5 Last-Minute Father’s Day BBQ Gift Ideas
With Father’s Day just around the corner, you might be looking for some gift ideas for the barbecue lover in your life. Whether you want to get Dad a tasty sauce or rub for the whole family to enjoy or spoil your favorite backyard cook with the latest gadget, we’ve got you covered.
Here are five last-minute Father’s Day BBQ gift ideas you can find at various price points.
Sam Jones Southern Starter Kit
The new set of seasonings from Sam Jones BBQ includes a full-size sampler of four dry rubs, perfect for just about anything you want to cook up. Included are Rub Potion No. Swine, a classic BBQ rub; Fish Out of Water Rub, great for grilling fish or seafood boils; For Goodness Steak Rub, made especially for beef steaks and brisket; and Salt of the Earth Rub, an all-purpose good-on-everything seasoning salt. (Also: This week, we will be giving away a set of these rubs on Instagram, so stay tuned.) Buy it here.
KC BBQ Sauce Sampler Pack
Kansas City is well known for its barbecue sauces, so why not send Dad four bottles to try? The pack includes Arthur Bryant's Barbeque Sauce, Gates Original Classic Bar-B-Q Sauce, Jack Stack Barbecue Original Sauce, and Kansas City's Cowtown Bar-B-Q Sauce. Buy it here.
ThermoWorks Smoke X4 Long-Range Wireless Thermometer
The ThermoWorks Smoke X4 is a high quality, high-performance BBQ alarm thermometer. Built with all-new RF wireless technology, Smoke X gives you up to 6,562 feet of line-of-sight transmission distance to the included Smoke X Receiver and max signal strength to penetrate walls so you'll always be connected anywhere in your home or yard. Buy it here.
The Franklin Barbecue Collection Special Edition Two-Book Boxed Set
From brisket to steak, here's everything your Dad needs to know about meat. This deluxe boxed set from the revered pitmaster and New York Times bestselling author behind Austin's Franklin Barbecue features exclusive paperback editions of his already iconic books: Franklin Barbecue and Franklin Steak. Buy it here.
Mail-Order BBQ from Snow’s BBQ
There are a ton of great mail-order barbecue options to try. One of our favorites is Snow’s BBQ, which lets you ship brisket, ribs, pork steak, sausage, turkey, and more to your door. Your Dad will most definitely approve. Buy it here.
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There are but a few options for your barbecue-obsessed Dad out there, but we’re sure he’d approve of just about any meaty item. If you’re able to socially distance with Dad, consider grabbing some BBQ takeout from your favorite local joint as well. Have a great Father’s Day everyone and please stay safe out there!
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) and Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
Calling all competition BBQ teams! Join in the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, the world's largest barbecue and Kansas City's biggest party, September 17-20 at Kansas Speedway. Team registration is now open, so don't delay. Sign up now!
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
Hecky Powell, the founder of Hecky’s Barbecue and a Chicago civic leader, passed away recently.
While a lot has happened in the news the past few weeks, one thing that seemingly slipped through the cracks was the passing of Hecky Powell, founder of Hecky’s Barbecue in Chicago. Powell passed away at the age of 71 from COVID-19 complications. Powell lived an extraordinary barbecue life, in which he fed and mentored members of the Chicago Bulls, several mayors, a governor, and a young Barack Obama. He also helped make South Side-style barbecue more popular. “Hecky took a finicky, hard-to-replicate style of barbecue, studied by few and mastered by even fewer, and absolutely nailed it,” Food writer Kevin Pang told The New York Times. “He smoked rib tips and hot links as good as anyone in the Midwest.”
Following up from last week’s stories regarding the killing of pitmaster David McAtee in Louisville, two great stories caught our attention about his legacy:
Adrian Miller, aka the “Soul Food Scholar,” wrote a powerful obituary about McAtee for Food & Wine, with an emphasis on McAtee’s role as a community leader who gave away meals to those in need.
Lolis Eric Elie wrote for The New York Times about McAtee’s role in feeding those in a “food desert.” He writes that McAtee’s food stand, YaYa’s BBQ, was “a rare source of good food in an area with few businesses of any kind.”
While meat price increases have impacted a lot of restaurants, barbecue restaurants appear to be weathering the storm, J.C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle writes. Reid notes that burger joints, however, have been hurting.
Speaking of burgers, Kansas City Magazine posits that Tyler Harp of Harp Barbecue and the crew at the Antler Room have made one the best burgers in KC.
