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Barbecuers’ Gift Guide 2011

UP IN SMOKE
BARBECUERS’ GIFT GUIDE 2011

It’s once again our pleasure to assemble a list of gift ideas that will delight the barbecuers on your holiday list (including you). The challenge is always winnowing the list down to our top twelve—items we’d actually like to receive ourselves—from stocking stuffers (a remote wireless thermometer) to once-in-a-lifetime gifts (a gift certificate to Barbecue University).

All of us at BarbecueBible.com wish you Happy Holidays and a healthy New Year.


THE SMOKING GUN™: The flannel shirt, the socks, the car care kit…you mumble your thanks to well-intentioned givers. But admit it: What you really want are toys. Maybe even toys that run on four AA batteries. Well, The Smoking Gun™ qualifies. It looks like a blow dryer tricked out with a rubber hose—not normally a good look in serious barbecue circles. But in 30 seconds, it will infuse meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese, and even cocktails (like classic Manhattans) with real wood smoke. It has a good pedigree, too, being the least expensive product invented by PolyScience, a serious U.S.-based company known for commercial and industrial temperature-control devices. Available online through abt.com.

PRIMAL GRILL WITH STEVEN RAICHLEN DELUXE BOXED DVD SET: To paraphrase the old saying, give a man a smoked brisket sandwich and he’ll eat well for a day. Teach him how to smoke that brisket and he’ll eat well for a lifetime. What better gift that keeps on giving than the boxed set of the complete seasons 1 and 2 of Steven’s popular PBS show, Primal Grill. Twenty-six episodes (10 hours of programming), more than 100 recipes, and Steven’s favorite tips and techniques are included in this 8-DVD set.

THE JAPANESE GRILL: Some of you may know that Steven was born in Japan (on a U.S. Air Force base in Nagoya). So any with a theme of Japan and grilling certainly grabs his attention. The Japanese Grill (Ten Speed Press, 2011) by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat does a masterful job of melding Japanese food sensibilities with American live-fire cooking. Even the book’s cover, which features an artfully carved porterhouse steak, is worth a visit to amazon.com or your local bookseller.

PLANET BARBECUE® SPICE PASTES: New this year! Bring bold and exciting flavors to your next barbecue with these unique spice pastes inspired by Steven’s world travels. Choose from Colombian, Jamaican, Malaysian, or Moroccan. Add a copy of Steven’s book Planet Barbecue (Workman, 2010) to further inspire. Order both from grilling4all.com.

FROGMATS: Foods that tend to stick to the grill grate or fall into the fire are the bane of grill masters everywhere. Enter Frogmats, nonstick sheets of wire mesh that lay directly on the grill grate. Owner Mike Riblett, whose 15 tattoos of frogs on lily pads inspired the product’s curious name, uses his for meatballs, biscuits, small vegetables (such as green beans or sliced mushrooms), shrimp, and even meatloaf. Frogmats are heat-resistant to temperatures of 550°F, and intended only for indirect grilling. They come in a variety of sizes. There is a dealer map on the company’s website (frogmats.com), or you can buy them from poppasmokers.com.

BODUM FYRKAT CONE CHARCOAL GRILL: This unique cone-shaped grill from Bodum (best known for its coffee presses) fuses functionality and sleek Scandinavian design. Perfect for a party of two, the grill features two grill grates—one closer to the coals for steaks, chops, etc., and the other several inches above it for breads or slower-cooking items—as well as a battery-powered rotisserie sturdy enough to accommodate a 6-pound chicken. Ashes accumulate in the bottom and empty easily. It comes in cool colors, too: red, orange, green, and black. amazon.com

PREMIUM SEAFOOD: When it comes to seafood in the U.S., the distribution chain can be disturbingly long. From the fisherman, this highly perishable product usually travels to a middleman, then to a wholesaler, then to a retailer, and finally, to you. But Farm-2-Market contracts directly with the fishermen as soon as it receives your order. This cyber-storefront carries no actual inventory, but can deliver the catch-of-the day to your door within 24 hours. Live California spot prawns are being offered at this writing, as are halibut cheeks, sushi-grade blue fin tuna, crawfish, stone crab claws, and no less than 8 different kinds of oysters. Check out farm-2-market.com for your holiday seafood needs.

BEST OF BARBECUE® INSULATED FOOD GLOVES: As anyone who has tried to pull blistering hot pork can tell you, it’s an uncomfortable experience unless you have the calloused hands of a professional pit master. Ditto for lifting a finished beer can chicken off its aluminum throne. Sure, you could press your wife’s rubber dish washing gloves into service, but you don’t really know where those gloves have been, do you? Not that your wife will be happy, and in any case, they don’t fit. Since Steven first introduced his insulated food gloves to the market, they’ve become one of his bestsellers. Light and flexible, these heavy-duty gloves will protect your hands to temperatures of 248°F.

MAVERICK ET-732 WIRELESS REMOTE THERMOMETER: There are several intuitive ways of gauging doneness in foods that are grilled directly—chicken breasts, hamburgers, fish fillets, etc. But an accurate thermometer is called for when larger hunks of protein—pork shoulder, beef shoulder clod, and brisket, to name a few—are on the grill or smoker. For less than the cost of a 3-bone prime rib, you can arm yourself with a high-tech remote thermometer, one that will allow you to watch the big game while your meat cooks to perfection. Two probes, one for the meat and one for the grill, allow you to monitor conditions from up to 300 feet away using an LCD receiver. Find it at amazon.com.

THE MEADOW: Food-obsessed Portland, Oregon, is home to one of Steven’s favorite retail stores, The Meadow. Opened in 2006 by Mark and Jennifer Bitterman, The Meadow specializes in salts of the world, chocolate, wine, flowers, and bitters, a new interest for Steven. (Mark is the author of Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, which we featured in last year’s gift guide.) The Meadow’s “Salt Starter Kit” featuring six distinct salts from around the globe would make a fine gift for anyone interested in the nuances of seasoning. Gift certificates are available, too. atthemeadow.com

CRÈME BRULEE GRILL KIT: One of the most dramatic moments in filming Season 3 of Primal Grill came when Steven lowered a fire-heated cast iron salamander to the surface of a silky crème brulee: It sizzled and smoked as the sugars caramelized to a hard candy-like shell that begged to be shattered by a spoon. So successful was the experiment that Steven decided on the spot to add a crème brulee set to his Best of Barbecue® line. Each kit includes the salamander and two cast iron crème brulee ramekins along with a recipe. (Extra ramekins are sold separately.) grilling4all.com

And finally, the ULTIMATE gift for any griller:

BBQ UNIVERSITY 2012: Barbecue with a high thread count? Yes! This is a very special, very exclusive gift for anyone interested in perfecting their barbecue skills or making memories—a certificate redeemable for Barbecue University® at the luxurious Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It’s three days of food, fun, and camaraderie in the Rocky Mountains. Steven will be teaching two sessions of “BBQ U” of limited class size. At this writing, there are only 5 places available in the first session (June 6 – 9) and 10 in the second (June 9 to 12). For more information, contact the Broadmoor’s Reservation Manager, Noemi Kiss-Baldwin at 1-800-634-7711, or e-mail her at NKiss-Baldwin@broadmoor.com.

Yours in righteous grilling,
Steven Raichlen, Grill Master and Editor-in-Chief
Nancy Loseke, Features Editor