My Meat Temperature Magnet has won first prize, Best New Barbecue Tool !!!
The prize for "Best BBQ Tool" at the 2012 The National Barbecue Association conference did not go to a fancy grilling gadget. It was a simple inexpensive, indispensable, refrigerator magnet by Yours Truly. Hey, I've always known I was a tool, now I'm the best tool!
The AmazingRibs.com Meat Temperature Magnet is a comprehensive guide to meat temperatures. Click the red link for ordering info and a detailed explanation of meat temps.
It includes the latest USDA recommendations as well as chef recommendations (and they often differ) as well as color photos of the different stages of doneness for red meats. Designed for grillers' quick reference, the temperatures are the same for both indoor and outdoor cooks.
Most cookbooks contain outdated meat temperature info since the USDA has has changed its recommendations several times. Knowing the best temps is essential to cooking safe and great food. The Center for Disease Control estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from foodborne illnesses, (often mistakenly called "stomach flu,"), and 3,000 die. And nobody knows how many millions of dollars were wasted on overcooked food.
"Meathead converted me after 30 years of poking my meat with my finger and throwing out a lot of overcooked steaks," laughs Brad Barrett, manufacturer of GrillGrate, an innovative cooking surface for grills. "I was so impressed by the guide on his website that I converted it to a magnet and got exclusive rights to sell it." Barrett offers it for $5.99 on Amazon.
Cooking without a thermometer is like driving without a speedometer. A good temperature guide like this and a good digital thermometer are essential for every cook, especially backyard cooks.
Read about the combination grill and smoker the Obamas gave the Camerons
This time the Obamas got it right. In March they gave the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his wife, a very cool gift, a $1,900 wood and charcoal-burning grill and smoker combo, made, where else, in Obama's home state, Illinois.
Last time the Obamas didn't do so well. They gave Cameron's predecessor, Gordon Brown, a set of movie DVDs that didn't play on the devices sold in the UK.
It will not surprise you that I have cooked on the grill they gave. Click here to read about the estimable Engelbrecht Braten 1000.
Cook your corned beef and cabbage right
Surprisingly, corned beef and cabbage is not an Irish tradition. It is an Irish-American tradition. Corned pork and cabbage is more common in the Emerald Isles, but Irish immigrants to the US found beef more plentiful in their lower Manhattan ghettos where the butchers were mostly kosher Jews and pork was verboten.
Traditional on St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish, it is a shame that CB&C is not served more often, and my guess is that's because people just take it out of the wrapper and throw it in a pot with carrots, potatoes, cabbage and maybe some onions, and they feel they have met their obligation. But everything is soooooo salty, the meat is tough and fatty, and the veggies and potatoes are mushy.
Barbecue is the world's oldest cooking method and among all the creatures on earth, only humans cook. It can be said that barbecue is what made our ancestors human. Heck, it may be the world's second oldest profession.
Barbecue was probably discovered by some proto-human tribe padding warily through the warm ashes of a forest fire following their noses to a particularly seductive scent. When they stumbled upon the charred carcass of a wild boar they squatted and poked their hands into its side. They sniffed their fragrant fingers, then licked the greasy digits. The magical blend of warm protein, molten fat, and unctuous collagen in roasted meat is a narcotic elixir and it addicted them on first bite. They became focused, obsessed with tugging and scraping the bones clean, moaning, and shaking their heads. The sensuous aromas made their nostrils smile and the fulsome flavors caused their mouths to weep. Before long mortals were making sacrifices and burnt offerings to their gods, certain the immortals would like to try their heavenly recipes.
Many experts even think that it was mastery of fire that permanently altered our evolutionary path and it is this primeval link that makes us still love cooking over flame so.
Kissed by smoke, hugged by sauce, licked by fire
Today we do it the same way our ancestors did. Our noses lead us to meat roasted by live fire and we eat without forks or linen. Just pig on a stick, grease and goop on our faces. The meat is ethereal, kissed by smoke, hugged by sauce, and licked by fire. "Don’t play with your food" doesn't apply when you're eating barbecue. If you don't get it on your shirt you're not doing it right. This is primal, elemental, sensual eating. Pure carnal joy. Just like our ancestors.
