Tongs
Tongs are used for picking up meat to put on, take off or reposition on your smoker or grill. TIP: Get a Good Pair of Tongs Things to look for when shopping for tongs… Not flimsy good grips locking mechanism
Turn In Box
This is a competition BBQ term. A turn in box is the box with the meat turned in (hence the name) for judging. The boxes are typically 9×9 white Styrofoam containers like the ones for your leftovers to take home from a restaurant. Each box has a number on top representing the BBQ team. For
Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS)
The UDS or Ugly Drum Smoker may not be the prettiest cooker but they do produce some great BBQ!
Vacuum Sealer
A Vacuum Sealer is used to create a package for food storage that will last a long time. The vacuum sealer works by sucking air and moisture from a special storage bag. Then bags are usually frozen. Vacuum sealing allows you to keep the food stored or frozen for longer periods of time. When you
Vents
Vents are the air intakes in a BBQ grill or smoker. Vents are used to regulate the temperature. The more the vents are open, the more air is circulated through the cooker, and the higher the temperature will be inside the cooker.
Vertical Smoker
A Vertical Smoker resembles a cabinet. The heat source is on the bottom. The smoker box sits above the heat source. A water pan may also sit above the heat source. The grates for the BBQ are place upwards throughout the vertical smoker. Typically the smoke and heat rise and are vented out the top
Water Pan
A water pan is used in BBQ smokers to add moisture to the cooking chamber. Some people think adding different liquids (beer, wine, juice, soda, etc.) will help with flavoring the meat but we don’t think it adds much if any. So don’t waste the good beverages… just use water. The BBQ flavor will come
Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM)
The Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) is a bullet smoker. It is popular with the backyard cooker as well as used on the competition BBQ tours. WSMs use charcoal as the fuel and wood chips or chunks for providing the flavoring smoke. A water pan sits above the fire to keep the air in the smoker
Yardbird
Yardbird or Yard Bird is slang for chicken. The term originated in the South where chickens often ran around the yard. Yardbird was the nickname of the famous jazz sax player Charlie Parker. He got the name because he loved eating chicken. The nickname was eventually shortened to just Bird which is what most people
Zest
Perhaps like me you came across a recipe for a BBQ marinade that called for lemon zest and didn’t have a clue what it was. If that’s the case we’re here to help. The term zest is used in relationship to citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, limes, etc.). It refers to the outermost rind or where