Foodie Stocking Stuffers
By Kent “The Deck Chef” & Ally Whitaker
thedeckchef@hotmail.com
Are you looking for a few stocking stuffer gift ideas for the barbecue, griller or overall foodie on your shopping list? If you’re like Ally and I, you probably have some other food lovers in the family to shop for. Here are a few flavor filled suggestions.
NOTE: All items listed have been tested, played with, and messed around with by Ally and myself or by family and friends. Our help included Ally’s mom Joan and our son Mace. Two of our neighbors, Wes Spencer and Joe Norman, also pitched in. All opinions are honest.
 Grill Charms
Grill charms were invented by Leslie Haywood of Charleston, South Carolina, who came up with the idea after a grilling session that involved keeping the spiced up fare separated from the milder cuts. You can separate meat by doneness, amount of added spice, or even by allergy concerns.
Grill Charms are dime sized, stainless steel medallions with a serrated edge extension. There are different charms to choose from. A set with letters for doneness - M stands for medium, R for rare, etc. The Spicy set has hot peppers showing different levels of heat. The Charmed Life set offers fun designs, such as a sailboat so people can pick by their interests. Some of the proceeds from the “Pink Set” go toward finding a cure for Breast Cancer.
 Insert the Grill Charms into the meat or food before you cook it. You can use them on the grill, oven, etc. The serrated edge did a great job keeping the charm in place even when I turned items and moved things around. We only had one grill charm come out, and that was due to the burger breaking. They never moved in the chicken or steak while grilling. They were easy to use,and clean by hand with hot water and dish soap. A great idea!
Info: Grill Charms. Phone 843-437-7079. Website: www.grillcharms.com.
 St. Croix Food & Wine Experience
The St. Croix Food and Wine Experience cookbook is a wonderful book that is an off shoot of the yearly festival held every year in St. Croix. The photos, history, and stories featured in the book are amazing. The recipes were as well and many are grill-based or can be easily prepared outdoors. In fact, much of the actual festival features outdoor events and demos.
We tried several recipes in the book, and the favorites so far are the Grilled Caribbean Rock Lobster Cakes by Chef Mathayon Vacharat of St. John Catering and the Grilled Cheese & Pulled Short Rib Sandwich by Chef Govind Armstrong, owner of the 8 oz. Burger in Los Angeles.
The St. Croix Food & Wine Experience cookbook offers fantastic recipes from local island chefs and visiting celebrity chefs. We enjoyed the added info on wines. The recipes use ingredients that can be found in many grocery stores and are not too complicated. Each chef gives easy to follow directions. Everyone that we asked to look over the book loved it!
Info: Authors: Jane Watkins, Katherine Pugliese, Steve Bennett, Photography by Ted Davis
ISBN: ISBN-10: 0983263701 ISBN-13: 978-0983263708
Websites: www.stcroixfoodandwine.com; www.watkinspr.com/Cookbook
 Buffalo Wild Wings Seasonings and Sauces
Sometimes you want to watch the game, or games, on big screen TV’s. You also want someone else to handle making the wings and bringing cold beverages to the table. We tested the Buffalo Wild Wing sauces with our son Mace. Let’s just say that he, his Army buddies, and college friends are well-versed in items on the BWW menu.
The test included baked and grilled chicken wings, drummies and a few thighs. Each was tossed with a bit of olive oil, and the bottled spices acted as a rub and seasoning. Halfway through the cooking process, some of the wings were basted with a light coating of varied sauces. The remaining sauces were tested as dipping sauces. The bottom line, the testers loved the home versions of Buffalo Wild Wings from the grill and the oven.
There were a few favorites, including the Chipotle BBQ Spice, The Mild Sauce, The Honey BBQ Sauce, and The Parmesan Garlic sauce. We were pretty impressed by the flavors offered up by home versions of BWW sauces. A solid thumbs up from the testers.
Info: Buffalo Wild Wing Sauces and Spices. Website: www.buffalowildwings.com
 The SpitJack Magnum Meat Injector
There has been three or four so-so meat injectors pass through the Deck Chef kitchen. They all had one thing in common. They were cheaply made and didn’t work well. I now have an injector that works, is heavy duty, and that is made in the USA.
The SpitJack has a pistol grip handle similar to a caulk gun, but much more sturdy. There are assorted needle sizes that allow for thicker or thinner marinades and those with larger pieces of spices. My favorite was actually the needle that had several holes in the shaft, think of something along the line of a porous yard watering hose. This allowed me to disperse the flavor instead of injecting large amounts in one place. There is also a dial that allows for the amount of your “dose.” This is a wonderful feature.
