Why We Review BBQ Products

Reviewing BBQ products is my favorite thing to do, and here’s why. There is a plethora of products available to the grilling community; however the majority is mass marketed by the major manufacturers and food processors. Yet, some of the best products in the industry are produced by the small struggling manufacturer, sauce producers, and [...]

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Why We Review BBQ Products

Reviewing BBQ products is my favorite thing to do, and here’s why. There is a plethora of products available to the grilling community; however the majority is mass marketed by the major manufacturers and food processors. Yet, some of the best products in the industry are produced by the small struggling manufacturer, sauce producers, and rub producers. These small companies are at a large disadvantage with limited cash flow, production facilities and marketing tools.

All of my favorite BBQ tools, sauces, and rubs simply aren’t available at your local store; you have to find them on the internet. The challenge with that is which item or items to purchase without the benefit of knowing a thing about the product other than the description on the site. Let’s face it everybody is proud of what they produce, and I’m sure a lot of it’s good.

We review food items using the following guidelines listed below:

Ingredients: We’ll list all of the ingredients as listed on the label, so you know what it’s made up of so that you can make an informed decision on whether these ingredients meet your dietary needs.

Aroma: Aromatics are very important in BBQ and they aren’t always the same before and after the cook. During the cooking stage the ingredients have a chemical change that more often than not is different than from the raw state. Thus, making it very important to rate.

Appearance and Texture: We’ll describe how the product looks; color, thickness, graininess or smooth. We’ll be your eyes, nose and taste buds.

Taste Straight Up: We’re going to tell you in a no non-sense way how the product performs.

Flavor Profile: Is it spicy, mild, sweet, well balanced; you’ll have a pretty good idea if this particular product is something you and our family will enjoy.

Heat: I’m personally into heat if it’s correctly balanced with other flavors, we’ll let you know where we think the level of heat falls.

In Summary: By the end of the testing process, we will summarize our findings and give you our final recommendations on the product.

All in all, BBQ like a Pro reviews BBQ products to keep the general public informed of the advantages and disadvantages on as many BBQ products as we can. When we test a product it’s not paid advertisement by the company. In fact, in most cases it’s a cost to us to review a product.

And if you’re wondering, we also review BBQ equipment and accessories for our viewers. However, they fall under different guidelines and we take them through a rigid testing process. Because when it comes to trying to make an informed decision on what to BBQ items to purchase turn to BBQ Like a Pro, we’re your BBQ authority.

We enjoy supporting the small entrepreneur and enjoy introducing their products to the general public. We equally enjoy reviewing these products so the consumer can make an informed decision.

 

Happy Queing,

The Que Dude

How to Season a New Grill and The First Cook

Weber 27" Kettle Grill

I recently received my new Weber 27” Kettle Grill. Before I cook on it, the first thing I need to do is to season it. What do I mean by seasoning a new grill? When you receive your new grill from the manufacturer or dealer, there are always impurities due to the building process that are unwanted and potentially harmful.

Preparing briquettes in a chimney to start seasoning process.

Preparing briquettes in a chimney to start seasoning

To “season” the grill and remove the impurities, residue and residual metals by building a fire as if you were going to barbecue and bring the temperature up to about 350˚ and hold at that temperature for 3-4 hours. When the fire is completely out, remove all of the ash, and wipe down your cooking grate and lid with a clean throw away towel, and you’re ready to cook.

Before you plan to have guests over for a Backyard Barbecue or hosting a Tailgate Party. Use it a few times first. Whatever sticks will give you a nice, even coating of carbon. This is the secret to a non-stick Grill as well as the starting point for serving up tender, juicy meats that fall right off the bone. Season your grill correctly and soon you will be Barbecuing Like A Pro.

Pork Steaks

Pork Steaks

In breaking in my new grill, I decided to go with pork steaks. Pork seems to be a little more forgiving, and with a marinade and a lite rub not only does it make for a tasty main course. I took a picture after the cooking process to show you the meat particles left on the grate, however, it was a little late. Don’t freak out if your meat tears that’s normal for the first few cooks. As you use the grill more frequently, your grill will become more seasoned and unless you do something wrong sticking meat shouldn’t be a problem.

