Essential BBQ Gear
You've got that grill, flat top, off set or pellet grill and you want to start cooking. Here are some of the other essential things you'll need to product delicious food and be the envy of your friends and neighbors
Pellets
If you're using a pellet grill, the number one thing you'll need are pellets. There are two types of pellets on the market. The first type uses the actual hardwood from the name. If the bag says Apple, then the pellets are made from Apple Wood. The second type uses a standard base wood (like alder) and then adds oils to give it the flavor. Always use pellets that are 100% hardwood - without flavors or fillers.
My go to pellets are Bear Mountain. You can order them on Amazon and get them delivered right to your door. They come in many types of wood so you can match the wood to the food you're cooking.
Pellet Holders
If you want to really elevate your BBQ flavors, you're going to want to match your pellet flavor to your meat. I use Oak for beef, Hickory for pork, and the fruit woods when I want a more mellow flavor. Switching pellets means you need a place to keep them.
You've got a couple options.
The first is to use food safe pickle buckets. These are good because they can store a lot of pellets. Buying the bigger bags can save money. Of all the buckets I've tried, I like these best because of the lid. It just feels like the buckets are closed better. Amazon Link
The other option I have and use are the pellet bins from Trager. They don't take up a lot of space, stack well, and fit under my trigger smoker for easy switching. The downside is they will only hold about 20 pounds so if you're buying bigger bags of pellets, have to watch out.
Thermometers
Having a good thermometer is probably the most essential piece of BBQ gear. The golder rule of good bbq is you cook to temp, never to time. Every smoker is different and every piece of meat is different. To know when your meat is done, you have to check its temperature.
You're going to want 3 different thermometers each for a different purpose.
First you'll want a probe thermometer. When cooking large pieces of meat like briskets and pork butts, you'll want to insert a probe thermometer and leave it there for the entire cook. My favorite probe thermometer is the Meater Pro XL. You get 4 probes for when you're cooking multiple items. The system is wireless using both Bluetooth and wifi, and you can watch the temps on your phone from anywhere. You can spend less and just get one or two, but I guarantee that as soon as you do, you'll wish you had 4.
The second thermometer you need is an instant read thermometer. This is useful for quick checks of anything you have cooking. It will temp food too small for a probe. They're easy to use, easy to ready and only take a second to get the temp of your food. I keep one next to my smoker at all times
The final thermometer is an infrared surface thermometer. It's essential for cooking on a griddle or flat top. I also use mine a lot when searing steaks on grill grate. It allows you to measure the actual surface and know if its hot enough