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Perfectly cooking a steak on a stovetop requires science. Smoking a hunk of meat over a live fire requires instinct. Grilling is more art than efficiency, and for lovers of the form sparking one up is certainly more fun than turning on an oven. This year, we recommend gifting the grillers in your life something they can really use. We’re talking high-end smoker setups, thick cuts of beef begging to be charred, durable tools that can handle the workload, and more.
For the reliability and cooking uniformity of a Kamado ceramic charcoal grill, without the weight and immobility, reach for a Joe Jr. This portable version of the classic has 150 square inches of cooking space—13.5 inches across—and can easily be carried to tailgates or camping trips. The heat-resistant shell is still thick enough to precisely control the temperature inside, while locking in smoke and moisture, and a stainless-steel hinged grate allows you to add charcoal as you go.
Some people pass down their cufflinks; others pass down their spatulas. The Laguiole en Aubrac 4-Piece Grill Tool Set, available exclusively at Williams Sonoma, contains the kind of heirloom pieces you’ll want to keep in your family for generations. Handmade in France by solo craftsmen since 1829, Laguiole en Aubrac barbecue tools are forged from indestructible Sandvik stainless steel and are then riveted to grained wenge wood handles. This svelte, durable set includes a 17.75-inch knife, 17.75-inch fork, 15.75-inch tongs, 15.75-inch spatula, and a leather roll-up pouch to store them in.
There is a better way to cook veggies and shellfish on the grill than just setting them on pieces of aluminum foil. Lodge’s cast-iron grill basket allows you to effortlessly char-grill smaller items without the threat of them falling through the grates. The basket’s unique design includes teardrop holes cut out of the bottom of the pan. That way, live flames can still kiss your food and impart that singed flavor you love. The 12-inch cast iron basket has two easy-to-maneuver handles and an easy-release, even-heating finish that only gets better with age.
Drip EZ’s BBQ Prep Tub is a cutting board-meets-Tupperware container-meets-cooler. This multi-use plastic gadget starts out flat to act as a prep station cutting board (and for easy storage). Then it expands to a 20-inch-high tub with a detachable lid. You can marinate your meat in it like you would a large bowl, use it for applying dry rub while containing the mess, transport prepared ingredients to your grill via the carrying handles, and store stuff in it after cooking. Once cleaned, you can even fill it with ice and use it as a cooler.
If you’re working outside, you need a versatile set of knives. The Hammer Stahl BBQ Knife Set includes five, made of German-forged stainless steel, which could take on any job you may encounter. The set includes a 4.5-inch utility knife, six-inch boning knife, eight-inch chef’s knife, 10-inch slicer, and 10-inch curved scimitar, plus a handsome leather knife roll for easy transport to and from your prep station.
Bring the theatrics of an Argentine asado home with Kalamazoo’s Gaucho. This wood-fired grill has an attached 30-inch spoked wheel, which you spin to raise and lower the cooking rack to the flame. The grates have a vertical range of 28 inches, guaranteeing a precise cook. Gas burners get your fire roaring in less than five minutes. And the Gaucho includes a motorized, built-in rotisserie spit that’s hefty enough to hold an entire animal for roasting. It can be used simultaneously as you grill. And as shown above, you can integrate the grill into an impressive outdoor kitchen from Kalamazoo. Add a couple of bottles of Malbec to the dinner table and you’ve delivered dinner, drinks, and a show.
No matter how natural your fuel is—charcoal, briquettes, hardwood logs—you’ll inevitably have to introduce lighter fluid or toxic chemicals to get it ablaze. Enter the Looftlighter X Cordless, a rechargeable lighter that superheats air to 1,200 degrees F in 60 seconds and then blasts it onto your fuel of choice to spark it up. After ignition, the all-electric device can be switched to “air mode” to quickly fan the flames, boosting heat, and glow.
If you’re grilling after dark, you need to create your own light, both for vetting your cook and protecting your eyebrow hair. Flashlights are cumbersome, head lamps destroy your coif. BBQ Dragon’s snake-like grill lights clamp onto any type of cooker and their super bright LED lamps can be twisted and positioned to illuminate every corner of your cooking surface.
