Grill Brush Alternatives
Worried about wire bristles getting into your food? Try these grill brush alternatives instead.
Pellet versus Kamado
Every time I read the marketing materials on a brand of a kamado grill, it boasts the same story of the 3,000-year-old design and ancient craftsmanship. This isn’t really true. In Japan, there are still old-style ceramic cookers used today for cooking rice. In the early days of the US occupation of Japan, servicemen removed […]
The Pellet Grill Expectation Gap
My neighbor doesn’t clean his pellet grill. It’s a little Traeger that he has owned for several years. About 40 times a year, he fires it up. On Thanksgiving, he cooks a turkey. Other times, he cooks chicken. I’ve never seen him cook ribs. Certainly never a brisket or pork butt. For him, it’s a […]
Will Success Ruin Traeger?
Love or hate Traeger, you have to admit they have changed outdoor cooking forever. Certainly, many people make fun of pellet grills for not being real smokers or good grills. I tend to be one of them. I don’t hate pellet grills, but given a choice between my various backyard cookers, I seldom fire one […]
The Perfection of Barbecue
In this article, I am defining barbecue as a traditional and uniquely American style of cooking — namely cuts of meat bathed in smoke and cooked over low temperatures for an extended period of time. This includes central Texas Brisket, Carolina pulled pork and the ribs of Kansas City. Those vital barbecue traditions were born […]
The Death of the Holland Grill
Somewhere in the mid-1970s, Brad Holland became frustrated with his gas grill. It flared up. It burnt his food. And in general, it angered him that such a simple device could cook so poorly. For 12 years Brad worked to improve the gas grill, and in 1988 he began selling The Holland Grill. It was […]
How to Make Ribs in the Oven
Learn how to make BBQ ribs using your oven. Easy recipe guide for tender, fall off the bone ribs
How to Smoke Barbecue Ribs
Let’s End BBQ Season
By Derrick Riches Updated: July 1, 2019 Turn Barbecue and Grilling into a Year-Round Industry Not everything needs to have a season. Some things persist all year long. Why not BBQ season? After all, many people use their grills and smokers throughout the winter months. Yet, this receives little to no media coverage. It’s mid-July, […]
The Pellet Grill Arms Race
By Derrick RichesUpdated: October 21, 2019 For over 20 years, people have been telling me that the pellet grill is the new gas grill. Those people are wrong. Completely wrong. Pellet grills, while easy to use, are mechanically complicated, occasionally temperamental, and above the maintenance habits of many backyard cooks. Oh, and they seldom reach […]
BBQ & Grilling Gift Guide
You want to give the grill or smoker to that special someone, but you still want it to be a surprise. Certainly, hints have been dropped and you’ve caught them eyeing up a few models at the local hardware store. But how do you get them the grill they want without coming straight out and […]
The Cookout Tariffs
The outdoor cooking industry is unique in many ways. A handful of companies and even fewer retailers control the majority of the market. Of course, there are dozens of other companies making high-end stainless steel gas grills, pellet cookers, smokers, and everything else under the sun. The market is diverse and filled with manufacturers both […]
What Consumer Reports Got Wrong about Grills, 2019
Let me start by saying that not only do I respect Consumer Reports. I strongly support what they do as a consumer advocacy group. I have used their recommendations in the past while making purchasing decisions and found them very useful. On the other hand, they have a specific methodology that doesn’t always address the […]
About Barbecue & Grilling Product Evaluations
For more than two decades I have been testing, evaluating, and gathering information on every type of outdoor cooking equipment, accessories, foods, and, well, anything else barbecue and grilling. When I test a product, I look for not only how well it does what it is supposed to do, but also what is the value […]
How to Make BBQ Pulled Pork
Learn how to smoke BBQ pulled pork right at home! Pulled pork is the traditional barbecue of the Carolinas and one of the Big Three in all Barbecue. It is, in fact, the origin of barbecue. This process can take 8 to 10 hours, but don’t worry. It isn’t hard. Good pulled pork relies on the […]
