My BBQ Gear List — Part 1

I had a birthday on March 6, and my wife and family gave me some really nice gifts. Today I want to share a list of those gifts and a few photos, but beyond that, I’ve turned it into my “BBQ Gear List (part 1)” because all these things help fire up the “fun and easy” part of barbecue.

You might be surprised to find out that I just got this stuff. Well, Marlin and I cook together a lot and I’ve been borrowing his torch etc., when I cook on my own. Sure is nice to have my own. 🙂

Here is the BBQ gear I got for my birthday this month:

I set up an Amazon Store with most of these items in case you want a place to buy this stuff online. Some of the items in the store are different from what I have personally, but I picked out similar items that I thought were a good choice.

Click here to visit our Amazon Store.

Electric Charcoal Lighter
Is lighting charcoal a pain? Do it the fun and easy way. I had no idea there was such a thing as an electric charcoal lighter until Marlin brought one to our family vacation last year. It’s got a handle, short cord, and a looped heating element. All you need is an extension cord with 110 v. Perfect for traveling or tight storage spaces. Bury it under some charcoal and within 10-15 minutes the charcoal will be ready to spread out.

Propane Weed Burner Torch
I don’t know of an easier, faster way to light charcoal than with a propane torch. It’s about all I use to light charcoal in my SQ36 Smoker. The torch is especially helpful for large tank smokers, such as the TS250 Smoker. The torch quickly brings the entire smoker up to 225 degrees, ready to roll. The torch makes firing an offset smoker a breeze.

Visit my aStore for a torch like I have.

Folding Table
If you are cooking close to a picnic table or a stationary work space, that’s great. Otherwise, get yourself a 4′ folding table at Lowe’s or something of that sort. You really need some space for your meat and equipment. Sometimes I even season my meat outside on the table instead of messing up the kitchen.

Hand-Pump Garden Sprayer
Spray apple juice on your meat about every hour to help keep it tender and juicy. At the right time of the year, you can pick up a small hand-pump sprayer at Lowe’s or even Dollar General. Or check out my aStore.

Accurate Thermometers
How long have you been cooking with cheapo thermometers that are deceiving you? It’s time to invest in accuracy if you want to enjoy fun and easy barbecues. You need at least two accurate thermometers: One to give you a reading in the cooking area, above the grate where your meat is, and one to measure the internal temperature of the meat.

My wife just gave me the ET-732 Wireless Thermometer (new model) from Maverick for my birthday. I haven’t used it yet, but it has great reviews on Amazon and Meathead recommends it too, plus I trust her judgment.

The thermometer has two probes; one for the meat and one for the smoker. And it’s wireless up to 300 feet away. It alarms you when the temperature falls outside a set range and even has a timer.

I would also recommend a simple digital probe thermometer, such as the RT600 from ThermoWorks. Again, spend a little money for quality and accuracy. Those cheap ones from Wal-Mart might be okay, but why not spend $25 for one with a thin tip that will give you a reading in 6 seconds?

Visit my aStore to take a look.

Catfish Skinner
Do you find it’s tough to remove the membrane on the back side of ribs? A catfish skinner makes the job quite a bit easier. Not a must-have, but one of those nice things that doesn’t cost much.

Chef’s Knife
Trimming ribs, brisket, and that sort of thing. A chef’s knife works a lot better than a paring knife. Get a knife sharpener to go with it and keep it super sharp.

Steak Knives
Steak knives? Plop steak on plate, cut it up, and eat it. Having said that, I think I must have the fanciest steak knife set around, with the Meadow Creek logo engraved on each knife! Nice gift from Marlin. What a brother. 🙂

Ro-Man Pork Puller
Hold on—this is a really cool invention. This gadget can pull pork like you’ve never seen. Mostly recommended if you have more to pull than you want to do by hand.

Visit www.porkpuller.com to watch a video and find out more.

Small Ash Shovel
Get one with a straight front edge to scoop all the ashes out of your firebox. Helps make clean-up a little more fun.

How did you like it?

I’d love to hear what you think. Was it helpful?

Besides choosing the right equipment, it’s important to have the right gear. Without the right tools and accessories, barbecue is frustrating and not so fun. And if you have any gear you’d like to recommend, let me know. I’ll consider it for a future Gear List. I think we can help each other learn and grow in the great big world of fun and easy barbecues.

Thanks for reading.  🙂

Lavern

Tags: bbq accessories, bbq tools, gear list

This entry was posted on Monday, April 4th, 2011 at 10:51 am and is filed under Tips and Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.