In summary, when purchasing a new grill you tend to be so excited that you assemble the grill and cook. That’s a big mistake, take the time to season your grill properly & correctly and cook a few times before you invite guests over and you’ll have a much better experience with your new grill.

Happy Queing,

The Que Dude

BBQ Like A Pro Returns

Taking a leave of absence from my BBQ Like A Pro blog was a very difficult thing to do, but it was something that I needed to do. Numerous unexpected personal issues altered my life in a way that I wouldn’t wish on anyone and thus it was necessary to step away from the blog in order to deal with everything.

I’m feeling much better now and am ready to recommit myself to my all things BBQ. The stress that I’ve endured these passed 6 months has presented road blocks and temptations to me in which I regrettably participated in most, none illegal of course, all potentially altering my health in a negative way.

I can’t dwell on what’s been happening to me rather I’ve simply made a choice to move forward. I thank everybody who’s been following both my blog and twitter, and ask that you continue to as well my Facebook page. In the upcoming days and weeks to come, you’ll notice some changes on the blog in order to make it more social and community oriented.

I’m ending my first returning blog with just a few things that I’m grateful for. I’d like to thank you one more time for following me and request that you not only continue to follow me, but you ask your friends and family to follow me as well. Together we can overcome this.

Things I’m Grateful For In My Life:

  1. I’m grateful for having such a wonderful and supportive family.
  2. I’m grateful for my friends who have stood by me thru my time of need.
  3. I’m grateful for my to incredible adult kids whom I Love dearly.
  4. I’m grateful for God giving me the strength to get to the place I am now.
  5. I’m grateful for only weighing 306 considering the binge eating I’ve done.

 

Happy Queing,

The Que Dude

Grill Mats Reviewed

Grilling is a living and a way of life for me. I love every aspect of barbecuing, mostly because of the challenges and the unforeseen obstacles that can occur on a regular basis. One of the biggest challenges everyone encounters is trying to not lose those smaller items your grilling through your grill grates. Luckily for us there are products to help us with this very challenge.

I was sent a sample to review called Frogmats that’s designed to prevent smaller food items from falling through your grill grates. Here’s some background information & benefits for the Frogmats:

Frogmats

We have all experienced the frustration of grilling delicate foods on the BBQ. The food immediately sticks to the grates and tears or crumbles when you try to turn it. The food falls through the openings in the grate and you have one big mess. Frogmats solve this problem. Food will not stick to the Frogmats and is easy to turn without crumbing. Frogmats are great for preparing fish and Ka Bobs. Fish will lift off the Frogmats with ease as does the vegetables in Ka Bobs. The open matrix of the Frogmats will eliminate to a large degree any food from falling through the grates. The Frogmats will not pick up odors from fish; therefore each time it is used there will be no leftover taste. Frogmats are designed to perform in indirect cooking methods. Do not expose the Frogmats to direct flame. Our Frogmats are FDA compliant for direct food contact. These are easy to clean with a warm water spray by the outdoor hose or in the kitchen with sink sprayer. The Frogmats will last for years.

After receiving the Frogmats, a few days later, I found another product called Grill-O-Sheet at one of those big hardware box stores that was similar to the Frogmats. Here’s some background info & benefits for the Grill-O-Sheet:

Grill-O-Sheet

With the Grill-O-Sheet you’ll always have a clean cooking surface. It will keep food from falling through your grill grates. You can eat healthy fish and veggies delicious from the grill. The Grill-O-Sheet will cook your food evenly. It’s reusable and can be used several times over. It’s also dishwasher safe.

 

So as you can see, both products pretty much claim to give you the same benefits so I was eager to try these two grill mats to see which one would be the better of the two products. I purchased the Grill-O-Sheet and decided that I’d do a head-to-head comparison test on both grill mats.

The meat, equipment and settings to be used:

Testing Procedure

Both mats were loaded into the smoker at the same time with the internal smoker temperature at 238 degrees. As I checked on the progress, the Grill O-Sheet appeared to be cooking the food faster, though it was unevenly cooking the food. However, the Frogmats were lagging behind in the cooking department though that allowed the food to cook more evenly.

Grill-O-Sheet

The wings on the Grill-O-Sheet finished in approximately 75 minutes with an internal temperature of 165 degrees. I attribute the fast cooking time due to the fact the Grill-O-Sheets are made out of aluminum which is a heat conductor.

