Grilling & BBQ
TempPro Thermometer Review: Two Seasons of Daily Use
Two seasons of daily use through Michigan heat, rain and the first frost. Here is what the TempPro TempSwift actually did.
A first-person story about three ruined holiday turkeys and the cheap thermometer that finally fixed them.
Two seasons of daily use through Michigan heat, rain and the first frost. Here is what the TempPro TempSwift actually did.
A machinist's side-by-side of the budget TempPro thermometer against the premium Thermapen ONE, on speed, accuracy and how each holds up outdoors.
Why a three-second temperature read ended thirty years of dry chicken, overcooked pork, and gambling on thick steaks.
A first-person story about three ruined holiday turkeys and the cheap thermometer that finally fixed them.
Stop poking and prodding. A two-second read from the right spot tells you exactly when the meat is done, and this is how to do it.
After two Michigan seasons with the TempPro TempSwift in my apron pocket, here is the honest verdict, flaws included.
How the NEXCOVER heavy-duty grill cover held up through a real Michigan winter of snow, freeze-thaw and wind on an open patio.
A direct comparison of the NEXCOVER 600D cover against the cheaper Amazon Basics cover after a season each in the weather.
Ten reasons a decent grill cover pays for itself before the snow melts, from rust to rodents to sun-cracked plastic.
A bargain cover trapped moisture against my gas grill all winter. Here is what I learned, and what I switched to.
A plain-spoken walkthrough for getting a kettle, a gas grill, or a pellet smoker through snow and freeze-thaw on an open patio.
Three Michigan winters on a three burner grill. The seam that split, the buckle that broke, and the fade you will see by year two.
Eight seasons on a 22-inch kettle: how the Weber Rapidfire chimney starter holds up, from the handle to the rust on the vents.
Which one gets you to dinner faster, which one leaves a taste, and which one is worth a spot on your shelf.
Ten reasons a chimney starter lights charcoal faster, cleaner and cheaper than lighter fluid, cold weather included.
A short story about a lighter-fluid mistake and the chimney starter that replaced it for good.
A step-by-step method for lighting a full chimney of charcoal in under fifteen minutes, including a cold-weather trick.
Eight seasons of Michigan weather and several hundred cooks later, here's the honest truth about the handle, the grate, and the coating.
Forty pounds of hickory, forty cooks, two Michigan winters. What the Bear Mountain bag did right, where it fell short, and whether it earned a permanent spot in my hopper.
A backyard side-by-side of Bear Mountain and CookinPellets hickory pellets on ash, smoke flavor and how consistently each one burns through a Michigan year.
Ten reasons a real hardwood hickory pellet changes the bark, smoke ring and flavor compared to cheap blended pellets.
A stalled brisket, a bag of damp cheap pellets, and the switch to Bear Mountain hickory that turned a 14-hour cook around.
Four Michigan winters taught me how to keep a pellet smoker steady at 225 when it is 14 outside. It is routine, not luck.
A closer look at how much ash Bear Mountain pellets leave behind, the real cost per cook, and where a cheaper bag would do fine.
A full season with the Weetiee bristle-free grill brush, from April's first cook to the last scrape before the snow, across a charcoal kettle, a gas grill, and a pellet smoker.
A year running a bristle free scraper against the wire brush it replaced, on cleaning power, grate wear and the safety problem nobody wants to think about.
Ten reasons a bristle-free scraper is the safer, longer-lasting choice over a wire brush that can shed into food.
One Sunday cook, one stray wire in a burger, and the bristle-free brush that has cleaned my grates ever since.
A step-by-step method for cleaning stuck-on grease and char off any grate with a bristle-free scraper, written by a retired machinist who has not used a wire brush in two years.
A year on three grills in a Michigan season. The coils still clean, the scraper has gone dull, and nobody tells you which part wears out first.
Two seasons of daily use through Michigan heat, rain and the first frost. Here is what the TempPro TempSwift actually did.
After two Michigan seasons with the TempPro TempSwift in my apron pocket, here is the honest verdict, flaws included.
How the NEXCOVER heavy-duty grill cover held up through a real Michigan winter of snow, freeze-thaw and wind on an open patio.
Three Michigan winters on a three burner grill. The seam that split, the buckle that broke, and the fade you will see by year two.
Eight seasons on a 22-inch kettle: how the Weber Rapidfire chimney starter holds up, from the handle to the rust on the vents.
Eight seasons of Michigan weather and several hundred cooks later, here's the honest truth about the handle, the grate, and the coating.
Forty pounds of hickory, forty cooks, two Michigan winters. What the Bear Mountain bag did right, where it fell short, and whether it earned a permanent spot in my hopper.
A closer look at how much ash Bear Mountain pellets leave behind, the real cost per cook, and where a cheaper bag would do fine.
A full season with the Weetiee bristle-free grill brush, from April's first cook to the last scrape before the snow, across a charcoal kettle, a gas grill, and a pellet smoker.
A year on three grills in a Michigan season. The coils still clean, the scraper has gone dull, and nobody tells you which part wears out first.