The Pandemic BBQ Boom
Why didn’t the BBQ Boom during the pandemic build a healthier outdoor cooking industry? And how are companies going to cope with the looming BBQ Bust? The global pandemic forced many people to stay home. Restaurants closed dining room service. Prices and availability of foods fluctuated. And for many, finding things to do became an…
How to be a BBQ Brand Ambassador
Interested in becoming a BBE Brand Influencer or Ambassador? You need to know this first!
The New Weber Genesis Gas Grill
Interested in the Weber Genesis Gas Grills? I have the full breakdown so you can get the model perfect for you.
Weber vs Traeger
Money, Marketing, and Patents: Fighting for control of Barbecue On July 5th, 2021, the day after barbecue’s biggest day, pellet grill maker Traeger announced their filing for an initial public stock offering. Almost simultaneously, Traeger had issued a press release confirming their purchase of wireless thermometer company Meater. Six days after Traeger’s IPO filing, grill…
Traeger Über Alles
Does Traeger have a path to global domination? The pellet grill market isn’t just competitive; it can be downright ruthless. Companies fight for dominance, credibility, and the claim of authenticity. To gain the upper hand competitively requires a lot of creativity. I know most readers will agree on product innovation, but there are other forms…
Ban the Bristle
Grill Brushes are sending people to the hospital. We’ve known about it for years. It is Time to Ban the Bristle!
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
Pellet Grill companies promise a lot. Unfortunately there is a pellet grill expectation gap making some customers unhappy.
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 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…
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…
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…
Can Kamado Joe save Big Green Egg?
The Kamado grill was not invented by Big Green Egg nor is it a 2,000 year old piece of Japanese cooking equipment. The Kamado grill is the fusion of Japanese tradition and the American need to grill a steak. Servicemen stationed in Japan after the war pulled out the bowl of a charcoal-burning ceramic cooker,…
