I have a lot of grills and smokers – I mean really a lot. I recently received something new that I didn’t have: a portable “Elevate Grill” by PointElevate. I’ve used the throw-away kind (the one that looks like a large aluminum turkey pan that is pre-filled with charcoal) at the pond for an impromptu cookout but the Elevate Grill is a real grill with two cooking surfaces powered by a small propane tank.
7 Starter Bartending Tools for the Budget-Minded
While there are dozens of bar tools available from liquor stores to housewares, there are really only 7 tools that you need to get your home bar started, and most of them are very inexpensive, or at least have lower-priced alternatives. Here is a list of recommendations.
The BBQ Guru’s Bob Trudnak: Interview
The BBQ Guru’s Bob Trudnak and I have played phone tag for an interview for years. This is mostly my fault but we finally nailed down a Q&A session earlier this week. He’s the main man for The BBQ Guru’s competition team and I asked him about moving into barbecue, what he likes to make, and his plans for getting into the World Food Championships so he can add a second WFC rib win to his belt.
Bradley’s 2-Rack Compact Smoker: Review
Over the last year, I’ve been test driving Bradley’s 2-rack Compact Convection Smoker. Being an apartment dweller in a huge city, the idea of an electric smoker the size of a microwave oven sounded like a winner. No big bags of briquets to store, no propane bottles to deal with, just plug it in, heat it up, and let it do its thing.
Cool Coasters From PopsQtool
I’ve written about the multi-function six-in-one grilling tool from PopsQtool. For $50 you get everything you need…a spatula, fork, knife, grate cleaner, tong and bottle opener. I have one and use it all the time. But what’s really neat is the company also makes laser cut coasters that can be adorned with your BBQ team logo or whatever you’d like on them (aside from sports team logos).
Tappecue Chamber Probe
Tappecue, a Wi-Fi based temperature monitoring system that includes four different temperature probes for tracking different meats on the smoker, has added a chamber probe to its arsenal of cooking accessories.
Camp Chef’s Explorer Camp Stove and BBQ Grill Box
I recently got a Camp Chef two-burner “Explorer” camp stove and a “barbecue grill box” for use while camping and during power outages (that are somewhat common during New England winters or hurricane season). What makes the Explorer different from a traditional BBQ grill is that it has two 30,000 BTU burners but no grilling surface. Without the BBQ box or other optional accessories, pots and pans are needed for cooking.