Since the beginning of time, cooking with fire has always meant a gathering the clan outdoors, and there is no more intimate assembly than hanging around the fire with the sweet smell of smoke and meat in the air, with a beer in hand, and loved ones at our table. It is as if we draw energy from the fire, as if the fire is the path to both sustenance of the body and the soul. As it was for our forbears, cooking for the clan, the burnt offering, becomes a religious ritual. And then we share the recipes.
So this website is not so much about cooking as it is about the happiness derived from creativity, by self-expression, and the selfless act of feeding others. But just because our ancestors learned to cook outdoors doesn't mean that it comes as second nature to us all. That's the reason for this website, to pass along the ancient art as it has always been taught, generation to generation. To pass the flame from an old timer like me to a young'n like you.
There are a lot of step-by-step recipes from the canon of dishes a barbecue cook needs to know, but the meat and potatoes of AmazingRibs.com are the concepts and techniques that allow us to feed friends and family well. And then have them worship us.
Making it happen is not that hard. Just about anything you can cook in the kitchen can be cooked outdoors if you know a few tricks. And this site will teach you the tricks of controlling temperature and time, essential for cooking anything.
Barbecue means "party"
If, as I believe, a nation's cuisine is at the core of it's culture, barbecue is as important to the American heritage as is jazz, both festive activities perfected by African Americans in the South. To this day, nothing says "party" like barbecue so it should not be surprising that almost 80% of US households own an outdoor grill or smoker. Truly barbecue is America's cuisine.
There may even be a psychological reason we love barbecue. Psychologists have shown that certain foods, among them barbecue, just plain make us happy. Who needs comfort food when we can have happy food?
There is an emphasis on traditional dishes, the regional specialties that have been fine tuned and handed down for generations, but I'm a modern cook with modern tools and food science on my mind, so I have often tweaked them to fit the modern patio, kitchen, grocery, and diet.
This website is for food lovers as well as all the trash-talkers who aspire to make the best barbecue on the block, and then brag about it. It's not hard. Come on in, the backyard gate is open, get fired up, roll up your sleeves, strap on a bib (or better still, an apron), and dig in to some Amazing Ribs and much much more!
Below are links to some of the best parts of this website. To see everything, click here for a complete table of contents.
If you boil ribs the terrorists win
The backyard kitchen is built on myths. AmazingRibs.com specializes in mythbusting and teaching the fundamental facts you need to know to be a great outdoor cook.
Myth #1: Boil ribs to make them tender
A lot of folks boil their ribs. Don't do it! You wouldn't boil a steak would you? When you boil meat and bones, you make flavorful soup. That's because water is a solvent that pulls much of the flavor out of the meat and bones and makes the meat mushy. Boiling also removes vitamins and minerals. That's why the water is cloudy when you're done. That's flavor in the water. DOH! Taste tests have shown that ribs are most flavorful when roasted. If you are in a hurry, you are better off steaming or microwaving ribs and then finishing them on the grill or under the broiler. Just don't boil 'em if you want max flavor! If you boil ribs the terrorists win.
Myth #2: The best ribs fall off the bone
Barbecue judges agree: Properly roasted ribs are tender but still have some chew, similar to a tender steak. They don't fall off the bone. If they do, chances are they have been boiled. Click here to learn what the experts think Amazing Ribs taste like.
Myth #3: Thermometers are for sissies
I don't care what the TV chef said, you cannot tell anything about the temp of a grill is by holding your hand over the grate and counting "1001, 10002, 1003" until your palm bursts into flame. Each of us reacts differently to heat, and the heat 1" above the grate can be significantly different than 6" above. Maybe an old pro who cooks 100 steaks a night can do this parlor trick, but you cannot.
