Gear
Father’s Day Gift Ideas 2015
Father’s Day already? You know the drill. Mom gets breakfast in bed. Dads get to cook dinner for everybody standing next to a hot smoky grill.
Not that we mind, for few things bring any dad more pleasure than grilling for his family or tribe.
And nothing thrills more than acquiring new gear for the grill.
So here’s our annual dream Father’s Day gift list—complete with some of our best advice for grilling. Beats the hell out of bedroom slippers and neckties.
Keep it clean with our New Ultimate Grill Brush: You’re more likely to win the lottery or be struck by lightning. Nevertheless, there is a small but well-publicized risk of ingesting a stray bristle from a grill brush while eating barbecue. So we redesigned the Ultimate Grill Brush to make it even more ultimate: the brass and stainless steel bristles now come twisted between two strands of stiff wire. Each strand is tested to more than 20 pounds of pressure.
Stay cool in the hot zone: Live fire cooking exposes you to searing heat, flying sparks, scorching metal, and of course, hot food. The following are designed to protect that special guy in your family—don’t let him grill without them.
- Best of Barbecue Suede Grilling Gloves: These handsome oversize black and orange suede grilling gloves protect both your hands and forearms from heat and fire. Voted tops by Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
- Best of Barbecue Insulated Food Gloves: These cotton-lined rubberized gloves are one of our best sellers! Indispensible for “uncanning” beer can chickens, moving briskets, and shredding hot pork shoulders.
- Best of Barbecue Pit Mitt: Woven from the super-fiber Aramid (developed by the aerospace industry), this glove withstands temperatures of up to 475 degrees. Perfect for handling screaming hot chimney starters, smoking planks, and super-heated salt slabs.
- Best of Barbecue Meat Claws: Pull too-hot-to-handle pork and lamb butts, beef chuck, or chicken with ease using these efficient Meat Claws.
Keep it lubricated: A well-oiled grill grate prevents sticking of course, and it also gives you better grill marks. Oiling just got easier with our Best of Barbecue Grill Oiler. Fill it the reservoir with vegetable oil, lift the yellow vent cap, prime the heatproof silicone bristles in the drip tray, and efficiently oil a wide swathe of grill grate in a single pass. A metal heat shield protects your hand from the fire.
Make no mis-steak: Every man should know how to grill a great steak to the desired degree of doneness. Here are three tools that can help:
- The only crime worse than undercooking a steak is overcooking it. Individual Best of Barbecue Steak Buttons keep you on point whether you’re aiming for rare, medium-rare, or a medium-well. These reusable thermometer probes come four to a package.
- Season steak like a master using our Best of Barbecue Steak Rub. (Yeah, it contains three different kinds of pepper.) Use just before grilling, or apply it up to an hour ahead for a great crust.
- Sharp and hefty, our Best of Barbecue Steak Knives (coupled, perhaps, with some monster thick rib-eyes) is one gift that will never get re-gifted. Serrated blades and polished pakkawood handles let steak lovers know you mean business.
Man up and cook: Every self-respecting man should possess a select repertory of skills not just at the grill, but at the kitchen. Shuck an oyster? Steam a lobster? Cook up a kick-ass pot of chili? Man Made Meals (Workman Publishing, 2014) has you covered. This is a must-have book crammed with more than 300 recipes and essential techniques.
Get schooled at Barbecue University: Give dad the ULTIMATE grilling gift this Father’s Day: a gift certificate for Barbecue University, 2016: It’s an unforgettable experience—three amazing days of smoking and grilling on our more than 30 grills and smokers at the supremely luxurious Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Yes, there will be time off to play the resort’s three world class golf courses. For more information, contact the Broadmoor at 855-634-7711. Hey, maybe dad will bring his family!