Last Minute Gift Ideas and Thermapen Giveaway!

Every year I compile a list of the best Christmas gifts for the griller in your life.   Granted in a majority of the country it is snowing, but if your friends, spouses or children are anything like me, they grill all year long.  So here is my list of must have grilling wares for 2014.  Remember there is still time to purchase all of these items in time for Christmas!  Make sure that your favorite outdoor cook has all of the wares to make you the best meal possible.  These gifts are not just for your favorite griller, they are for you too! You can never underestimate the power of a perfectly cooked steak.

Must Have Grilling Gift Guide 2014 Edition

10. Oxo Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Tongs – $14.95

• Never underestimate a good set of tongs.  These puppies are 16 inches long.  The perfect size for grilling.  No more singeing your knuckle hair trying to flip that steak on the back part of the grill.  Oxo makes a sturdy and lockable set of tongs.

9.  Thermoworks Dot Probe Thermometer – $39.00

• Everyone needs a digital probe thermometer that you can leave in food and monitor it.  Especially when cooking larger cuts of meat.  That way you can monitor the internal temperature without having to open the lid of the grill/smoker/oven.  The Thermoworks Dot Probe thermometer goes into the meat at the beginning of cooking and will sound an alarm when the meat hits the right temperature.  Getting this will take the guessing game out of barbecuing.  On a side note – it works great for roasting meats too.  Try it next year when you are cooking your turkey. This durable probe thermometer is durable, splashproof and affordable.

8. Wide Skewers – $19.10

• Nothing sucks more than turning skewers and having the food rotate so that even though you turned the skewer, the food never flipped.  Quick solution, wide skewers.  Great for veggies, chicken, tomatoes, scallops, etc…  Pretty much anything.  This set of 4 is 5/8ths inch wide.  Yep, almost a sword for you to skewer your meal.

7. Chimney Starter – $14.99

• There are a ton of cheap chimney starters out there.  I have found the best deal on a Weber Chimney starter.  You may say, “Hey Rex they have chimney starters over at my big box retailer for $7.99″  Go get that one, but you will be sorry.  They are cheap and flimsy and when you have 1000 degree hot coals in your hands the last thing you want is cheap and flimsy.  Trust me.  Spend the extra $5 and get a nice sturdy one.  BTW – this exact starter retails for $19-29 at the big box stores.

6. LED Grill Light – $27.95

• Not all of us get to have sweet hours at work.  So sometimes we have to grill when it is a little dark out.  I own this exact light and it is bright and it also allows you to focus the light where you need it.  Secondly, it clamps onto a shelf or it can be attached with the built-in magnets.  I use it on my Weber with the magnets and clamp it to the wooden shelves on my smoker.

5. Stainless Steel Seasoning Injector w/2 Stainless Needles – $17

• This injector solves all of life’s mysteries.  Ok, maybe not, but it includes two needles.  One for liquid injecting and one for herb injecting.  I ran into this problem on Thanksgiving, where we wanted to inject the deep fried turkey with a mixture of herbs and spices, and then the injector holes kept clogging up.  We then had to switch to an all liquid marinade.  You wouldn’t want to be on an all liquid diet, neither would a turkey for its last meal.  Pick up this injector and surprise the turkey with a meal full of herbs and spices,  you will enjoy it too.

4. Grill Daddy Grate Brush – $19.98

• A clean grill is a happy grill.  Brush off the big particles but leave some of the grease.  Using grill cleaners is a no-no, but so is trying to grill over the crust of barbecued chicken.  Using a heavy duty brush like this grill daddy grate brush you will clean the grates of solid material, but leave the flavor that you have so hardly worked for behind.  Added bonus, this brush has replaceable heads so that when you wear it down, you only have to buy a replacement brush head instead of buying a whole brush.  Yep, its green and it saves money.  Secondly, the two hand grips on the brush handle give you optimal force to clean the grill.

3. Weber One Touch Gold Charcoal Grill – $149.99

• There is no better grilling gift than a new charcoal grill.  When it comes to charcoal grills, nobody beats Weber.  This grill has the one touch control, ash catcher, lid thermometer and best of all flip up grates.  This is by far the Cadillac of charcoal grills.

2. Grill Grates – $39.99 and Up

• Perfect grill marks are something that all grillers aspire to get.  They are super simple with grill grates.  These aluminum grill grates sit right on top of your current grates and super charge your grill into a searing and grill mark machine.  Check out my grill grate review here.

1. Thermoworks Thermapen – $96

• When you are cooking a pork butt, beer can chicken or any sort of bbq it is best to know when it is done.  The best way to do that is to use a thermometer.  The Thermoworks Thermapen is super fast and super reliable.  I use one all of the time when I do competition barbecue.  It is the best tool that I own.  It takes a reading in just 3 seconds.  That time is super important when you are grilling.  You don’t want to burn off the hair on your fingers and arms trying to hold an ordinary thermometer in the meat for 15-20 seconds.  Check out this brilliant infographic that completely justifies the cost of this amazing device.
• http://www.thermoworks.com/pdf/meat_cost_infographic_a.pdf

Side Note – Most of the items above are available for Amazon Prime.  There is a free trial right now, basically during the trial period, all items eligible ship 2-day air for free or you can pay $3.99 for overnight shipping.  Click here to sign up.

Hope this helps find the perfect gift for the griller in your life.

Thermoworks Thermapen Giveaway!

Register below for your chance at winning a Thermapen valued at $96. The great people over at Thermoworks have provided us with one thermapen to give away. One lucky person will be randomly drawn on Friday December 12. The winner will receive a free Thermapen delivered hopefully in time for Christmas.
There are 6 ways to be entered! Enter just 1 or enter all 6. It is up to you.
Entry 1 – Signup below and click enter me and tell us what color thermapen you would like! (Email or Facebook required to enter. We need to know how to contact the winner.)
Entry 2 – Follow @SavoryReviews on Twitter!
Entry 3 – Follow @RexBBQ on Twitter!
Entry 4 – Tweet that you entered into the giveaway!
Entry 5 – Visit SavoryReviews on Facebook and become a fan!
Entry 6 – Leave a blog comment.

-Rex