5 Perfect BBQ-Focused Gifts
As the holidays get closer, now comes the moment when you look over your list and realize there are still a few more items to get for loved ones or friends. If any of them are barbecue and grilling lovers like us, then you’ve come to the right place because we have some suggestions. Heck, these might even be fun things to pick up as gifts for yourself.
Without further ado, here are five gift ideas for BBQ lovers in your life.
Foodie Essentials Gift Set
The Foodie Essentials Gift Set is the ultimate gift for any barbecue lover or grillmaster. This collection includes products curated by the folks at GrillGrate and includes products we love to use in the backyard ourselves. The set includes a can of Duck Fat Spray, two packages of Urban Slicer Grilling Pizza Dough, White Lightning Seasoning from Boar’s Night Out, Johnny Joseph’s Steak Rub, and Kelley’s Gourmet Stone Ground Mustard. Buy it here.
Mail-Order Barbecue from BBQ All Stars and Goldbelly
The pandemic has made it much harder to travel in 2020 but the explosion of mail-order barbecue has helped ease some of the burden for those who want to try the best joints in the country. Two websites can help you buy brisket, ribs, wings, and much more — BBQ All Stars (which was founded by BBQ competition queen Melissa Cookston) and Goldbelly (which has been a pioneer of mail-order food). Buy from BBQ All Stars here or buy from Goldbelly here.
Aaron Franklin MasterClass
You can learn the secrets to amazing Central Texas BBQ from Aaron Franklin, the James Beard award-winning pitmaster and owner of Franklin Barbecue. In this 16-part MasterClass series, Franklin teaches you his meticulous low and slow process for mouth-watering ribs, pork butt, and brisket. With perfectly seasoned cuts and optimal temperatures, you'll learn to handle an offset smoker like a true pitmaster. Buy it here.
Taste of America Four Sauce Gift Box
The Joe’s Kansas City Taste of America BBQ Sauce Gift Box Set contains four distinct regional BBQ sauces that each reflect a variety of different characteristics of American barbecue. The collection includes a Carolina hot vinegar sauce, a traditional Southern-style sauce, a rich and spicy sauce with some kick and sass, and a classic Kansas City-style sauce. Buy it here.
New BBQ Books
An easy gift choice for a BBQ lover in your life is a barbecue-focused book that teaches them recipes and ways to up their game. This year, there have been a lot of great books released, including volumes by Ray Sheehan (see above), Ed Randolph, and Craig Tabor. Check out three 2020 BBQ book options here.
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These are but a few gift ideas for serious BBQ fans in your life. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) and Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
The new Holiday Lamb Pack from Superior Farms American Lamb is the perfect option for anyone looking to create delicious holiday dishes, with a tender Frenched Carving Lamb Leg, Boneless Stew Meat, and Lamb Shanks sliced for Osso Buco. It’s now easier than ever to have mouthwatering, sustainably-raised lamb delivered to your door, or to send as a gift to a loved one this holiday season when you order online. We are working with Superior Farms to give one of you a pack of your own, so be sure to click here to enter today!
—Daniel Vaughn sings the praises of the breakfast tacos at Estrada’s Texas Barbecue. (Photo by Daniel Vaughn)—
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Pitmaster Randy Estrada found his way to barbecue after a twenty-year career as a diesel mechanic with the help of the Texas barbecue community. Now he and his wife Tessa are serving delicious barbecue breakfast tacos and a full barbecue menu from Tuesday through Friday each week at their Creedmore, Texas restaurant. Daniel Vaughn recently wrote about his visit in Texas Monthly. READ HERE
Brisket, pork ribs, and sausage is an all-time classic barbecue combination. “But the prototypical ‘three-meat plate’ we see today, aka the ‘Texas trinity,’ has had a long evolution that parallels the earliest history of the Lone Star State all the way up to contemporary times,” writes J.C. Reid in the Houston Chronicle. READ HERE
Husk Barbeque in Greenville, S.C. opens its doors this week after closing at the beginning of the pandemic. The restaurant was previously known as Husk Greenville, part of the famous Husk family of restaurants that also have locations in Charleston, Nashville, and Savannah. But the Greenville location is turning into something different and is opening much later than its peers, so it will have a much different vibe than the other locations. READ HERE
Beast Southern Kitchen & BBQ, the third “Beast” BBQ restaurant from David and Meggan Sandusky, has just opened this past weekend in Columbia, Illinois. This follows the well-respected Beast Craft BBQ Co. in Belleville, Illinois and Beast Butcher & Block in St. Louis, Missouri. The new location’s menu features a few items available only in Columbia, including pit ham smoked over cherry wood and char-roasted chuck-eye. READ HERE
If the books mentioned in the article above weren't enough for gift-giving, Kevin Kelly of Kevin’s BBQ Joints has compiled a list of the best BBQ books by your favorite pitmasters and BBQ restaurants. Kelly's list includes classics such as Peace, Love & Barbecue by Amy and Mike Mills and Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay. READ HERE
ADDITIONAL READS
The Commercial Appeal recently created a holiday gift guide for lovers of Memphis-style barbecue.
