Top Christmas Gifts For Grillers and BBQ Lovers
Got some grillers and BBQ lovers on your Christmas list? While it may not be grilling season in most places in the United States, it’s one of the best times to grab some grilling gifts for your loved ones, even yourself. Without further ado, here’s our top ten list for gift giving.
1. Food thermometer
Cooking meat and vegetables to the right temp is crucial when grilling. But opening and shutting the grill lid to check how done something is causes extreme temperature fluctuations that can affect cooking times. A food thermometer allows you to sit back and let your food cook without needing to fret over its doneness. To ensure you get your money’s worth, we recommend getting a rechargeable Bluetooth thermometer with at least four temperature probes. These features allow you to skip batteries, keep an eye on your food temps from afar (using an app) and monitor the temps of several steaks or burgers at one time.
2. Grill apron
While we love BBQ as much as the next guy, we don’t necessarily advocate wearing what you cook. Having a couple of aprons handy can prevent you from ruining your clothes in the name of barbeque. Be sure to grab a heavy-duty apron that has multiple different-sized pockets for tongs and your other grilling must-haves.
3. Cutting boards
Using proper cutting boards during food preparation prevents cross-contamination (and potentially making people sick) between raw meats and everything else. For meats, we suggest getting a walnut, bamboo, or maple cutting board that has a juice moat, so the meat juices arent running all over your grill or countertop. Be sure if you gift a cutting board to yourself or someone else on your Christmas list to add a bottle of food-grade mineral oil and a conditioning product that contains carnauba wax and beeswax to help maintain the cutting board’s surface.
4. Grilling utensils
No grilling enthusiast should go without proper tools. Whether you buy grilling utensils individually or as a set, ensure you at least get a 16” to 18” spatula (or two), tongs, fork, and brush to make cleaning up easier.
5. Meat shredding claws
Love pulled meats, but don’t enjoy the hassle of using two forks, pick up a pair of shredder claws. These tools make lifting, handling, cutting, and of course, shredding meat, a piece of cake (pun intended). The claws should have sharp blades and be heat resistant.
6. Knives
Yes, there’s a wrong way and a right way to slice meat. Whether it’s brisket or steak, the knife counts. Two of the most popular types of knives are Japanese and German. For example, the lighter of the two, a Japanese slicer, made from hard steel, can produce neat, clean slices, whereas heavy weighted German knives tend to be thicker and made from softer steel, making them capable of cracking through bones.
7. Cast iron pans and griddle
Grilling with cast iron griddle or pan is excellent for grilling delicate foods like fish and vegetables. You can sear, caramelize, fry without flareups, or cook on low indirect heat. Cast iron pans are ideal for shrimp, scallops, whole fish, flatbreads, meats, and the like. Cooking up breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, and pancakes on the grill is possible with a cast iron griddle. Properly seasoned, cast iron is better than your traditional non-stick cookware and will last long enough to pass it down to the next generation if adequately maintained.
8. Basting mops and brushes
The best way to slather some sauce onto grilling foods is with a basting mop or brush. For small cuts of meat like a pork chop or chicken breast or when using thick syrup or honey-based sauces, go with a silicone basting brush—to get excellent coverage and easy cleanup. For thinner sauces like a marinade, mop all day. If you buy a basting mop, be sure to get a few extra replacement heads to switch between sauces or discard after using instead of cleaning.
9. Steak branding iron
Make a statement on your burgers, steaks, or buns with a personalized barbecue steak press. You can select from presses with a set of fixed initials or go with one that has changeable letters making your imprint options virtually endless.
10. Texas Pepper Jelly products
Our Christmas gift list wouldn’t be complete without Texas Pepper Jelly products. Whatever your grilling or BBQ needs, TPJ has just the right seasonings, rib candy, BBQ sauce, and pepper jellies. Not sure what to get? Go with a bundle to get a variety of flavors or a Texas Pepper Jelly gift card and let your recipient do the shopping.
Wishing you and yours, the very best this holiday season!