Attachment Review

By:

Dave Joachim, AmazingRibs.com Contributing Author

Want to get more from your pellet smoker? How about wood-fired pizza? The Green Mountain Grills Wood Fired Pizza Attachment expands the capabilities of your pellet cooker far beyond low and slow smoking. Read our review to see just how hot this inexpensive attachment gets and to see the gorgeous pizzas we baked on it.

Heavy D Amps Up The Smoke in Most Pellet Cookers

Want more smoke from your pellet cooker? The Heavy D Stick Burning Heat Diffuser replaces your cooker's current heat diffuser and includes perforated chambers for holding wood logs or chunks that generate smoke for about 2 hours. Read our full review.

Masterbuilt MPS 340/G ThermoTemp XL Propane Smoker Review

By:

Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester

Vertical gas smokers are to easy to use. With Masterbuilt's ThermoTemp line, smoking on gas just got easier. Masterbuilt successfully offers groundbreaking use of thermostatic control on a gas smoker at an affordable price. We tested and reviewed their large XL model and award ThermoTemp our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!

Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.


Post comments and questions below

grouchy?

1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.

2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.

Moderators

  Max

Click to comment or ask a question...

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.