In a timely post for NYC BBQ, Sean Ludwig from The Smoke Sheet wrote about organizations across the U.S. that are promoting food access, food justice, and land justice.
Following the recent meat price increases, the Agriculture Department and prosecutors are investigating whether the meatpacking industry is fixing or manipulating prices, Politico reports.
Speaking of price-fixing, the CEO of one of the country’s biggest chicken producers and three other industry executives “were indicted Wednesday on charges they conspired to fix prices on chicken sold to restaurants,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Dr. Howard Conyers, barbecue pitmaster and rocket scientist, wrote for Ark Republic about coronavirus and says “the instability caused by the COVID-19 crisis threatens an era of black barbecue joints.”
If you’re looking to do some barbecue smoking in your backyard, Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn collected tips from four of Texas’ best pitmasters, including from Franklin Barbecue, Smoke-A-Holics BBQ, Evie Mae’s, and Khói Barbecue.
San Antonio Express-News writer Chuck Blount writes that South Texas barbecue is all about using mesquite wood versus oak that is often used in Central Texas.
If you need some new grilling tools or accessories, Gear Patrol has rounded up the 12 best tools for grilling according to pro chefs and pitmasters.
Toronto’s Cherry Street Bar-B-Que is known as one of the best BBQ joints in Canada. Cherry Street owner and pitmaster Lawrence La Pianta recently spoke to Toronto Life about how he makes his Double-Stack Cherry Mac smash burger.
The Tri-City Herald in Washington state rounded up the best barbecue joints in the area, and Porter’s Real Barbeque has been voted in at #1 for the third consecutive year.
Sad news in Charlotte, N.C.: Queen City Q closed its doors for good this past Sunday. The Charlotte Business Journal reports that “2020 had delivered blow after blow, starting with a Covid-19 pandemic-imposed shutdown. Then, just as business resumed, civil unrest and protests hit uptown. The last hit came with the likely loss of the Republican National Convention.”
Finally, if you hoping to host a barbecue this summer with friends and family, you may be able to do it even with the threat of COVID-19 still looming. You’ll just need to take more precautions than normal.
Thanks to our sponsor Sauce King NYC, a new virtual event from Food Karma NYC. Enter your best sauce in the competition today!
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe shares some tips for getting started with grilling and smoking turkey.
Watch: Graduate to the Grill with Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe — Serve Turkey
Barbecue season is well underway, but you don't have to be a seasoned pitmaster to get turkey cooking over the coals. Shelby Shaw and Beth Breeding of the National Turkey Federation talk with Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe about the basics of getting started with turkey on the grill, including recipe ideas. Watch here.
Listen: Judging with Terryl Miller - The Pitmaster’s Podcast
This episode of The Pitmaster’s Podcast features Terryl Miller, the World Food Championships Judge Coordinator and Head Judge, an SCA Judge and Rep, a Dutch Oven Cook/Competitor, World Champion Dutch oven cook, and a KCBS Judge. She talks about judging events from sanctioning bodies such as the World Food Championships, SCA, and KCBS. She gives a behind-the-scenes look at an SCA judges table and shares advice on turn-ins and more. Listen here.
Read: Showstopping BBQ with Your Traeger Grill: Standout Recipes for Your Wood Pellet Cooker from an Award-Winning Pitmaster — by Ed Randoph
The Traeger pellet grill and smoker is one of the most versatile and convenient cookers on the market, and award-winning pitmaster Ed Randolph will show you all the incredible dishes you can make with it. Use the smoker for delicious meats such as Beer Can Chicken and slow-smoking Maple-Bourbon Pork Belly, or the grill for Juicy Brined Chicken Breast and Stuffed Belly Burgers. Once you’ve mastered those functions, don’t forget to bake standout meals like Candied Maple Bacon, Cuban-Style Pork Shoulder, or Chicken Skin Cracklings. When you have a world-class cooker and an expert pitmaster, all of your BBQ dreams become a reality. Buy it here.
Grilled lobster tails are perfect for when the weather is warming up.
Ceviche Style Grilled Lobster Tails — Ron Dimpflmaier
For our Recipe of the Week, we are featuring an exclusive recipe for The Smoke Sheet from Ron Dimpflmaier (known on Instagram as @cptnron302), the 2020 North Florida Eggfest Champion. The secret to this recipe is the simple marinade. The acid from the limes works to “cook” the lobster meat (hence the “ceviche”) while it’s marinating and the grill finish gives that extra boost to tickle your taste buds. View the recipe here.
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See the full Smoke Sheet events calendar online here.
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