Barbecue is usually all about the meat, but we also love everything that surrounds the world of barbecue. Tomorrow we’ll have a complete buying guide for mail-order barbecue, and a guide to this year’s barbecue books on Wednesday. Today, we bring you a gift guide for Texas barbecue. If you want a shirt or hat from your favorite barbecue joint, then you already know where to get that. These are gifts that might be a little harder to find.
APPAREL:
Wyatt McSpadden has designed one of the best Texas BBQ logos that exists. Shirts with that logo are $20. (contact him at [email-hidden] to order)
Come and Brisket is the brain child of photographer Robert Strickland. There are several other designs in addition to the C&B logo. $22.70
A meat cleaver on a shirt from the folks at Meat Fight. $20
Tumbleweed Texstyles has a great Texas BBQ shirt. $25
BurntEnds gets a little macabre with their rib-themed shirt. $25
society6 lets you show off your Lockhart pride with this shirt. $22
The Social Dept. designed a wearable ode to Austin brisket. $25
Not to be outdone, there is also a Dallas version of the brisket lover’s shirt. $25
ARTWORK:
Prints from the photographers featured on TMBBQ is available from each individual photographer at varying prices. Contact them individually through their websites.
M. Brady Clark has designed a Texas BBQ map showing what wood is used in over two hundred barbecue joints across the state. Twelve color screen prints are $60.
kollectivefusion is an Austin artist with plenty of Texas-centric artwork. We liked this Low & Slow print best. $25
DIGIArtPrints has designed and beef chart print suitable for framing. $10
Texowa Designs has a vast collection of Texas themed print, and a great Texas BBQ one. $25
Drywell has a full line of meat related art, but we really like their dry rubbed rib painting. $20
Neonblond has taken a vintage beef cut chart and made some great cufflinks. $29.90
Not to be outdone, creationzmimi designed some cufflinks to look like racks of ribs. $25
STUFF:
American Smoke is a documentary abut barbecue competitions. If you’re thinking about becoming a barbecue judge or a competitor Order here for $16.75
We like koozies, and what better one than from “Gettin’ Sauced?” $3
If you think you’re the king of the smoker, then this will be the perfect kookie while you wait for those briskets to finish. $3.95
Cuubzy koozies are strictly for the BBQ Judges. It is customary to keep your water bottles on their sides at the judges table to keep them from getting knocked over by containers being passed. The cuubzy now eliminates the problem of those water bottles rolling off the table. $5
Skreened has the tote you need for carrying that smoked brisket to the party. $24.99
If you support wood cooked barbecue, you can take the True ‘Cue pledge. You can also show your support with a True ‘Cue bumper sticker. $3.95
This necklace from OlivebyMC was designed just for the Big Green Egg diehard. No, really. $37.95
GADGETS:
BBQ Dragon is essentially a replacement for a charcoal chimney. It’s a high powered fan that gets your charcoal up to the proper heat in just a few minutes. $49.99
The Looftlighter claims it can start your fire in ten minutes, then it can stoke it when you turn on the blower. $70
Throw out the bear claws for pulling pork. Get a power tool for the job instead. The RO-Man Pork Puller makes quick work of pork shoulders, and it’s fun to watch in action too. $68.95
The iGrill is the best way to monitor your smoker temperature and the temperature of your meat from afar. It syncs with a free app for your phone, and sends the info over wi-fi. The current model is $79.99. The new iGrill mini is coming 12/16 and will cost only $39.99
Insulated gloves are your best friend when trying to deal with large hunks of meat on the smoker. Tongs might be fine for ribs and chicken, but you need the control that these gloves can give you for briskets and pork shoulders. $14.09
The BioLite wood burning grill is tiny enough to take backpacking, but powerful enough to grill a burger and charge your phone. You’ll need to buy the Campstove $129.95, and the Portable Grill $59.95, separately.
With the Smokecage you can get that smoky flavor into grilled foods without using a silly foil pack of wood chips. $39.95
Yoke Up charcoal baskets help with long burn times in your smoker. If you cook with all wood, these might not be for you, but they sure help with even heat from a load of charcoal. $99 and up
TOURS/CLASSES:
Texas Q Tours does custom barbecue tours throughout Texas, or join in on one of the upcoming tours already scheduled. Prices vary.
The Texas Bar-B-Q Tour group in Fort Worth will show you the barbecue of Cowtown in a four and half hour tour. $75
BBQ University might be the ultimate splurge. Grilling guru Steven Raichlen spends three days showing you how to smoke, grill, and even cook on a shovel. It’s an intense course of meat and fire in beautiful Colorado Springs. $2100
17th St. Barbecue holds an annual Whole Hog Extravaganza and Brisket Bonanza in January. Besides having a great name, it’s also a collection of incredible pit masters from across the country showing you how to cook some of the most challenging barbecue menu items. $999
The Foodways Texas Barbecue Summer Camp always sells out fast. This year it goes on sale to FTX members this Wednesday (12/4) and to the general public next Wednesday (12/11). $495 – $550
The BBQ Institute has classes in Dallas, Houston, and den in Arkansas. They’re geared toward the competition and commercial barbecue crowds and begin next March. $295 -$650
