A cooler of raw patties, ninety-four degree heat, and the cast iron press that saved my reputation as the reunion's grill man.
I've smashed more burgers, pressed more bacon, and cleaned more cast iron with this thing than I can count. Here's what actually holds up after two summers of real use.
Dale puts the Cuisinart cast iron grill press head to head with the old foil-wrapped brick trick, on the same griddle, over the same six weeks, to see which one actually belongs in your grilling kit.
Six years of Tuesday night burgers and church potlucks taught me what actually matters when you're smashing beef flat. Here's the honest list.
A cooler of raw patties, ninety-four degree heat, and the cast iron press that saved my reputation as the reunion's grill man.
No more shrunk-up, curled bacon that cooks in the middle before the edges even color. Here's the exact method I use every Sunday.
Nobody hands you the fine print before you buy one of these, so here's the version I wish somebody had given me, cons and all.
I bought a pair of Bear Paw meat claws in May and put them through every reunion, potluck, and Saturday smoke this summer. Here's what held up and what didn't.
Dale puts the classic two-fork trick up against a pair of Bear Paws claws on the same pork butt, same day, same smoker, to see which one actually saves your hands.
After more pork butts than I can count, here's why a pair of Bear Paw meat claws lives in my smoker drawer year round.
Two forks, a foil pan, and sixty hungry people at First Baptist taught me a lesson I should have learned twenty years earlier.
A step-by-step method for going from smoked pork butt to a full pan of pulled pork in under fifteen minutes, without burning your hands or shredding it into mush.
No affiliate fluff, no five-star everything. Here's exactly where a thirteen dollar pair of plastic claws earns a permanent spot in my grill cart, and where I still reach for two forks instead.
I ran through more than a case of these Grill Gourmet cedar planks between May and September. Here's what held up, what surprised me, and what I'd tell you before you order a pack.
I've grilled salmon both ways more times than I can count. Here's what actually ends up on the plate, and which method I reach for depending on the night.
Why a stack of cedar boards has become the one thing standing between me and dried-out, fish-stuck-to-the-grate salmon.
It took one embarrassing reunion dinner and a twelve-pack of cedar planks to change how I cook fish for good.
Dale's step-by-step method for moist, smoky grilled salmon using cedar planks, soak time and all.
Nobody tells you about the smoke alarm, the warped board, or the fact that half a pack ends up in the trash. Here's what I wish somebody had told me before I bought my first stack of these.
I went through most of a 175-foot roll of Bryco Goods pink butcher paper this year, one packer brisket at a time. Here's what held up, what surprised me, and where it fell short.
Dale settles the wrap debate for good, brisket by brisket, cookout by cookout.
I fought the stall with foil for over a decade before my neighbor talked me into pink butcher paper. Here's everything it fixed that foil never could.
Fifteen years of wrapping brisket in foil, undone by one Fourth of July. Here's what changed my mind about paper for good.
The stall doesn't have to cost you your bark. Here's the exact fold and timing I use on every brisket that goes on my offset smoker.
Nobody tells you about the dispenser box, the smell in your kitchen drawer, or the fact that paper alone won't save a bad wrap. Here's what I wish someone had told me before I bought my first roll.
A year ago my kitchen counter looked like a crime scene every time I carved a roast. Here's what actually changed once I put a real juice groove board to work.
I carved a fifteen-pound brisket on both boards the same weekend, back to back, same knife, same rest time. Here's what actually happened to the juice, and which board earned the spot next to my smoker for good.
After ruining one too many countertops on brisket night, here's why I won't carve anything without a deep juice groove under the knife anymore.
It took a 19-pound turkey, a slick kitchen floor, and my mother-in-law's face to finally get me off that flimsy plastic cutting board.
A step-by-step method for slicing brisket against the grain without losing all that hard-earned juice to the counter.
Everybody online is gushing about the juice groove. Nobody's telling you about the oiling schedule, the knife marks, or which board in the set you'll actually reach for.
I've smashed more burgers, pressed more bacon, and cleaned more cast iron with this thing than I can count. Here's what actually holds up after two summers of real use.
Nobody hands you the fine print before you buy one of these, so here's the version I wish somebody had given me, cons and all.
I bought a pair of Bear Paw meat claws in May and put them through every reunion, potluck, and Saturday smoke this summer. Here's what held up and what didn't.
No affiliate fluff, no five-star everything. Here's exactly where a thirteen dollar pair of plastic claws earns a permanent spot in my grill cart, and where I still reach for two forks instead.
I ran through more than a case of these Grill Gourmet cedar planks between May and September. Here's what held up, what surprised me, and what I'd tell you before you order a pack.
Nobody tells you about the smoke alarm, the warped board, or the fact that half a pack ends up in the trash. Here's what I wish somebody had told me before I bought my first stack of these.
I went through most of a 175-foot roll of Bryco Goods pink butcher paper this year, one packer brisket at a time. Here's what held up, what surprised me, and where it fell short.
Nobody tells you about the dispenser box, the smell in your kitchen drawer, or the fact that paper alone won't save a bad wrap. Here's what I wish someone had told me before I bought my first roll.
A year ago my kitchen counter looked like a crime scene every time I carved a roast. Here's what actually changed once I put a real juice groove board to work.
Everybody online is gushing about the juice groove. Nobody's telling you about the oiling schedule, the knife marks, or which board in the set you'll actually reach for.
