Top Grilling Gifts

Every Friday I usually list the events occurring in DC over the weekend.  But with Christmas so close I had to take a break and list the top gadgets and presents for home grillers.  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 2009.

Must Have Grilling Gift Guide 2009 Edition

10. Oxo Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Tongs – $14.99

• 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.  Cedar Barbecue Planks – $14.99

• Go gourmet this season with grilled cedar plank salmon.  Yeah, you see that.  Requires cedar planks.  Hmm, maybe you should get some cedar planks so that you can make cedar plank salmon.  What a great idea.  I will take 2.

8. Wide Skewers – $15.32

• 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 – $13.09

• 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. 2 In 1 Grill Light – $9.99

• 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 – $30

• 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 – $17.75

• 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. Taylor Digital Cooking Probe Thermometer/Timer – $15.99

• 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 Taylor 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.

2. Custom Grill Grates – $29.95 and Up

• Thanks to Chris over at NibbleMeThis for showing me these awesome custom grill grates.  Make grates that have the family crest or last name.  Have grates made that support your favorite team or even your favorite sport.  This could be the perfect gift of the season.  Customizable and full of character.  You could win best gift this year with this one.  Not that it is a competition, but we all know it is.

1. Weber 3751001 Genesis E-320 Propane Gas Grill, Black – $699

• A little steep in price but can you put a price on love.  You have no idea how much this gift will mean to a person.  There are grills, then there are Weber Grills.  They are built tough, cook evenly, and have great temperature control.  The must have for a person needing a new grill.  Other grills may be cheaper but you will have to replace them every two years.  A Weber is built so well, you may never have to buy another grill.

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.

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

-Rex