Father’s Day Gift Guide: Essential BBQ And Grilling Tools

Finding the perfect gift for a father often proves far more challenging than it should. But when cooking up ideas this time of year, it’s important to remember that grilling season is in full swing. There are tons of worthwhile ideas just in this space alone. The best present is one that actually finds regular use by its recipient. If your dad spends significant time around the barbecue, rest assured the following goods and gear will be in heavy rotation.

TRUFF — White Truffle Hot Sauce ($35)

Up your umami-game like never before. This is a serious gourmet hot sauce, built on rip red chili peppers infused with actual white truffle oil. A touch of sweetness is added on the backend, courtesy of organic agave nectar. Applies just the right amount of heat to any freshly grilled cuts of meat.

Saltworks — Smoked Salt Gift Set with Recipe Box ($40)

A collection of a half dozen, all-natural sea salts wood-smoked using a proprietary technology. The resulting crystals lend a deep and complex top-note to your preferred proteins, while they rest on the chopping board. Or you can mix them into home-made rubs before they meet the fire. Flavors include: Durango Hickory, El Dorado Mesquite, Fumée de Sel Chardonnay Oak, Salish Alderwood, Yakima Applewood, and Robusto. Get expert advice on how to work them all into your favorite dishes with the included recipe cards.

Connectit — Premium Magnetic BBQ Tool Set ($50)

Maximize efficiency during dinner with this novel gadget. Using the strength of magnets, it detaches and reassembles to form four separate tools out of just two pieces of metal. A spatula and grilling fork on their own, they also connect as either tongs or a server. And it has a futuristic look too. So you can cut back on cumbersome equipment and seem stylish while doing it.

Harry and David — Sausage Sampler ($60)

Before you worry about the tools of the trade, you need to be sure you sourced the proper proteins, of course. Here is a gift basket to ensure just that. It contains four separate styles of sausage, all ready for the grill: smoked cajun-style andouille—a bratwurst fusing pork with garlic, pepper, onions, wine and spices; an Italian-style sausage, seasoned with fennel and anise; a chicken cordon bleu sausage meant to evoke the classic French dish; and a cheddar and jalapeño sausage. The 3-pound sampler holds four links of each flavor.

Made In — Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan ($89)

This is professional grade cookware, right here. Splitting the difference between cast iron skillet and stainless steel frying pan, it exhibits the best of both; heat retention, even distribution, lightness, speed. When the weather isn’t cooperating, this game-changer is an ideal alternative for searing steaks and pork chops right inside the kitchen. But it’s also rated to do work at temperatures up to 1200-degrees Fahrenheit. So you can throw the 12” pan directly onto the grill to cook up sauces and vegetables right alongside the main meal.

Man Crates — Backyard Steakhouse Crate ($120)

This gift set includes all the basics for a proper backyard barbecue. A trio of tools includes metal spatula, tongs and basting brush. There’s even a convenient canvas sack to tote them all together. Then you get two separate steak sauces from Rufus Teague, along with the brand’s savory dry rub. Rounding out the goods is a wooden scraping tool to preserve the life of your grill as you clean it. And don’t forget the heavy duty black denim apron, so you can feel fresh while wielding your new tools. It all comes boxed up in a wooden crate that requires an included crowbar to unpack.

Vital Choice — Limited Edition GrillBox ($150)

If you’re never grilled seafood on a wooden plank, you’re missing out big time. Depending on what you use, you’ll impart all sorts of complex flavors into the fish. Vital Choice—an online purveyor focusing on wild and organic fare—makes it easy with this limited edition offering. In addition to the planks, you’ll also receive the protein to place atop: skin-on Sockeye, salmon burgers, wild mahi mahi, artisan shrimp. It all comes vacuum-sealed, overnight, and shipped for free anywhere in the United States.

Wüsthof Epicure — 6” Cook’s Knife ($160)

As any professional chef will tell you, great cooking begins with the prep work. And for that you will most certainly need proper cutlery. This ergonomic workhorse is the result of 200 years worth of German engineering. It is weighted and balanced for heavy duty action, perfect for paring down thick meats and vegetables before they head to the open flame.