Meat Smoking & Grilling Gift Ideas – BBQ Guide Christmas 2024
Looking for the perfect BBQ gift for the outdoor cook in your life? This is my meat smoking and grilling gift guide that has everything the backyard barbecue enthusiast needs, no matter their experience or skill level.
Smokers
Electric Vertical Smoker
The most affordable way to break into the world of smoked meats with amazing results. With digital temperature control, 800 watts of cooking power, and a side wood chip loader, an electric smoker like this makes creating outstanding BBQ practically foolproof.
Pellet Smoker
For those who love the convenience of an electric smoker but want to elevate their smoking game, there is no more popular option that a quality pellet smoker. Pour in some pellets, set the temperature, and monitor your cook right from your phone.
Wood Burning Offset Smoker
For the true BBQ aficionado, you can’t get more authentic than a classic offset smoker. For the barkiest bark and the smokiest smoke ring, nothing beats a good ‘ol stick-burning offset.
Fire Management
Charcoal Chimney
Get your lump charcoal burning and up to temp quickly with a charcoal chimney. Also works great for briquettes and Dutch oven cooking.
Fire Starters
My favorite fire starters for quickly lighting up a chimney full of lump charcoal. These “bird’s nest” style starters light instantly and burn for up to 10 minutes.
BBQ Torch
If you prefer to skip the fire starters, a blow-torch is the way to go. Screw this baby onto a can of propane or MAPP gas, and you’re ready to start blazing.
Electric Bellows/Blower
This is the handiest tool I own for fire management in a small offset smoker. Quickly get your coals heated up, or get that next piece of wood burning almost instantly.
Cooking Tools
Probe Meat Thermometer System
A must-have if you want to achieve meat perfection. This probe system allows you to monitor 3 pieces of meat simultaneously, as well as the ambient temperature inside your cooker. And best of all, it comes with a separate wireless monitoring screen that you can keep with you in the house or out on the property so you always have an eye on your temps.
Extra Long Tongs
It’s no fun to reach across a screaming hot grill to arrange your meats. These extra-long tongs are a mainstay in my BBQ tool kit.
Stainless Steel Flipper
And since we’re on the topic of grill tools, this is my favorite flipper. Great for burgers, or anything you may ever want to cook on a flat-top.
Heat Resistant BBQ Gloves
Soon or later, you’re going to need to grab and move something hot. These heat-resistant gloves let you do just that, while having much more range of motion with your fingers than an old-fashioned oven mitt.
The Ultimate Grill Brush
This is my favorite style of grill brush for getting my grates extra, super clean. Give your grill grates a thorough scrub, wipe ’em down with some cooking oil, and those things will last forever.
Cold Smoking Tube
An optional but very handy smoking accessory to have on hand. A cold-smoking tube uses wood pellets to create a lot of smoke, but almost no heat. Perfect for cold-smoking cheeses, cured sausages, or anything else that needs to be smokey but not cooked.
Ingredients
Spice Rubs
There are a million great spice rubs out there, and this is a 5-pack that I highly recommend. The Rufus Teague seasoning set has a bunch of varieties to try that work great with beef, pork, chicken, or fish.
BBQ Sauce
And of course you need some good BBQ sauce. This sampler pack from Franklin BBQ has 3 different styles of sauces that will help you dial in the flavor profiles you like for the type of barbecue you’re doing.
Beef Tallow Spray
Grease those grill grates or blast that brisket with some genuine Wagyu beef tallow spray.
16 Mesh Coarse Black Pepper
Get that true Texas BBQ bark with genuine 16 mesh black pepper.
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
The preferred coarse salt preferred by pitmasters everywhere.
Wood & Pellets
Wood Chips
Electric smokers use wood chips to create the smokey flavors, and this is a perfect variety pack to help you find which kind of hardwood gives you the smokey taste you’re after. Includes apple, cherry, hickory, and mesquite wood chips.
Wood Chunks
If you’re using a small offset, or smoking with a direct-heat grill like a Weber, wood chunks are what you need. And while it is a lot more cost-effective to source your own wood splits and cut them down yourself, it is more convenient to buy a bag of oak chunks like these.
Wood Pellets
If pellet smoking (or cold smoking) is your game, check out this gift set of pure wood pellets. 8 different varieties to try out, depending on your choice of meat or desired flavor profile.
Manual Firewood Splitter
If you’d prefer to make your own splits, this splitter (with the help of a sledgehammer) makes very quick work of even the hardest woods. A very handy alternative to an old-fashioned splitting axe.