Likewise, you may have also heard that you can tell the doneness of a steak by poking it and comparing the bounciness of the meat to the tip of your nose or the flesh between your thumb and forefinger. As if everyone's hand has the same firmness and bounciness! As if a filet mignon has the same firmness and bounciness of a sirloin! Lookit, almost all professional chefs carry a meat thermometer in their chef's coat. There's a reason.
Finally, you cannot rely on popup thermometers in turkeys, and most dial thermometers built into grills are waaaaay off, often 50°F, and the temp in the dome is different than the temp on the cooking surface.
When I soaked wood chunks overnight, they gained about 3% by weight. Chips gained about 6%. I cut the chunks in half and penetration was only about 1/16". DOH! That must be why they make boats out of wood! Wood doesn't absorb much water! If you toss wet wood on a hot grill, the small amount of water just below the surface will evaporate rapidly, negating any effect of soaking. On charcoal, the wet wood cools off the coals when it is important to hold the coals at a steady temp. Learn more about the Zen of Wood.
Myth #5: The juices from a steak are blood
If they were blood they would be dark, almost black, like your blood. And they would be thick and coagulate. No, the blood is drained during slaughter. The juices on your plate are a protein rich liquid called myoglobin, so stop grossing out your kids by calling it blood. Click here to read more about meat science.
Myth #6: Always use tongs, never forks
Don't worry about poking holes in the meat. A steak is 70% liquid (much of that myoglobin), so if you poke a hole in a 16 ounce steak and it loses 1/4 ounce of juice, you'll still have more than 9 ounces of fluid left. When you cook, however, you can lose up to 20% from evaporation and dripping. That's more than 3 ounces. Click here for my favorite barbecue and grilling tools and toys.
Myths #7, 8, 9, and beyond:
Here are some mkore myths explored on these pages or coming soon: Searing seals in juices. Pink pork is undercooked. If there is red in chicken it is undercooked. If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'. Cooking time depends on the weight of the meat. The bone adds flavor. Oil the grates before putting food on them. Flip burgers only once. The Stall is collagen melting. High heat is the best heat. Whole chicken tastes better than chicken cut into parts. Beer can chicken is the best chicken. Melting fat penetrates the meat. Grilling causes cancer. Grill marks are important. Medium and medium rare are the same thing. Stainless steel grills are better. Cast iron grates are the best. Many more within. You can rely on your grill's built in thermometer. Ground beef is the riskinest food for pathogens. Barbecue sauce is always red. Marinades add a lot of moisture to meat. Start with the Table of Contents.
Some politically incorrect messages from a Meathead:
To single guys
Learn to cook and you will find love because the secret of a great meal isn't what's on the table. It's what's on the chairs.
To married guys
Your wife hates it when you're in her kitchen. Learn to cook outdoors.
To single ladies
Barbecue smoke is a potent pheromone. Skip the implants and get a good grill or smoker. You'll save a ton of money, and you'll have plenty of prospects singing "Come on baby, light my fire!"
To married ladies
Painting by Gil Elvgren, 1958.
You want quality time? Look out back. He's right there. Grab a beer and join him. Teach him to cook. Use this site as a textbook. He can learn. I did.
To everyone
This site attempts to teach the novice and at the same time be thorough enough for the expert. I try to explain why as well as how, because when you can cook outdoors, you can cook anywhere. And anything you can cook indoors taste better cooked outdoors. Tuck in!
Here's a great trick for thin steaks
The challenge is to get the exterior dark and the interior medium rare. I call it the Afterburner. It only works on skinny steaks, but boy does it work great. Read about it in Extreme Steak.
When are steaks, chops, chicken, fish, and other foods done?
I want my meats tender, juicy, and flavorful, and I also want them safe. The temperature of the meat controls these things. You cannot tell by looking and feeling. You need a good instant-read meat thermometer and a good oven thermometer. Nothing will save you from apologizing to your guests and keep you from wasting money as well as good thermometers. Click here for my Buying Guide to Thermometers.
