Recommended Products

One second temperature readings. ONE second. And incredibly accurate.

If you're in the market for what is widely held as the industry's best instant read thermometer, the Thermapen ONE is the one you're looking for.

There's a reason everyone from the James Beard Foundation to America's Test Kitchen stake their reputation on the Thermapen, so I don't mind throwing my hat into the ring as well.

Simply the best...

Yep...just above this, in a previous edition of the newsletter, I did indeed recommend the MEATER wireless thermometer. At the time, it was among the best on the market. Since that recommendation the market has shifted. ThermoWorks, the premier builder of thermometers, finally entered the wireless market with their RFX Wireless probe. Having come later, ThermoWorks had the advantage of surveying the competition and improving on the shortcomings of those first to market. You'll never go wrong with ThermoWorks.

For cooks who want a simple dedicated remote thermometer instead of an app-based system, Smoke gives you two probe channels and a separate receiver for tracking meat and pit temperatures. I bought one to replace my old ThermoPro, and it remains the straightforward ThermoWorks choice for this job.

As I noted in newsletter 21B, It’s excellent. If you ever needed a kitchen scale, I highly recommend the “OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display” as it is titled on Amazon.

Here’s what the folks at Amazing Ribs pointed out: “I don’t know how I lived without a good, accurate digital kitchen scale for so many years. It is so important. Look at salt for example. 1 cup of table salt has almost twice as much salinity as a cup of Morton’s kosher salt because Morton’s kosher salt has more air space between the grains. But a pound of all salts contain exactly the same amount of sodium chloride. Without a scale, making a brine requires a calculator. Flour and sugar have the same problem. Packed flour or loose flour. Big diff. And if the amount of flour is off in your recipes, it can make them fail.”

Not only do the folks at Amazing Ribs recommend it, this Oxo scale is the America’s Test Kitchen winner in its category.

In short, get this scale if you’re in the market.

We've used a "plastic" cutting board from Sam's for about as long as I can remember. Frankly, I've always liked it. It's large, portable, and easy to clean, but studies suggest that having less plastic in our diet might be a good thing, so we decided to make the switch. What a great choice! Of course, I did my research and while there are a lot of quality options, some even local, I decided to go with a recommendation that I trust. America's Test Kitchen (ATK) recommends the Teakhaus XL cutting board.

Yea...I agree. This product isn't BBQ-specific, but it's regularly useful. These came to mind when reading responses to a recent post in the I Love SC BBQ Facebook group asking folks to name the one thing BBQ lovers need in their kitchen. It's not flashy or fancy nor is it likely something you don't already have, but do you have a really good one?

Years ago, we invested in these rimmed baking sheets, and, as you can see, we use them....a lot. That's the sign of quality. And yes, they get better as they darken.

We use America's Test Kitchen winner, Nordic Ware Rimmed Baking Sheets.

Work Sharp’s Ken Onion Edition Mk.2 is the current version of the powered sharpener we’ve recommended for years. The adjustable guide covers 15° to 30°, and the system can handle kitchen knives, pocket knives, scissors, serrations, axes, and other tools.

You're not using lighter fluid, are you? No self-respecting pitmaster would. As recommended in Issue 11 of our newsletter, I have long used this very charcoal chimney starter. With a bit of paper in the bottom, a full chamber of charcoal on top, and a flick of the lighter and you're walking away while the coals burn toward the perfect ashen coating. A full canister holds up to about 80 briquets which may be more than you need depending on your grill size and cooking intentions. Heck, you can even cook on it! Mine has lasted for years and years, even with outdoor storage.

As recommended in Issue 10 of our newsletter, the Slow 'N Sear is an amazing addition to your standard kettle grill. As they wrote on Amazing Ribs: "For about $100 you can easily convert a standard Weber Kettle into a much better grill as well as a smoker capable of making restaurant quality smoked ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey, salmon, or whatever you want to smoke. This revolutionary new device also makes an awesome searing tool for steaks. We have even baked brioche with it. We have used ours extensively and hereby crown it “The Single Best Accessory For The Weber Kettle Ever.”