Frogmats

The wings on the Frogmats were a little more than halfway cooked at the time I removed the test wings on the Grill-O-Sheet. After just under 2½ hours, I removed the wings that were on the Frogmats so you can see the discrepancy in cooking time for these grill mats.

Here’s what I learned from this head-to-head comparison testing:

Frogmats

Frogmats Pros Rating: ★★★★½

  • It is 10”x13” in size and only costs $8.99 + shipping & handling.
  • The wings were evenly covered with color and took on a nice smoke flavor.
  • It was easy to clean & could do so in a matter of a minute or less.
  • It’s very durable and should last you for many uses.
  • The holes in the mat are smaller totally eliminating loss of food between the grill grates.
  • It’s able to be rolled up for butts or roasts.
  • It can be cut to size with standard scissors.

Frogmats Cons

  • It has a smaller cooking surface, although they’re possibly available in different sizes.
  • It’s for indirect cooking only.
  • Its cooking time was longer, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Grill-O-Sheet

Grill-O-Sheet Pros Rating: ★★★½☆

  • You get 2 sheets that are 12”x20” in size and only cost $6.99.
  • It can be used for both direct and indirect cooking.
  • It’s able to be rolled up for butts or roasts.
  • It can be cut to size with standard scissors.

Grill-O-Sheet Cons

  • The cooking time was too fast, compromising quality in color, smoke and tenderness.
  • It doesn’t clean as easily as the company claims. It took some hard scrubbing to get all the skin off of it.
  • It’s actually only good for a couple of uses and then you have to dispose of them.

Our Conclusion

If you’re a every once-in-a-while backyard griller or just need a grill mat that you can just throw out afterwards, Grill-O-Sheet would get the vote for which one to choose ONLY due to its cheaper price. However, if it were me, I would still use Frogmats no matter what due to how superior they were to the Grill-O-Sheet based on our tests.

We rated the Frogmats hands down the better buy than Grill-O-Sheet as it is far superior in all categories. Even the extra time the wings on the Frogmats spent on the smoker was well worth the wait. They had great color, incredible smoke flavor and by far those wings were the tenderest to the bite.

Happy Queing,

The Que Dude

BBQ Grilling For One

My wife and kids recently went out of town for the weekend and in doing so I was afforded some well deserved me time. The first thing that came to my mind was dinner, but what would I have exactly? I felt like a grilled rib eye, but didn’t want to fire up the Weber for just me.

I didn’t let that stop me from having my grilled steak dinner, I simply pulled out my chimney starter, threw about 7 or 8 briquettes in it and lit it like you would for any other BBQ. Second, I grabbed a rack to put on my chimney starter. Keep in mind that it doesn’t really matter what size as long as it covers the chimney plus a little room to move your food around in the event of flare-ups.

The Dinner Menu
Rib Eye Steak
Corn on the Cob
Potato Wedges

I quartered the potatoes length wise, oiled them up with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and placed it on the chimney grill.

While waiting for my coals to get to the proper temperature so that I could cook my steak properly (about 500°), I took my corn on the cob peeled back the husk without removing it all the way. I then cleaned the silk from the corn and re-covered the stalk of corn completely with the husk and soaked the corn in water making sure it’s completely submerged for about 15 minutes.

I drained the corn of most of its moisture and set on the grill next to the potatoes, rotating frequently both the corn and potatoes to prevent any burning. Potatoes take longer to cook so I left them on while I pulled the corn off to the side to keep it warm, while yet stopping the cooking process.

Meanwhile, the star of the dinner would be my rib eye and I seasoned it then put the steak directly on the center of the chimney grill for about 4 minutes on one side and 2-3 minutes on the other side leaving me with a perfect medium-rare steak.

Overall, my dinner cost me less than $6.00 and if you don’t already have a chimney starter, this little set-up would only cost you between $20 and $25 at your local hardware or BBQ store. It’s great for college students, going to the park; I’ve even used it at work. Anyone can grill whether you’re on a full size grill or find yourself alone when you can just pull out a trusty chimney grill.

Note: All chimneys are bottomless, thus creating a major fire hazard. To prevent any kind of fire hazard problems, make sure you place a baking sheet or something metal underneath your chimney starter and be aware of where you place it as the baking sheet will get hot.

Happy Queing,

The Que Dude

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