Last week, a fire broke at Original Uncle Tom’s Barbecue in Miami.
The Greenville Journal’s Alex Cooper recently highlighted some favorite local barbecue spots in Greenville, South Carolina where you can get your barbecue fix.
Denver barbecue spot GQue BBQ made a bet (and lost) with Joe’s Kansas City on the Broncos-Chiefs football game last weekend.
If you are wondering what it is like to take the leap into the world of pellet cookers, Dave Lobeck covers the pros and cons in his BBQ My Way column for the Herald Bulletin.
An injunction compels mandatory rules-following at all Adamson BBQ restaurants in Toronto after controversial owner Adam Skelly’s arrest.
Recently closed Dallas barbecue institution Peggy Sue Barbecue has been given new life.
—2M Smokehouse in San Antonio is known for bringing new flavors to traditional American barbecue.—
WATCH
Pitmaster Esaul Ramos Is Using Mexican Flavor at One of Texas' Best Barbecue Spots — Eater
In this classic video from Eater, learn how pitmaster Esaul Ramos of 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio is breaking Texas tradition by bringing in flavors he grew up with. Ramos' barbacoa, brisket, ribs, turkey, and sausage all draw from his Mexican heritage in their own way. WATCH HERE
LISTEN
George Motz and ‘The Bad Jew’ — The BBQ Central Show
The burger king of the universe, George Motz, joins host Greg Rempe to talk about his induction into the BBQ Central Show Guest Hall of Fame, his turkey journeying on Thanksgiving, and more. Next, Greg welcomes first-time guest and creator of “The Bad Jew,” Rebecca King. Originally from Cleveland, Rebecca landed in Los Angeles and gave the world of “pop-ups” a try. She is known in the streets of LA for her “Porkstrami” and sandwiches that go by the name of “The Reubecca” and “The Danny Boy.” LISTEN HERE
READ
The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food: A Cookbook — Marcus Samuelsson
In The Rise, chef, author, and television star Marcus Samuelsson gathers together an unforgettable feast of food, culture, and history to highlight the diverse deliciousness of Black cooking today. Driven by a desire to fight against bias, reclaim Black culinary traditions, and energize a new generation of cooks, Marcus shares his own journey alongside 150 recipes in honor of dozens of top chefs, writers, and activists — with stories exploring their creativity and influence. Black cooking has always been more than “soul food,” with flavors tracing to the African continent, to the Caribbean, all over the United States, and beyond. Featuring a mix of everyday food and celebration cooking, this book also includes an introduction to the pantry of the African diaspora. BUY IT HERE
—Nothing beats a perfectly cooked ribeye steak and the process could not be any easier. (Photo by Wai Chan)—
How to Grill the Perfect Ribeye
By BBQ Tourist
This week’s Recipe of the Week is a video recipe showing you how to grill the perfect ribeye from The Smoke Sheet’s very own Ryan Cooper aka BBQ Tourist. First Ryan chooses a high-quality ribeye steak and sprays Duck Fat Spray on both sides. He then seasons the meat with DennyMike’s Cowbell Hell and fires up the grill to a temperature of 450 degrees F. He uses GrillGrates to get the perfect sear marks, cooking for 2 minutes then rotating and cooking for 2 minutes more before flipping and repeating the process. After a total of 8 minutes of cook time, he pulls the ribeye off the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing into it. The end result was a perfectly juicy and flavorful ribeye steak.
—Many of the largest barbecue events of 2020 have been canceled or postponed.—
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we are leaving our events section blank for some time. Many events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed thus far. We’ll be updating our events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
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