This is no ordinary turkey preparation, pilgrims. Follow these (excessively) detailed steps and you will never have a dry, stringy, cardboardy, boring bird again. Nor will you ever risk life and limb nor stain the patio while deep frying a turkey again. This will be the best turkey you've ever tasted. Best of all you can do it on a smoker, any old backyard grill, or even indoors (without the smoke). But remember, when you cook the bird outdoors, you not only get great flavor, you free up the oven for all the other dishes.
World's Best Barbecue Buying Guide & Meathead's Hotstuff Awards
For the coolest in tools and toys, check Meathead's Hotstuff Awards. I don't sell anything. I just tell you what works and what doesn't.
An example: The Smokenator. You can easily convert a standard Weber Kettle into a smoker capable of making restaurant quality smoked ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, turkey, or salmon. If you have a Weber, you need a Smokenator. Less than $75.
Before you buy, check out the reviews in my Buying Guide. There is nothing in the world like this section. Just about every backyard grill, smoker, and pig roaster available is listed, and many of them have links to discount suppliers.
Here's what Barry Sorkin of Smoque Restaurant in Chicago says: "Great article on brisket. That's a better explanation than I've seen in any of the cookbooks, and I’ve read a lot of them. It does a great job of making one of the most complex and difficult cuts of meat simple and approachable. My only concern is that if everyone learns how to make brisket, how's a poor schmuck like me going to make a living?!?!"
Huge hot dog section
More than 25 articles (!) on the best ways to cook hot dogs, buns, chili sauce, recipes for the regional styles (Chicago, NY, Detroit, Cincinnati, West Virginia and more), and a hot dog road trip! Click here for everything you need to know about hot dogs.
You can get that fabulous wood-fired grill flavor in your own back yard. It's a bit tricky, but once you master grilling pizza you'll never be able to order delivery again. Start with a great all purpose pizza crust for the grill and just for kicks, take a tour of all the world's great pizza styles.
Hogwild for barbecue
We've won 5 Grand Championships and 2 Reserve Championships [second place]in the past three months. Loved your site for years. Learned much about BBQ from you and wanted to give you credit. Your site has loads of objective info and it has helped me greatly. You have put it together in one convenient spot.
Well my wife just about jumped through her [rear end]. The ribs were fantastic!
Ted DuBose, Perth, Australia
This meal was as memorable as my first sex, only better.
Marie Overholt, San Francisco, CA
I adapted your brisket rub recipe this summer and my customers love it (8,000 pounds served in 6 months)! My brisket even won "best beef" in the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in 2010.
I was about to buy a new smoker. After reading your article about setting up a horizontal smoker, I decided to try rehabilitating something the previous owner of my house left in the backyard. Ran a test yesterday and got 6 hours at 225°F on one basket of lump charcoal and only had 8-10 degree variance from end to end. Total investment:$100. I figure I saved at least $500!
Coleman Shelton
Calvert City, KY
The Memphis Dust and the pulled pork are excellent! I never would have imagined that I would like anything better than a slab of smoked ribs, but that pulled pork, oh my gosh! I have taken it to a couple of parties and it is always a HIT! I made some two weeks ago and served it with the South Carolina mustard sauce as well as the grownup sauce and let me tell you, I had to dang near run people out of my house!
Aswad Johnson
I have always loved cooking ribs but with our new gas grill they were never as good as charcoal. Well that all changed last night when I made the greatest ribs I have ever tasted. My wife wanted to know if I bought them somewhere and then claimed I cooked them myself.
Allen Nicley, Mont Alto, PA
We love your beans. My recipe has our guests tooting for a few days; I bet that yours will last a week!!!!
Peggy Bohl, Sacramento, CA
I have worked as a professional cook in high end French restaurants for several years, but I had little true BBQ experience, so when I hit the internet looking for some info, I was really pleased to find an in depth and expansive site that had all the tips I was looking for. I am also pleased to tell you that I recently took first place in my first rib (or any BBQ) competition, using a slight variation on your Memphis Dust and a straight use of your Pig Candy recipe on a rack of baby backs!
