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

Helen Chen’s Asian Kitchen Carbon Steel Wok Set Review

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

A wok is best for stir fries because of the high sides. Go for a flat bottom wok so it works well on American stovetop burners. This carbon steel wok set has everything you need to turn out tasty Chinese food.

Lodge 12 Inch Cast Iron Skillet Is An Everyday Essential

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Cast iron provides intense even heat and can be used on a stovetop, in the oven, on the grill and is great for camping. Use a cast iron pan to press sandwiches, smash potatoes, and crush spices or nuts, too. The 12 inch skillet from Lodge is a great skillet for everyday use.

Elegant Stainless Steel and Glass Universal Lid Review

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The Nordic Ware 12-Inch Universal Pan Lid is a vented pot lid you should keep handy when cooking. It fits most frying pans and saucepans and is much less expensive than the lids from high end manufacturers like All Clad.

Three Saucepans Are All You Need

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

When it comes to saucepans, you really only need 3 basic sizes: small, medium and large. The large is essentially a stockpot that you can use to boil pasta and to make stocks and large quantities of stews and BBQ sauce. The small and medium pans are for smaller quantities of soup and everything else.

Invest In Good Frying Pans, Unless They Are Nonstick

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

An assortment of pans for frying and sauteing is essential for a functional kitchen. Stainless steel with a core of aluminum is best for most sauteing and frying. Buy the best you can. It's also helpful to have a couple nonstick pans on hand. For those, buy them cheap and replace them when they wear out.

French Press Coffee Maker Works Even If The Power’s Out

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

A French press coffee maker requires no electricity, is portable, easy to operate, and makes a great cup of coffee. Here's a review of one of our favorite models that won't crack.

An Old Fashioned Meat Grinder Lasts Forever

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Grinding your own meat gives you fresher, better tasting meals. You can buy attachments for stand mixers and food processors, but an old fashioned hand operated meat grinder is inexpensive and will last forever. If you make hamburgers you can create your own signature beef blend featuring chuck, brisket, and more.

Microplane

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

Very sharp blades for shaving hard foods or zesting citrus.

Graters and Grinders: Mandolin

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

A handy tool for French fries or crinkle cut carrots.

Carving Fork: An Ideal Tool For Slicing Large Cuts Of Meat

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

A carving fork is sometimes the best tool for holding meat steady when you slice it.

Vegetable Peelers: An Inexpensive But Necessary Tool For The Kitchen

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The vegetable peeler is an indispensable tool in the kitchen. Here's what to look for when buying one.

Alaskan Ulu Rocker Knife

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

This tool, designed for skinning hides, comes in very handy in the kitchen, especially for mincing herbs.

Products For Storing Your Knives Safely And Damage Free

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

You need a place to store your knives. A block or magnetic strip would be just the thing.

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.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, weโ€™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 donโ€™t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please donโ€™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 50ยฐF 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

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.