It’s that time again, where I take an inventory of the BBQ Smokers, BBQ Gear, and BBQ Accessories our readers here at the BBQ Smoker Site find most useful over a given quarter.
There are so many different BBQ Smokers and related BBQ tools out there on the market today. Thing is, how do you decide which BBQ products are most useful? Well, aside from the reviews you read online, it’s helpful to see what folks who share your common interests think of these items.
The following is a collection of the most purchased BBQ smokers and gear purchased by our readers on Amazon for April through June, 2011.
Popular BBQ Items Archive
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Popular BBQ Books
With it’s recent release, Myron Mixon’s Smokin’ with Myron Mixon book ran away with the pack. Readers really love it, and Mixon has done a ton of work on TV and at regional and national BBQ Competitions to market himself over the years. To my knowledge, this is Myron’s first book of this type, so it’s about time he released one.
The rest of the BBQ books in this quarterly update are familiar to many of our readers, as they have shown up on our other Popular BBQ Smokers and Gear releases. America’s Best BBQ and Backyard BBQ are books to really consider adding to your library if you do not presently have them. And of course, Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book and the Weber text are keepers for sure.
- Smokin’ with Myron Mixon: Recipes Made Simple, from the Winningest Man in Barbecue
- America’s Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants
- Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology
- Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint
- Weber’s Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling
- Real Barbecue: The Classic Barbecue Guide to the Best Joints Across the USA — with Recipes, Porklore, and More!
Popular BBQ Smokers
I started The BBQ Smoker Site blog because I love learning, reading, and writing about BBQ Smokers. As such, this category is always a favorite for me. Aside from maybe the Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse Smoker, which did not make this list, the Bradley electric smokers are a clear favorite among home cooks and backyard BBQ enthusiasts. This fact is echoed by the number of Bradley bisquettes that are represented in the accessories category below.
Weber clearly ran the table for charcoal BBQ Grills and Charcoal BBQ Smokers. Readers of our popular Smokin’ with the Dutchess series get a steady diet of Food Porn cooked on Hanneke’s Weber Kettle Grill, so it’s no surprise to see some of them here.
- Bradley BTIS1 Original Fully Automatic 4-Rack Outdoor Food Smoker
- Bradley Digital 6-Rack Smoker
- Char-Griller 1515 Patio Pro Model Grill
- Weber 1421001 Performer Charcoal Grill, Black
- Weber 731001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 22.5-Inch Smoker
- Weber-Stephen Products 18.5′ Blk Smoker Cooker 721001 Smoker
- Weber 741001 22.5-Inch One-Touch Silver Kettle Grill, Black
- Weber 757001 22.5-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Green
- Weber 781001 26-3/4-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill
Popular BBQ Smoker and BBQ Grill Accessories
Thermometers
Maintaining the proper temperatures during a BBQ cook is the only way to ensure the results you are looking for. There’s nothing worse than wrecking a pricey cut of beef brisket because you’ve had your fire burning too hot. For long cooks, the remote control wireless thermometers really cannot be beat. This is especially true if you want to keep an eye on your favorite sports team and you don’t have a TV set up outside.
Though many cooks I talk with prefer the Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen, the Taylor brand took the prize this quarter for instant read thermometers.
- 2″ River Country (RC-T2) BBQ Grill Smoker Thermometer Gauge (100 to 550 F)
- Oregon Scientific AW129 Wireless BBQ Thermometer with Probe Thermometer and Remote
- Maverick ET-7 Remote-Check Wireless Thermometer With 2 Probes
- RediCheck Remote Cooking Thermometer
- Taylor 1470 Digital Cooking Thermometer/Timer
- Taylor Digital Instant-Read Pocket Thermometer
BBQ Grill and Smoker Tools
The BBQ Grill and BBQ Smoker Tools category of items is probably the most daunting, as the sheer number of items out there that purport to make our outdoor cooking lives easier and more fun than ever is staggering. The three items I was pleased to see make the list this quarter are the Cast Iron Grate by 4GrillersJoy, the King Kooker Jalapeno Rack, and the Jerky Racks.
The cast iron grate is just awesome, and I recommend anyone with a gas or charcoal grill to invest in cast iron grates of this type as soon as you can. They will change your grilling lives forever. Supply of these grates at Amazon are sometimes limited, so check the site for availability.
The Jalapeno Rack is just cool. They won’t really work for the BBQ Diva’s Atomic Buffalo Turds, but I’d put my money on the grilled tastiness they can offer up nonetheless.
Lastly, we have the Jerky Racks. Who doesn’t like Beef Jerky? I’d like to give these racks a try, as buying good quality beef jerky will put you in the poor house these days!