Aaron Ettlin, Portland, OR
I had two ribs and my boyfriend ate the other 3 1/2 pounds. He couldn't stop to talk. He had to bring a box of tissues to the table because these ribs are so good, they make him weep. And that's the truth. Of course, I make sure he has plenty of napkins, too. He tells me that my ribs have deepened his love for me. Well, fine, but I know that just means he wants more ribs:)
Nancy J. Mostad, Minnesota
I am in the process of opening a cafe and thought your simple sweet sour slaw is an amazing winner. Tested it tonight. All people could say was "More please!!!"
James Murray, Toronto
My wife had gone to the store while I was preparing ribs for the smoker. When she came back our dog was in a hurry to get out of the truck and jumped on her feet. My truck slammed into her Buick totaling it, it knocked the utility room off the foundation causing the brick to fall off the side and back of the house which in turn collapsed a 10' x 30' deck. It crushed my smoker and the gas grill looked like the Titanic going down. While she was on the phone talking to the insurance man I propped the gas grill up using some of the rubble. I remembered your article on cooking ribs on the grill and decided I was going to have ribs no matter what. When my wife came back I was sitting on a broken chair drinking a beer and cooking ribs. The ribs were anything but a disaster thanks to you, I love seeing a woman standing there with her mouth open speechless, what a wonderful day.
I tried your Memphis Dust (on chicken) and it was amazing!
Ivan Carabott, Malta
As we were watching our Giants beat the Mets, a Famous Dave's commercial came on claiming the best ribs in the world, and my honey just shook his head and said, "nope, it's right here." Many, many thanks!
Red Taylor, San Francisco, CA
No question, just wanted to say yours is one of my go-to websites for cooking. I cooked professionally for many years, including a 3-year chef's apprenticeship at 4-star classic French kitchen in Dallas.
David White, Rockwall, TX
You are, to the barbecue world, what "Click & the Clack: The Tappet Brothers" are to the car world: knowledgeable, smart, hilarious, and self-effacing.
Laurel Stone
I have found your site to be the Rosetta Stone of BBQ. From here you can make anything, or you can obtain the tools and information to BBQ/Grill/Smoke. Thanks!
Bill Lamb
How to Grill Great Steakhouse Steaks
Steaks are easy. Hard to mess up. Regardless of what cut you cook, there are some basic tips and techniques that can raise your game, and when you master them, you will have your guests reeling in deliria.
In this all new article, in my typically exhaustive style, we focus on the best cuts, the best grades, thickness, prep, cooking method, testing for doneness, resting, serving, accompaniments, and much more. Click here to learn the secrets of great steakhouse steaks.
Searing Steaks
Ribeyes. Just typing the word makes my keyboard cower in fear of drool. Ribeyes are, in my humble opinion, the best steaks on the steer. And Chef Jamie Purviance agrees. Jamie is the well known author of several cookbooks, most recently the New York Times bestseller, Weber's Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling.
Jamie and I got together last month with two identical Weber Kettle charcoal grills to answer the kind of question that keeps steak lovers like us up all night: When is the best time to sear a steak, when you start cooking, or at the end of the cook? Believe it or not, when you sear the steak makes a huge difference in flavor, texture, and juiciness.
Originally settled by Mexican cowboys called vaqueros, Santa Maria, on California's beautiful Central Coast, has an international reputation for their local specialty, tri-tip steak, the unique grill they invented to cook it, and the clever way they carve it to make it tender. Click here to learn about buying and cooking tri-tip steaks.
The different cuts of ribs. For complete descriptions, click here.
Don't do it the way Weber tells you to do it. Click here to see how to do it right.
Best gas grill setup
The secret is in a pan of water between the meat and the heat.
Hot food, drink, cooking, barbecue, and rib links
There are so many great resources on the internet: Associations, competitions, message boards, podcasts, blogs, and more. Just click here.
Stuck indoors? Try these:
Smoky Sauna Ribs. This technique makes verrrrry tender, juicy, ribs, indoors all year round.
Chinatown Char Siu Ribs. Everybody loves those Chinese restaurant ribs. How do they do it? The secret is not the sauce, it's the marinade. You can do them at home on the grill or in the oven.
