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9 Practical Tips to Build a Better Campfire
No overnight camping trip is complete without a campfire. When the sun begins to set, you can gather around the campfire for light and warmth while also using it to cook meals. But building an effective campfire requires more than...
How to Prevent Your Smoked Meat From Drying Out
Smoking is the preferred cooking method for meat by many seasoned and experienced pitmasters. When compared to grilling, smoking typically offers better flavor and increased tenderness. Whether you're cooking steaks, ribs, pork chops, fish, chicken or a brisket, you can't...
Turning Up the Heat: How to Make Your Grill Hotter
Grilling is a popular way to cook steaks, hamburgers, pork chops and chicken because of its ability to sear the exterior of meat. When you grill meat, the heat from the burning charcoal or wood will sear the exterior, thereby...
7 Awesome Fire Pit Tips and Tricks
A fire pit is an essential component of an attractive patio or outdoor living space. It serves as a focal point while offering a container in which you can build fires. Whether it's spring, summer, fall or winter, you'll probably...
11 Tips for Telling the Perfect Campfire Story
Since the beginning of humankind, people have gathered around campfires to tell stories. It's a fun activity that brings friends and family together. Regardless of age or gender, everyone enjoys listening to a good campfire story. Like any art form,...
Is It Normal for a Smoker to Leak Smoke? Here's What You Should Know
Does your smoker leak smoke? If so, you might be worried that it will affect the flavor, tenderness and overall quality of your food. This is a common concern shared by countless pitmasters. In this post, we're going to explain...
What's the Best Kind of Wood for a Pizza Oven?
According to a recent survey, pizza is America’s favorite food. Consisting of round baked dough topped with sauce, cheese, meat and veggies, it’s an incredibly versatile dish that can be prepared in countless ways. However, you’ll need two things to...
How to Prevent Creosote in Your Chimney
When using your fireplace, you'll need to take precautions to prevent creosote buildup. A fireplace is an invaluable feature that can offset the need for central heating in your home. Statistics show, however, that there are roughly 25,000 chimney fires...
How Brining Can Enhance the Flavor of Your Smoked Meats
Smoked meat offers a delicious flavor and pull-apart tenderness that's not achieved using other cooking methods like grilling or baking. As your smoking chunks heat up, they'll release flavorful smoke that's absorbed into the meat. While using the right smoking...
Campfire Cooking: 7 Tips to Follow When Cooking Over a Campfire
Ask any seasoned camper and he or she will likely agree: Food tastes better when it's cooked outdoors over a campfire rather than indoors on the stove or in the oven. Unfortunately, many people are unfamiliar with campfire cooking, resulting...
How to Season Your New Grill or Smoker
Congratulations on your decision to purchase a new grill or smoker! It's a smart investment that will open the doors to a new world of culinary activities. Before using your new grill or smoker, though, it's recommended that you season...
Barbecuing vs Grilling vs Smoking: What’s the Difference?
Barbecuing, grilling and smoking and three of the most popular methods for cooking meat. While they can all be used to cook delicious meals, though, they aren't necessarily the same. Each cooking technique offers unique qualities to meat. So, what's...
A Pitmaster’s Guide to the 5 Cuts of Steak
Nothing beats a delicious grilled steak cooked with a flavorful variety of wood or smoking chunks. If you're trying to achieve a seared, semi-crispy exterior, you should still use charcoal in your grill or smoker. Adding just a small amount...
How to Smoke Cheese (Without Burning or Melting It)
You can use your smoker or charcoal grill to smoke more than just meats. Along with beef, pork, chicken, fish and other meats, you can also smoke cheese. Assuming you use a flavorful variety of smoking chunks, it will produce...
Horizontal or Vertical Smoker: Which Should I Choose?
The right smoker will allow you to smoke delicious meats and veggies at a low temperature using flavorful wood, such as smoking chunks. While there are over a dozen brands of smokers available on the market, most can be classified...
The Ultimate Guide to Making the Best S'mores
Summer has arrived, which means s'more season is officially in full swing. Roasting marshmallows over an open fire consistently triggers great memories. Because of that, we've brought together the ultimate guide to making the best s'mores. When you make s'mores...
7 Essential Safety Tips to Follow When Using a Gas Grill
Although they lack the delicious flavor of their charcoal- or wood-fire counterparts, some people prefer gas grills because they offer greater control over the temperature. Using the temperature knob, you can raise or lower the heat to achieve the perfect...
The Barbecue Stall: How to Prevent and Overcome the Stall When Smoking Meat
Have you encountered the dreaded "stall" when smoking meat? While most commonly associated with thick, fatty cuts of meat, such as beef briskets, stalls can wreak havoc on your barbecuing activities. When a stall occurs, the internal temperature of your...
What Is Reverse Searing? And How Do It Cook Steaks Using This Technique?
Touted by many world-renown chefs as being the best way to cook steaks, reverse searing has become increasingly popular in recent years. This alternative cooking technique combines both low-heat and high-heat cooking to offer truly mouthwatering steaks. Whether you're cooking...
How to Prevent Flare-Ups When Grilling
Does your grill erupt into a towering fireball whenever you add meat or veggies to the cooking grate? Known as a flare-up, it's a common problem encountered by home chefs. While flare-ups are only temporary -- meaning the flame dies...
How to Clean Ash Out of Your Grill
Whether you use charcoal, cooking wood, smoking chunks or any combination thereof, your grill accumulate ash each time you cook on it. Unfortunately, you can't just leave this ash sitting in the bottom of your grill. If you cook on...