Grilling Gadgets
Steak Brands
You’ve probably seen the “branding irons” for steaks at specialty restaurant stores, but SteakBrands.com has got all of them beat. I don’t know how many different varieties of brands they have, but it has to be in the hundreds. They’ve got everything form simple initials, to college teams, states, assorted logos, and just about everything you can imagine.
Most brands can be purchased stand alone, or with a nice looking gift box. Or, combine them with a “steak plate” featuring the brand. Prices from from about $20.
To use the brand, just stick it in the coals, or rest it atop your propane grill while cooking. Then, just before serving, brand your steak! There’s even practical examples (like the “Rare” brand), but mostly it just looks cool!
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Grill Cleaning Tips: Greased Lightning
I’ve found Greased Lightning Multipurpose Cleaner and Degreaser to work pretty good at cleaning up some of the gunk that builds up around the grill and its counters. It won’t clean up that impenetrable baked on black, but it’s good at most of the rest of it.
When using on the grill, you’ll need to let Greased Lightning penetrate surface for 1 minute before scrubbing with a sponge or soft cloth. Use only on a cool grill, of course!.
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Grill Tamer Helps Regulate the Temperature
There’s a lot of advantage of grilling with the lid down. Namely, you keep the smoke and heat inside where they can work their magic on the food. The problem is of course that it’s hard to control the temperature, especially if you are trying to maintain a low and slow cooking plan.
The new Grill Tamer from Macken Products aims to solve this problem by combining a thermometer and an adjustable, aluminum lid lift. Basically, a sophisticated version of sticking a brick under the lid to vent out some of the heat. The big benefit here is that it’s easy to move the lid up and down until the temperature hits the desired range. The wood handle keeps you from burning yourself, which is always nice.
The initial development of the award winning Grill Tamer started over 10 years ago by inventor Mike Macken. His original design was to simply prop open his grill lid so he could see what was going on inside of the grill and extinguish flare-ups before dinner was burnt beyond recognition. After several years of development with the addition of a high quality thermometer, a hardwood handle for safety and thousands of meals later… Hence… The Grill Tamer was born.
The Grill Tamer is $39.95 and available directly on the Grill Tamer website.
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Grill Charms
Grill Charms are similar in concept to the wine charm. These dime-sized solid stainless steel charms are placed in your food before grilling. The stems are serrated to hold securely while grilling, moving and flipping. Grill Charm your food prior to cooking to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures, or to avoid health or allergy issues. When dinner comes off the grill everyone knows which one is theirs!
They are available in several varieties, including temperature and level of spicyness. There’s even a collection of various “do your own interpretation” images like sail boats, palm trees and the like. They are easy to use, but don’t touch them till they cool down or you’ll brand yourself!
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The Big Easy - “Oilless” Fryer
Charbroil has sent me on of their new Big Easy Oilless Fryers to try out. They call it an oilless fryer, but it’s basically an infrared grill designed for turkeys and large roasts. The idea is that it produces the same basic results as a fryer, juicy meat and a crisp screen, without the mess and risk of a deep fryer.
It looks, nor accidentally I’m sure, like a deep fryer. It’s even got a “cage” to hold the turkey. Along the bottom is an 18,000 BTU infra-red burner that heats things up to about 360 degrees (perfect turkey roasting temperature). It’s a ring, so it should produce even heating. It’s like a rotisserie in many respects, but doesn’t need to spin.
It sure is simpler and safer then frying, that’s for sure. Pretty much drop the meat inside and turn it on. I bet this thing would work well with a leg of lamb or a prime rib as well. One big plus is that you can load it up with marinade and it’s not going to be diluted by oil or slung out by the rotisserie.
I’ll be firing up the test unit in the next few weeks and I’ll report back on my findings.
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Steven Raichlen’s Luma Tongs
I recently received a pair of Steven Raichlen’s “Luma Tongs”
which are basically BBQ tongs with a built in LED light.
I’m surprised that nobody has thought of this before. The LED isn’t super duper bright, but it’s bright enough to do the job. They certainly add enough to make a difference.
The tongs themselves are nice as well, plenty long, nice grips that don’t get too hot. A clever locking mechanism built into the handle keeps the tongs closed in the drawer. A ring at the end is useful for hanging off your grill rack.
They run about $20 at Amazon, and I can recommend them.
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Seasoned skewers season from the inside out
You may be familiar with the technique of using sprigs of rosemary as skewers to add flavor to scallops, well here’s a product that expands on that idea. These wood skewers are infused with flavored oils that season while they cook.
The skewers come in a wide variety of flavors; Citrus Rosemary, Garlic Herb, Honey Bourbon, Indian Mango Curry, Mexican Fiesta and Thai Coconut Lime.
Via MySecretPantry.com
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Know Your Cuts of Meat!
Fans of David Letterman will no doubt have heard about his “know your cuts of meat” game where audience members must identify various steaks and chops to win valuable prizes. Expert grill jockeys must also be familiar with all the options the humble cow, pig, lamb, or chicken has to offer us.
