Ultimate BBQ Guide

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By Peter Hamilton

This grill and smoker is one of the most versatile pieces of BBQ equipment for burning real wood and charcoal. It is perfect for long smokes with incredible insulation to keep the heat going. It also has several ways to configure the interior for deflecting heat, grilling at high heat, and even stacking up your meat on a second rack. There are hundreds of amazing big green egg videos out there to learn from. You may have heard of the big green egg, which is a similar “kamado” style smoker.

There are so many great lump charcoals out there, but I find Fogo to be really consistent, and you can get it delivered just about everywhere. Of course, you will want to get some wood chunks and chips for giving your BBQ a full flavored smoke. I love to combine Fogo with mesquite chunks, but pecan and apple chips can make incredible flavors as well.

I like to have some long gloves to protect me from the heat. I use these to handle charcoal as I’m loading up the smoker and especially for grabbing anything that is hot during a cook. There are so many types of insulated gloves out there as well, but I like the ruggedness and durability of leather how it breaks in over time.

These are great for handling the meat in the prep stages as well as when it is time to carve. I like the 6MM thick because it adds some heat protection and makes it easier to handle a brisket or ribs after you’ve rested them.

If you’re a full time pit master, you might be looking for something that is heavy duty leather, but for most of us, you want something thick have some durability but not heavy and cumbersome. Hedly and Bennett are crushing it in that category of Aprons, which is why it is no coincidence they have blown up in popularity. You can pick out whatever design, shape, and color you’re into. Definitely a great gift the the griller in your life ;)

This one from MIU France is one of the more durable resting racks out there. You’ll need this for steaks and smaller cuts that need to rest for 10 minutes or more. A resting rack like this allows the meat to cool evenly from the outside in.

Okay, so you don’t have to have a $300 cooler to make great BBQ, but if you’re serious about slow resting your briskets, the Yeti cooler maintains temperature better than anything out there. Regardless, you absolutely must rest your meat when you’ve been smoking it for hours. This allows the moisture to redistribute throughout.

Unless you plan to babysit your smoker for upwards of 14 hours on a brisket, you will want to check out the Flame Boss. This incredibly handy device allows you to measure the temperature of the grill as well as the meats, and when the temperature goes out of your desired range, the automatic fan will kick in and help to heat the grill back up. It connects to wifi, so you can literally walk away and monitor everything as it goes. The data is especially fun to look at, with a color coded analytics chart to give you all the details.

Getting a quick temperature read is essential for any kind of BBQ’ing project. I keep one of these in my pocket at all times, and the probe comes in really handy when you’re testing the membrane on ribs and checking out the tenderness of a steak. This is an absolute must have.

Some quality butcher paper comes in very handy. Weather you’re wrapping up some raw beef to cook later or you’re ready to wrap a brisket that reached the stall, butcher paper has great insulation and holds up under moisture. Check out the way Franklin wraps up his beef ribs to help them get to final temperature.

Not only does heavy duty foil give you better insulation and doesn’t fall apart, but this foil is cut much wider, giving you more surface area to work with. Especially if you are smoking beef ribs and brisket, you’ll be glad to have the extra space.

You’ll need to spritz some of those magical meets with oil, apple cider vinegar, and other lovely things, and you want a bottle that won’t melt from the heat, cools down quickly, but still gives you visibility into how much liquid you have left. This bottle does it all.

Nothing gets your coals going faster than a chimney starter. Place on our two of your tumble weed starters at the bottom and fill up the chimney with your fuel of choice. Light from the bottom in a safe place, and set on the grill to let the chimney do its thing. After a few minutes you’ll be ready to dump the coals and get your smoker ready for action.