Read more product reviews, recipes, techniques, tips, and reports from Meathead's kitchen and grill deck at AmazingRibs.com
Here are some of the coolest tools I've tested over the past year, all winners of my coveted Meathead's Hot Stuff Awards. If there's an outdoor cook in your family, put any of these under the tree and you will eat better as a result! Most are available on Amazon, and they are still offering shipping in time for Christmas. If you don't think there's time for a delivery to arrive, order it and put a picture under the tree. Click here for more of my favorite grills, smokers, kitchen tools, and barbecue accessories.
1) ThermoWorks ThermaPen
Cooking without a good digital thermometer is like driving without a speedometer. Sooner or later you're gonna get burned. A good food thermometer is the single most important tool for the cook, indoors or out. It insures that you don't get anybody sick by undercooking meats, and it saves embarrassment from overcooked foods. My wife even uses one for breads and cakes.
Thermocouples are the best food thermometers because they're fast and very accurate. Dial thermometers use bimetal strips and they are not very accurate.
This is the latest upgrade to the thermometer you see all the cooks on TV using. I highly recommend it for anyone serious about cooking meat properly. It reads in three seconds, is extremely accurate, has large easy-to-see numbers, and a long thin probe for getting into the center of a steak, a chicken breast, or even a large hunk of meat like a ham. The probe is thin so it will not open a gusher when you pull it out. It is on a pivot so it can reach into awkward places. The heat sensor is extremely small, so you know you are reading just where you put it and not a lot of the meat around it. For this last reason, it is the only probe I use for ribs. It is water resistent, reads from 58F to 572F, and switches between F and C. It sells for about $96. Click here for current pricing and direct ordering from Amazon.com.
2) ThermoWorks Super-Fast Pocket Thermometer RT600
3) Extra Long Suede Leather Gloves
4) ZaGrill Pizza Cooker
5) LamsonSharp Fish Tongs
6) Grill Friends Silicone Brush
7) Allen Brothers Prime Meats
8) Hasty-Bake Gourmet Grill/Smoker/Oven
Founded in Tulsa, OK, by Grant "Hasty" Hastings in 1948, 15 years before the unfortunately named kids' toy and three years before the Weber Kettle were invented, the Hasty-Bake was probably the first home grill with a hood, and it incorporated innovations that are just being rediscovered by other grill makers today. My favorite feature is the adjustable height charcoal grate. It moves up and down with a crank allowing me to lower the coal grate, push the coals to the right side, fire them up, start a big hunk of beef like a rib roast on the left side of the food grate, then, when I get the meat's interior temp to say 115F, I can slide it over the coals, crank the coals up to right below the meat, and brown the exterior as the interior rises to 125F for medium rare. Remember the inverse square law says that heat diminishes rapidly the further the food is from the coals. This system gives you very good temp control. It sells for about $1300. For my complete review of the Hasty-Bake Gourmet click here. Click here for current pricing and direct ordering from BigPoppaSmokers.com.
9) Landmann 3405GLA "Smoky Moutain" Gas Smoker
On the negative side, they are cheap thin metal and ill-fitting parts. But they work. I have a Brinkmann, and it runs at a steady 270F on the low setting on an 80F day. That's a bit hotter than ideal temp, 225F, but it works. They don't come with a cover or a propane tank so factor them into your price. They are narrow, so you will want to buy at least two rib holders in order to pack in enough to feed all the people who will come sniffin around. The built-in thermometers are worthless and can be off as much as 30F (this is the case on most grills and smokers), so also plan on getting a good digital thermometer (see above). I have worked with the Brinkmann (Home Depot), and there are comparable models from Master Forge (from Lowe's) and Landmann. Click here for more detailed reviews of this and other propane smokers. The Landmann sells for about $180. Click here for current pricing and direct ordering from Amazon.com.
10) The MAK Grill 2 Star General
Our indoor ovens have had thermostat control for decades, but the concept is still foreign to most outdoor cookers. Not the MAK. The MAK's digital controller can even be programmed. You can put your Christmas turkey on at 325F, when the probe hits 155F, it can drop the oven temp back to 165F, let the meat rise to that temp, and hold the bird there until you're ready. Set the temp in 5F increments, set a timer, set an alarm for a time or an internal temp of the meat, set a program so that the unit changes temp at a predetermined time or meat temp, spend some time with the family for a change.
The right shelf holds a warming box that can keep one dish warm until the others are done and it can also be used for smoking things at low temp like cheese. Truly a marvel.
There are few backyard cookers built so well. Solid. I cannot see vulnerability to rust. Fit and finish are very good. At about $2,000, this grill/smoker is four times the price of a good Weber gas grill, but I have had a LOT of iron on my deck the MAK is clearly one of the best cookers I've ever used. It sells for about $2000. For my complete review of the MAK click here. Click here for current pricing and direct ordering from BigPoppaSmokers.com.
11) Rapala Soft-Grip 7.5" Filet Knife
12) Meathead-designed humorous aprons, clothing, mugs
Full disclosure. Some products were supplied by manufacturers for review, and some I bought. One look at the (Buyers' Guides on my website, AmazingRibs.com), will prove that I call 'em the way I see 'em, regardless of how I got 'em. For some products, if they are available on Amazon, I have provided a link, for others, I have linked to the manufacturer or other sources. Amazon pays a small finder's fee if you click a link in this article to their site and buy from them.
All text and some photos are Copyright (c) 2010 By Meathead, and all rights are reserved