- Cast Iron Grate, Pre Seasoned, Non Stick Cooking Surface, Modular Fits 22.5″ Grills
- King Kooker 36JR Stainless-Steel 36-Hole Jalapeno Rack with Corer
- Bradley Set of 4 Jerky Racks
- Veranda Cart Barbecue Cover, X-Large, Pebble, up to 70-inches Wide
- Weber 7555 Premium Cover for Weber Summit 600-Series Gas Grills
- Bradley All Weather Cover 4 Rack
- Bradley All Weather Cover 6 Rack
BBQ Smoker Wood
The wood we use when we cook BBQ is important. For chunk or stick wood, I’m a big fan of Fruita Wood Chunks Company out of Colorado. This quarter, Bradley smokers clearly got stocked up with a solid supply of Pecan, Adler, Hickory, Apple, Cherry, and Maple!
- Bradley Pecan Bisquettes 120 pack
- Bradley Alder Bisquettes 120 pack
- Bradley Apple Bisquettes 120 pack
- Bradley Cherry Bisquettes 120 pack
- Bradley Hickory Bisquettes 120 pack
- Bradley Maple Bisquettes 120 pack
Knives and Choppers
Sharp knives are a must in any kitchen. When you’re loaded up on a trailer, sweating your ass off trying to get your meat cut in time to build your box for turn ins, sharp and reliable knives are just that more important.
Victorinox wins this quarter’s knife purchase battle, as might be expected of the maker of the famed “Swiss Army Knife.” The Victorinox 40520 8-inch Chef’s Knife was rated as “best overall” in Cooks magazine in Fall 2004. Pretty good report card from “the” chefs magazine. It took top honors over several high end ($80 -$100+) Wusthofs and Henckel models.
- J.A. Henckels International Classic 7-Inch Stainless-Steel Bread Knife
- Victorinox Cutlery 4-Inch utility Knife, White Polypropylene Handle
- Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
- Kuhn Rikon Swiss Chop Chop
If you’re looking to update your collection of BBQ Books, BBQ and Grill Accessories, Knives, and the like, I hope this list is helpful. I don’t know about you, but it helps to know that others who share my interests took a look at given products and decided to give them a try.
Should you try out any of these items, consider leaving a comment to let us know how you liked them. You can always submit BBQ related reviews or story ideas to us. We love to share our readers’ views!
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What do you get when you blend BBQ tastes from Vancouver, British Columbia and North Carolina? You get C-Dub’s BBQ Rub that’s what! And man are we glad to have it in our kitchen! After spending tons of time on the road, cooking comps, visiting friends and family back in NC, and oh – yeah – being on site as an official sponsor of the 2011 Las Vegas Smoke on the Water USA Barbecue Championship – Allegra and Charles “C-Dub” Wilson have finally chimed in on our one question interview regarding their first BBQ Smoker experience and what they might do differently if they had to do it all over again.
Here’s what Alli and Charles had to Say:
We were spoiled on our first BBQ Smoker, we were lucky enough to be able to get almost all we wanted as we had it custom made. Since our cooker is new (we only got it in January of this year)…it will take a little longer to REALLY find out what we wished we had. We got ours custom made by Clint Shockley at East Texas Smokers. We purchased the Contender with the following modifications:
- LP Log Starter
- BBQ Temperature Control System
- RV Hot Water Heater
- Trailer Plumbed for Propane
- Warming Box
- Double Basin Sink
Clint also hooked us up with a sweet custom paint job – check it out!
We Did Our BBQ Smoker Trailer Homework…
We did a lot of research and asked questions in different venues to make sure we got it right the first time. We also put questions out to BBQ pages and groups on Facebook and sent out questions to Twitter. Social networking for BBQ Teams really paid off in this case, as we got some excellent feedback from our BBQ brothers and sisters!
One of the things we ALMOST didn’t get was the sinks. Thankfully, we decided to add them in at the last minute, and we’re so glad we did. Perfect at Comps and Vending events.
What We’d Do Differently…
We love our trailer, and it’s going to serve us well long into the future. However, if we could do one thing differently, we’d go ahead and get the deluxe charcoal grill that is recommended for this East Texas Smokers Contender unit.
Since it cost a lot to ship the trailer up to Washington Sate, we decided to not get the grill. After using our “Baby” now for a while, we are REALLY wishing we had just sucked it up and bought the custom charcoal grill. Case in point – this past weekend we entered a BBQ Hamburger Contest. Even though we placed 4th, life would have been a lot easier with that custom added charcoal grill than cooking on the Mini Uniflame Grill we picked up at Wally World for $15 to enter the contest with! LMAO
If you have not tried C-Dub’s BBQ Rub products, you need to. Check out my past posts covering their products, and Brian over at Hot Sauce Daily did a nice review of their rubs as well.
Be sure to check out C-Dub’s BBQ Rub on Twitter, and visit the C-Dub’s BBQ Rub Facebook Page often! You can also buy their stuff directly from the C-Dub’s BBQ Rub website.
UPDATE: See responses we received from those interviewed here.
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