No other cut of beef wows like the tomahawk ribeye. Not only is it dramatic in presentation with its French-trimmed long bone, but it’s also copiously marbled, giving it a naturally rich flavor and keeping it tender even when cooked over high heat. This USDA Choice version from the 44 Farms ranch near Cameron, Texas, weighs in at a hefty 32 ounces.
Want to camp like a cowboy? Or at least hang out in your backyard like one? Solo Stove’s cooking bundle comes with a stainless-steel portable fire pit along with a 14-inch cast-iron flattop. Once the fire gets going, you can cook delicate items like pancakes to robust eats like fajitas. The entire 22-inch-tall setup only weighs 31 pounds, and if you remove the cooktop, it works just as nicely as a standalone fire pit.
Heritage Steel’s pans are designed for any cooking surface—even ones that reach 800 degrees F. This cladded-steel cookware is strengthened with titanium and can be thrown on the grill for high-heat sautés, stir-fries, sears, and finishing sauces. The 13.5-inch French skillet has a large, flat surface and sloped sides, offering plenty of cooking space and easy access to whatever you decide to put inside.
Aaron Franklin, the legendary pitmaster behind Austin’s Franklin Barbecue, believes in the power of fire and smoke. His latest book, Franklin Smoke, is a cookbook with recipes for preparing meats over backyard fire pits, grills, and smokers, plus it’s a detailed instructional manual for harnessing the outdoors in your cooking. From tools and techniques to methods and ingredients, this book demystifies live-fire grilling and smoking, so you can be a more confident and more educated at-home chef.
If you’re grilling your steak outside or traveling with it to a destination, you need a trusted cooler to get it there. Yeti’s hard-sided Roadie Wheeled Coolers are just as durable and insulated as you’d expect from the brand. They come outfitted with never-flat wheels so rocky trails won’t puncture your fun, non-slip feet so they won’t slide around in your car or boat, and a sturdy periscoping handle that makes it easy to maneuver when you’re on the go. And the Roadie is big and deep enough to handle upright bottles of Cabernet, the perfect pairing for your slabs of beef.
Splatter is unavoidable when grilling, but ruining your clothes is not. Pro chefs—including those who work at L.A.’s Chateau Marmont and those who appear on Bravo’s Top Chef—reach for Hedley & Bennett aprons when they want protective gear between them and a flame. The rugged-yet-functional design has deep pockets and cross-back straps to take the strain off your neck, plus they’re made from water- and stain-resistant heavy-duty waxed canvas and leather. That means they’re just as effective in a workshop as they are in an outdoor kitchen.
Cooking with fire is more art than science. It isn’t just for utility; it’s for fun. And Arteflame’s line of stylish outdoor grills sure are fun. The flat-top, Mongolian-style grill is cut in a circle, with a hole in the middle for a live fire, fueled by wood or charcoal that smoke and flavor your food at once. The tall carbon-steel base moderates airflow, allowing the cooktop to reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees. The grill heats from the center, out, so you can create multiple cooking areas with different heat patterns as you go. Plus, the cooktop lifts off, so the grill doubles as a polished, yard-centerpiece fire pit.
Sure, your grill can cook. But can it put on a light show? While not the most impressive feature of Napoleon’s Prestige Pro 825, its light-up control knobs are certainly the most fun: Outfitted with LED Spectrum lights, they can glow in practically any color and cycle through the rainbow on their own. As a bonus safety feature, they will switch to red if you accidentally leave the gas on. The Prestige Pro 825 can run on propane or natural gas, includes scorching-hot infrared burners on the bottom and rear, and a side burner, totaling 1,430 square inches of cooking space. That’s enough space to cook 51 burgers at the same time. An integrated wood chips smoker tray is camouflaged as a control knob, and slides out so you can fill it with chips and add just a hint of smoky flavor to your meal, without having to fill your yard with smog.
Wire brushes can scratch up and destroy the specialty coating on your grates. The Traeger Wooden Grill Scrape, however, can get the muck out safely. Made of solid rosewood, this paddle is designed to dig in between your grill’s grooves and remove everything but the porcelain, stainless steel or cast-iron finish.
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