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Every Christmas I end up with a few new rubs in my stocking, and honestly that’s half the fun. My very first smoker was a Christmas gift too, and that’s what got me into all of this. So if you’re shopping for someone who loves BBQ, here’s what I’d actually give. Everything on this list is something I own and use.
I split it into two parts: real gifts, and stocking stuffers. Nobody wants a roll of butcher paper as their big gift, but it’s great in a stocking.
This one’s pricey, so I know it’s not for everyone’s list. But my Pit Boss pellet smoker was a Christmas gift. It was my first smoker, I still use it today, and it’s one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever gotten. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it, and not just from starting this blog. It’s given us a great reason to have people over for barbecues, hang out, and cook good food together.
If someone you know keeps talking about BBQ but doesn’t have a smoker yet, this is the gift that starts it all. A pellet smoker is a great first smoker because it holds its own temperature. You fill the hopper, set the temp, and it does the rest.
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE (Most Useful)
If I had to pick the most useful thing on this list, it’s the Thermapen ONE. I use it all the time, and not just for smoking. My wife now grabs it any time she’s cooking chicken or pork. It’s so handy to have a thermometer you can use on anything you cook.
My wife got me a 3-month subscription to Grill Masters Club, and it was a lot of fun. Each box comes with different rubs, sauces, injections and a recipe, so you just buy the meat. It gets you trying things you wouldn’t normally pick up, and it’s something out of the ordinary to look forward to each month.
When you’re prepping meat, regular kitchen knives just don’t quite cut it. I have a Dalstrong 8″ butcher and brisket knife, and it’s wonderful for trimming fat and excess meat off things like brisket. It has a slight curve to it, and it’s good for slicing after the cook too.
A Long Slicing Knife (TUO 12″)
This one’s more of a “cool to have” gift. My TUO 12″ Black Hawk slicer is a really long knife made for brisket and other big cuts. I don’t use it every cook, but it gets clean slices in one pass, and it just looks cool.
Inkbird IBBQ-4T Wi-Fi Thermometer
The Thermapen is for quick checks. The Inkbird IBBQ-4T stays in the meat the whole cook, and I check the temps on my phone. I keep one probe in the meat and one in the smoker so I know what the pit is really running at. Here’s my full Inkbird IBBQ-4T review.
A Sous Vide (Vpcok)
This one might surprise people on a BBQ list, but I use my Vpcok sous vide mostly for steaks. Cook a regular steak in there for a few hours, then sear it on the grill or the flat top. It makes a regular steak taste like a much more expensive cut of meat.
FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer
Long cooks make a lot of food. My FoodSaver lets me seal up leftover brisket and pulled pork in portions so nothing goes to waste. That’s how I made my Brunswick stew. It also goes right along with a sous vide. You need a way to seal the food before it goes in the water. Ziploc bags can work, but vacuum sealing is the best way to make sure water stays out. So if they have a sous vide or are getting one, that’s one more reason to get a vacuum sealer.
Smash Burger Kit
This smash burger kit comes with a burger press, a wide spatula (wider than a normal one, which helps with smash burgers) and a big shaker. I’ve used all of it.
One thing to know: you need a flat surface to smash on. If they have a flat top griddle, they’re all set. If they only have a regular grill, add a flat top griddle insert that sits right on the grill grates. My kit came with a flat metal piece like that years ago, and it’s what I used for smash burgers before I had a flat top. The kit I’m linking doesn’t include one, so you’d want to get it separately.
Stocking Stuffers
These are the smaller things. Not something you’d give as the main gift, but they’re all handy to have.
Rubs
Every Christmas I get a few random rubs, a lot of times because they have funny names, and it’s fun to try them out. One year someone got me a rub just because the name was funny, and it turned out to be the best one I’ve had on salmon. As long as I had it, I used it every time I made salmon. So even a gag gift can end up being someone’s new favorite. Meat Church has good ones (I like Holy Cow, Honey Hog and The Gospel), and so does Heath Riles. His Competition BBQ Rub is my everyday one. Rubs are made for different things, some for pork, some for chicken, beef or seafood, so it’s nice to have a little variety on hand.
A Shaker (and an SPG Tip)
I liked the big shaker from my smash burger kit so much that I bought another one on its own. This stainless shaker with a handle looks just like mine, and it comes in a 2-pack. Fill one with SPG: salt, pepper and garlic powder, usually equal parts. Some people add a little paprika or onion powder. My kids don’t always like the crazy flavors some rubs have, and SPG is good on most everything. It’s cheap, it doesn’t fill up your cupboard, and you always have something on hand.
Heat-Resistant Gloves
I use my gloves are a combo: heat-resistant cotton liners with disposable nitrile gloves that go over them. The nitrile keeps the liners clean, so you don’t get juices all over them, and you just throw the nitrile ones away. Wearing both makes it a lot easier to handle hot meat, like pulling something off the smoker. The nitrile gloves are handy on their own for prep too, if you want to keep your hands clean.
Butcher Paper
Pink butcher paper is mostly for wrapping brisket, but you can wrap ribs in it instead of foil too. It’s one of those things you’ll want once you start doing longer cooks.
Meat Injector
A meat injector is handy for any bigger cut. I’ve used mine on turkey breast, brisket and pork butt. I’ve injected Creole butter, and for my maple turkey I injected a mix of maple syrup and butter.
Smoke Tube
A pellet smoker doesn’t give you as heavy a smoke flavor as a wood-fired smoker. A smoke tube adds more. I haven’t used mine a ton, and I wouldn’t call it a beginner gift, but for someone who’s been smoking a while and wants a smokier flavor, this is the way to do it.
Meat Claws
Honestly, meat claws are more of a fun gift. When a pork butt is done right it’s usually so tender you can shred it with anything. But they’re a fun way to do it. Who wouldn’t want to look like Wolverine shredding up a pork butt?
Final Thoughts
There are so many good ones, it’s hard to pick. If you want the one thing they’ll use every time they cook, get the Thermapen. If you want something fun and different, go with Grill Masters Club. And if you’re filling a stocking, you can’t go wrong with a couple of new rubs.
You can see everything else I use on my Gear I Use page.
🔥 So fire up the pit, and let’s grill and chill.
