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All Buyer's Guides
AmazingRibs.com does not make or sell anything, but we love toys and we are happy to share our opinions of them.
Smoker Reviews & Ratings
 How To Buy A Smoker Overview
Charcoal Smokers
Egg, Kamado, Ceramic Grills/Smokers
Large Capacity, Restaurant & Trailer Smokers
Electric Smokers
Gas Smokers
Pellet Grills/Smokers
Stovetop Smokers
Pig Roasters
Wood Burning Pizza Ovens
Grill Reviews & Ratings
How To Buy A Grill Overview
The Differences Between Charcoal & Gas Grills
Charcoal Grill Reviews & Ratings
Egg, Kamado, Ceramic Grills/Smokers
Pellet Grills/Smokers
Gas Grills
Tailgate Grills & Portable Grills
Grills Gone Wild
More Reviews & Ratings
Thermometers & Thermostats
Barbecue Accessories
Kitchen Tools
Outdoor Kitchen Planning
Cookbooks, Magazines, Videos
Barbecue Sauces
Bar Necessities
Corkscrews
Funny Aprons, Hats, T-shirts, Tschotschkes
Meathead's Favorite Ingredients
Photography Gear
How We Review Products
We purchase many products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We make it clear in our reviews when we are working with a sample. Here's a key to our reviews.
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We have hands-on experience testing this product. We have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources.
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We have seen this product up close and we have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources.
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We have researched this product from afar by gathering info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources, with our BS meters on high.
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Reviewers
Many reviews are by Meathead, the author of most things on this website. In 2011 Scot Murphy and Gordon Hubbell joined him to help with the Buyer's Guides. The author of each product's review is named at the end of the writeup.
Best In BBQ Medals
 Best In BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are given only to products that we highly recommend based on price. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Price is an important factor. Rarely will a $400 Gold Medal be in the same league as an $800 Gold Medal, so it is important that you read the reviews. Rest assured that when we award a medal, it is because we are impressed by it for the price, not because someone has paid us to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. Manufacturers: Click here for permission to use these medals in ads and on packaging (there is no charge) and for info on how to get a high resolution version.
About Model Numbers
Manufacturers often make slight variations to their basic model exclusively for certain merchants. For example, a grill manufacturer might make their Firebrand Grill Model ABC123 with cast iron grates available only on Amazon. Meanwhile, the ABC125 is identical except it has stainless steel grates, and it is sold only at ACE Hardware. Of course the prices can differ.
Your Amazon Purchase Supports This Site
When a product is available on Amazon.com, we often provide a direct link. Amazon often has the best prices anywhere, even better than many manufacturers' websites because manufacturers know that if they undercut retailers like Amazon, they may drop the products. Amazon also offers fast delivery (often free), no sales tax (in most states), gift wrapping (on many items), and painless refund policies. Check out Amazon's Gift & Wish Registry .
Amazon pays AmazingRibs Inc. a small referral fee when you purchase from them after clicking on a link on this site, so purchasing from them helps underwrite the cost of operating AmazingRibs.com.
If you like all the info we give you for free and would like to help us buy charcoal, please copy the link below and save it. It takes you to Amazon.com and tags things you buy with the AmazingRibs code so we get that referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. http://tinyurl.com/3rlglce
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Seasoning and calibrating your grill or smoker with dry runs
The first thing to do after you assemble your new grill or smoker is to season it and calibrate it by doing a few dry runs without food. This will burn off any manufacturer's grease, and give you a sense for how to set it up to hit the two important target temps that almost all my recipes use: 225°F and 325°F.
Of course, in order to do this, you absolutely positively must have a good digital oven thermometer. I don't care how much you spent on your grill, the bi-metal dial thermometer that came with it is probably cheap and unreliable and likely to be off by as much as 50°F. Worse still, it is in the dome, and the temp down on the grate where the meat sits is much different. Like a musician, you must master your instrument to make great food.
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Buying Guide, Reviews, and Ratings for Whole Hog Pig Roasters
By Meathead
If you want to roast a whole hog, you can fit small animals onto an offset firebox smoker such as the ones on the Charcoal Smoker page of this Buyer's Guide.
Of course if you have a Commercial Smoker or Mobile Smoker, you can roast a pretty good sized pig. If you wish, you can build your own with this plan and by following this recipe.
There are also several companies making specialized whole pig roasters. Below are links to a few. For a good article on pig roasting, click here. Click here for another.
Click the red links for current pricing and more info.
The Cajun Microwave is a very cool tool, and very versatile. It can anlso be used as a grill, so I have written more about it on the Charcoal Grill Reviews page. It cooks the hog in an enclosed box with heat from above producing very moist meat and crispy skin, but no smoke.
A clever open air design with the coals in a tray that can be moved up and down on a scissor lift for temperature control. Made of stainless steel and aluminum, the scissor lift allows you to collapse it easily into a compact unit. It is powered by a 12 volt car battery with an inverter.
This is a metal lined plywood box in which you place a small, splayed pig. On goes the lid and the coals go on top of the lid turning the box into a hot oven. Cooks fast and maked very crispy skin but the meat does not get smoky or a grilled flavor. Perfect for backyard parties and luaus.
Simply a spit and motor mounted on a metal pan. What could be easier?
This is an really clever design. Built in Canada, this ingenious stainless steel propane fired device has a motorized rotisseries for hogs that can also be used to hold shelves ferris wheel style for cooking other foods. It is on large air filled tires so it can be moved easily, it has a cover so the meat cooks faster, the cover has windows so you can watch the food without opening, it has smoke boxes for added wood flavor, and a tray for carving over that doubles as a serving and warming tray and steam pan. They claim that it can roast a 60 pound pig in three hours, or a 100 pound pig in five hours on less than 20 pounds of propane.
A heavy duty freestanding spit and motor with two tripods that can cook a pretty large beast in open air. They sell some nifty accessories too.
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Read this before posting a comment please:
1) If you are looking for info, please use the table of contents or the search box, at the top of every page.
2) Don't ask me any questions that involve temp or time unless you tell me that you are using a digital thermometer! Bi-metal 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 me with your questions. Then, please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question. Like the type of cooker you are using. Remember, I am not a mind reader.
3) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and the buying checklists and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know. Pay attention to the awards I have given my faves. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than I could pick the right car or spouse for you.
4) If you have problems posting with Internet Explorer, please read this. If problems persist, send me a note.
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Important Info About This Website
 AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue 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 and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely 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 in BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are highly recommended products. Awards are based on features, quality, and 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 or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. We purchase most 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.
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 double every year. Advertising on AmazingRibs.com is a great way to build your brand or make direct sales. I keep a strict wall between editorial and advertising, so, for current pricing and availability of prime space, contact my 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 my 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?).
Copyright © 2011 by AmazingRibs, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, all text, recipes, photos, and code are owned by AmazingRibs, Inc and fully protected by US copyright law. This means you need written permission to republish or distribute anything on this website. But we're easy. To get reprint rights, click here. Note: Some photos of commercial products such as grills were provided by the manufacturers and under their copyright.
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Save this link to
keep this site free!
http://tinyurl.com/3usxwaj
This link takes you to Amazon and tags anything you buy with a code so I 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 me devote more time and money to you. Thanks!
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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.
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AmazingRibs.com Best in BBQ Gold Medal Winners
Here are three great products that have earned The AmazingRibs.com Best in BBQ Gold Medals. These are not ads!
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 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.
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