Hoisinful Nine Dragon Ribs (shown at right). These may be the best Chinese ribs you ever tasted. And you can cook them indoors.
Chinese Five Spice Ribles. Fried and crispy, flavored with five spice powder, these ribs are the perfect finger food for parties.
You can kick most barbecue restaurants in the ribs
The best news is that you can make better ribs at home than any restaurant, even the hallowed temples of barbecue such as Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, Rendezvous in Memphis, and Kreuz Market in Lockhart Texas.
Most of these restaurants make hundreds of slabs, cooking them for 4-6 hours overnight or in the morning, and by the time you order them, they have been sitting in the holding oven for hours and are overcooked. Yes, the texture and flavor are fabulous, but you can do better at home simply by getting the timing down and delivering perfectly cooked ribs to your dining table better than any restaurant in the world!
The one requirement of all my recipes: When you're done, you must lick your fingers, leave a plate of bare bones, and exclaim "Amazing Ribs!"
Listen to Meathead on NPR's "The Splendid Table" with Lynn Rosetto Kasper
There is no better radio show on food than Lynn Rosetto Kasper's, so it was a real honor when she called to discuss my Huffington Post article "Who Killed Gourmet" in which I vented on recipes on the internet and why the best are hard to find, even with help from Google. Click here to hear the broadcast, and here to see my list of the best food websites.
Hear Meathead on radio in Kansas City
Hear Meathead talking about hot dogs on "Live! from Jasper's Kitchen" with co-host Mitch Baker. KCMO is in the barbecue capital of the world, Kansas City, so for me, this is like Carnegie Hall!
1) If you are looking for info, please use the table of contents or the search box, at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Please don't ask any questions that involve temperature unless you tell us that you are using a digital thermometer! Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so I can't help you. If you are still using a dial thermometer, please read this article about thermometers, then buy a good digital, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit us with your questions. Please tell us everything we need to know to answer your question like the type of cooker you are using.
3) Please don't ask "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read our Buyer's Guides and the buying checklists and follow the links. We've shared just about everything we know. Pay attention to the awards I have given my faves. We cannot pick the right cooker for your needs any more than we could pick the right car or spouse for you.
Important Info About This Website
AmazingRibs.com is all about the science and zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, and accessories. It is edited by Meathead.
AmazingRibs.com is published by AmazingRibs, Inc., a Florida Corporation.
Our philosophy about food is simple. First of all it must taste great. It must be easy to make and emphasize fresh seasonal products with a minimum of processed ingredients. We think that people need to know why as well as how, so we spend a lot of time explaining things, and we believe that there are no rules in the bedroom or dining room.
About Product Reviews and Best Value Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. These are highly recommended products based on features, quality, and especially value. Rest assured that when we recommend a product, it is really because we like it, not because someone has paid us to say so because we do not accept advertising from products we review. We purchase many products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We have always been transparent about when we are reviewing a product sample, even before the Federal Trade Commission Required it in 2009. Click here to read more about our medals.
About links on this site. Other than clearly marked ads, links and recommendations on this site are all products, services, and websites we truly admire, and are never paid endorsements. Your suggestions are always welcome. If you would like us to link to your website, click here to read our links policy first.
Advertising on this site. AmazingRibs.com is one of the 100 most popular food websites in the US according to comScore, Alexa, and Quantcast. It is by far the most popular barbecue website in the world and pageviews increase rapidly every year. Advertising on AmazingRibs.com is a great way to build your brand or make direct sales. We do not accept ads from products we review and we keep a strict wall between editorial and advertising, so, for current pricing and availability of prime space, contact our agency, Federated Media, by clicking the logo at right. Click here for analytics, stats, demographics, and advertising options.
Our Privacy Promise. AmazingRibs, Inc. promises to never sell or distribute any info about you individually without your express permission, and we promise not to, ahem, pepper you with email or make you eat spam. Click here for more details of our privacy promise.
Disclaimer. The information on this website is for educational purposes only. All material within comes without warranties of any kind. The authors are human and capable of mistakes, omissions, or errors, so we make no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or safety of the information. Under no circumstances are we liable for any damages that result from use of the site (so you can't sue us if you don't like a recipe or if you burn your tongue on hot ribs, OK?).