Fortunately for those of us who are not professional butchers, the folks over at Ask The Meatman have a wide variety of meat cutting posters for sale that can teach you everything you need to know.
From color prints to those classic butcher shop charts, they’ve got something for everyone. If you are a really serious carnivore, put one on your wall and use them as a checklist, ticking off each cut of meat as you barbecue them to make sure you haven’t missed one!
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The Perfect BBQ Grill for World Cup Cookouts
If you and your rowdy soccer hooligans are getting together to watch the World Cup over some barbecue or burgers, and you don’t mind looking like a dork, this could be the grill for you. I’m guess barbecue aficionado Rick Browne doesn’t have anything to do with these grills, apart from using his name to sell them through his website.
Could any self respecting grill master see themselves using one of these toys? Maybe talk on the foot ball phone while you are at it. No thanks, I don’t need occasion themed grilling hardware.
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Smokenator 1000: Convert your Weber Kettle into a Smoker
I recently heard about a new grilling gadget that turns your 22” Weber Kettle, arguable the most popular charcoal grill around, into a extra large water smoker. The Smokenator 1000 mounts inside the grill providing a pan for water and heat shield that provides the indirect heat for smoking.
A water smoker is the ideal cooker for slow cooking lean meats like chicken and and turkey. Indirect heat lowers the temperature, extending the cooking time, while a water pan provide a nice moist cooking environment. That means no basting is necessary. But not everyone is serious enough to have multiple grills and pits and smokers laying around, especially since most people tend to grill more frequently then barbecue. That’s where this gadget comes in.
Continue reading “Smokenator 1000: Convert your Weber Kettle into a Smoker”
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Silicon Basting Brushes
I’ve been using one of these new fangled silicone basting brushes for awhile now. They really do work a lot better than traditional brushes. Instead of horse hair (or yak, or monkey, or whatever the hell those brushes are made of) this type of basting brush’s “bristles” are made of dangly strands of heat-proof silicone. No more brush hairs in your food, and no more burnt ends.
I’ve found they work best with thicker sauces, especially barbecue sauce, honey, and the like. The model pictured here is fancy, shiny, and French. I’ve got another model with a dog ear shape that works better, but doesn’t look nearly as hi-tech.
Best of all, you can throw these in the dishwasher for easy cleaning. It really beats trying to get the grease and gunk out by hand in the sink, and is probably safer than my old method of just letting the cat lick it off.
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A Better Deal on Silicone Mitts
A few months ago I posted a story about Silicone Cooking Mitts that are a handy grilling accessory.
They clean up nice and easy, making them perfect for flipping over ribs or briskets. They have a nice gripping surface and even fit in a dishwasher. Only problem is they are $40 each at Amazon.
Recently I picked up a PAIR of these at Sam’s Club for less than $20. Different brand, but pretty much the same thing as those at Amazon. They work great! A little shorter, but they fit me me fine.
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Turkey Fryer Pump
This scary looking contraption is a battery operated pump designed for emptying the used oil from a turkey fryer. I used it for the first time this year after cooking up our deep fried turkey.
It’s got a little filter on the intake that strains out the muck, allowing you to reuse the oil. All in all, the pumps works pretty well. However, it’s kind of slow and it leaves about 2 inches in the bottom of the cooking pot, so I’m not sure its worth the hassle. A stainless funnel works just as well I think, especially if you end up usinga a funnel to get that last bit of oil anyhow.
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“Lobster claw” grilling mitts
These things make you look like a lobster, but the new generation of hi-tech silicone oven mitts are great for working on the barbecue. They are heat proof, easy to clean, and ridiculous looking.
These mitts feature gripping surfaces that make it easy to flip a rack of ribs or move a brisket off of the smoker. Tongs and such are nice, but there’s just no easier way to handle big cuts of meat then with your hands. Less dropping on the ground that way.
Unlike welding gloves, these things don’t get all gooped up with grease and sauce. Just wash them off, or wipe them on your jeans, or whatever you fancy. Since they don’t have fingers, they aren’t good for detail work like plucking a shrimp off the grill, but they can be invaluable for barbecue.
Amazon sells these (see the related link), as do most of the fancier cooking stores these days. You can choose from other colors, like black or even clear.
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Grill-top pizza stone
Turn your outdoor grill into a backyard pizza oven with this stone specially designed for the task. It uses the high heat of the grill to produce brick oven–style pizza with a crisp crust and bubbly-hot toppings. Made specifically for gas grills, the porous clay stone sits within a raised stainless-steel frame. A backsplash keeps toppings contained; the attached thermometer allows you to precisely track grill temperatures.
The description sounds good, but Williams-Sonoma wants $99 for this piece of hardware. I’m not sure it’s worth it. Seems to me a normal cooking stone would be just fine, and a whole lot cheaper. Heck, plenty of us get buy placing the pizza directly on the grill. And do you really need a dedicated thermometer for your pizza cooking?
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