This link takes you to Amazon and tags anything you buy with a code so we get a referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. The best reasons to buy from Amazon are low prices, fast often free delivery, fair return policies, and often there is no sales tax. But clicking on that link before you shop helps us devote more time and money to you. Thanks!
Look At These AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal Winners
The prize for Best BBQ Tool at the 2012 The National Barbecue Association conference went to a simple inexpensive fridge magnet by Meathead. It includes the latest USDA recommendations as well as chef recommendations (and they often differ) as well as color photos of the different stages of doneness for red meats. The temperatures are the same for both indoor and outdoor cooks. Click here for more info and how to order it.
GrillGrates Take You To The Infrared Zone
GrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper. The base superheats, eliminates hot spots, and blocks flareups. This is the concept behind the expensive new infrared grills. A must for gas grills. Click here for more about GrillGrates.
The Smokenator: A Necessity For All Weber Kettles
If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more.
ThermoWorks Pocket Thermometer - No More Guessing
A good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight and pay for itself in a hurry. And it is inexpensive. Click here for more about thermometers.
Steakhouse Knives
These are the same knives used at the best steakhouses (Peter Luger, Smith & Wollensky, Morton's and others). Machine washable, temper-ground, serrated, high-carbon stainless-steel, full-tang blades with excellent cutting edge retention, beefy hardwood handle, rust and stain resistant, and they stay shiny without polishing. And now they have the AmazingRibs.com imprimatur. Click here for more info on these wonderful knives.
Donate to keep
this site free!
With a $30 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets. Click here for more info.
The prize for "Best BBQ Tool" at the 2012 The National Barbecue Association conference did not go to a fancy grilling gadget. It was a simple inexpensive, indispensable, refrigerator magnet by Yours Truly. Hey, I've always known I was a tool, now I'm the best tool!
This time the Obamas got it right. In March they gave the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his wife, a very cool gift, a $1,900 wood and charcoal-burning grill and smoker combo, made, where else, in Obama's home state, Illinois.
Since the beginning of time, cooking with fire has always meant a gathering the clan outdoors, and there is no more intimate assembly than hanging around the fire with the sweet smell of smoke and meat in the air, with a beer in hand, and loved ones at our table. It is as if we draw energy from the fire, as if the fire is the path to both sustenance of the body and the soul. As it was for our forbears, cooking for the clan, the burnt offering, becomes a religious ritual. And then we share the recipes.
To single guys
I want my meats tender, juicy, and flavorful, and I also want them safe. The temperature of the meat controls these things. You cannot tell by looking and feeling. You need a good instant-read meat thermometer and a good oven thermometer. Nothing will save you from apologizing to your guests and keep you from wasting money as well as good thermometers. Click here for my 
The ultimate barbecue turkey on any grill
Before you buy, check out the reviews in my 
Last Meal Ribs
Occasionally I hanker for something other than ribs. Check out my recipes for 
Here's what Barry Sorkin of 
Stuck indoors? Try these:
The best news is that you can make better ribs at home than any restaurant, even the hallowed temples of barbecue such as Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, Rendezvous in Memphis, and Kreuz Market in Lockhart Texas.
Hear Meathead 
AmazingRibs.com is all about the science and zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, and accessories. It is edited by 
About Product Reviews and Best Value Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. These are highly recommended products based on features, quality, and especially value. Rest assured that when we recommend a product, it is really because we like it, not because someone has paid us to say so because we do not accept advertising from products we review. We purchase many products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We have always been transparent about when we are reviewing a product sample, even before 
The prize for Best BBQ Tool at the 2012 The National Barbecue Association conference went to a simple inexpensive fridge magnet by Meathead. It includes the latest USDA recommendations as well as chef recommendations (and they often differ) as well as color photos of the different stages of doneness for red meats. The temperatures are the same for both indoor and outdoor cooks. 
With a $30 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets. Click here for 