I tested the Magnum Meat Injector on pork and turkey. We also tested out the different needles on an assortment of thick smoked sausage and thinner hotdogs. I may have a new favorite way of cooking sausages and dogs.
The quality and design of this item far surpasses any injector I’ve used. Everything can be easily hand washed and replacement parts are available of needed. A great item.
Info: Spitjack Magnum Meat Injector. Phone: 800-755-5509 Toll free USA; 800-755-7599 Toll free Canada). Website: www.spitjack.com
 Prescott Frost Meats
Prescott Frost is the great grandson of world-renowned American poet Robert Frost. Thankfully to beef lovers Prescott Frost also has farming in his blood. In the 1800’s, his great-grandfather bought farmland in Central Illinois. In the late 90’s Prescott was honored to take over the reins, and by 2001 he was convinced that there were more natural alternatives to the conventional methods for farming. The solution included cows which ate the natural grass growing in fields that were not sewn. There was one problem; the cows sank in the Illinois mud. Prescott moved his production to Nebraska where he is now reshaping the beef industry with his certified-organic, 100-percent grass-fed beef.
 We sampled a wide variety of meats ranging from ground beef to assorted cuts of steak. The meat is packed and shipped to customers in a very sturdy cooler. We opened the cooler and noticed that the meat was better looking than cuts from our local store. The meat prepped and cooked just like any beef would. Some tasters noted that it was “less greasy” while we were cooking. Everyone that sampled various dishes mentioned the texture especially with the burgers. It just “felt” better as you chewed. Some testers commented that the flavor of the steaks seemed “deeper” than regular store bought meats.
We made burgers, lasagna, grilled steaks and other cuts and were highly please with everything. Everyone that tasted items we cooked using Prescott Frost meats enjoyed them.
Info: Prescott Frost Inc. Phone: 800-805-1569. Website: www.prescottfrost.com
 Goode Company BBQ Hall of Flame Rib Rub
I am a sucker for a rub. The Goode Company started with a single barbecue restaurant just outside of Huston, Texas, back in the 1970’s. Today there are several locations and variations of the Goode restaurant theme, ranging from Texas style barbecue to seafood and mouth watering burgers and more.
The product we tested was the Goode Company BBQ Hall of Flame Rib Rub. Of course, we tried it on more than just ribs. We started with ribs and sprinkled the rub on everything from ribs to turkey burgers. Eventually, we were just trying it one fresh grilled sliced sweet peppers and onions. It tasted great every time.
The rub is actually very plain. We mean that in a good way. It’s not too hot, sweet, salty, peppery, etc., etc. The mix is not overpowering, is not heavy on one seasoning, and it blended well with the natural flavor of the pork ribs. In fact, it did a great job when we used it with all kinds of food. We even used a dash on some grilled Texas toast with melted cheeses. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. A Texas sized thumbs up for the Good Company BBQ Hall of Flame Rib Rub.
Info: Goode Company. Phone: 800-627-3502 or Local 713-529-1212. Website: www.goodecompany.com
 Susi Q’s Santa Maria Valley Style Seasoning & Red Oak Chips
We tried two items from Susi Q’s Brand Artisan Food. They were the Susi Q’s Santa Maria Valley Style Seasoning and the Susi Q’s Santa Maria Valley Style Red Oak Chips.
Susan M. Righetti, the founder of the company, told me she started in 1981 as a family business with the idea of combining local California flavors, barbecue traditions that go back to early ranchers, with her family recipes. “Our recipes are from old family recipes and my parent’s restaurant, The Far Western Tavern.” Susan adds that “Red Oak is the classic fuel of Santa Maria style barbecue” and that “fans say it (seasoning) goes with everything.”
We took Susan’s advice and used the seasoning on “everything.” We started with a pork chop and a steak then moved to a grouper filet, fresh rolls, veggies, and even sprinkled some over spaghetti. The blend of spices, including salt, black pepper, California garlic and parsley, made for a nice flavor enhancer. The taste was not to overpowering, too deep or too spicy.
We used the Red Oak chips in a chip box on the gas grill as well as a handful tossed onto a small charcoal grill. The flavor added to the meat from both grills, while not as deep as people are accustomed with hickory, was mellow and tasty. Both products were given thumbs up by testers.
Info: Susi Q’s Brand Artesian Food. Phone: 805-937-2402. Website: www.SusieQBrand.com.
 Organic Cotton Aprons from A Greener Kitchen Co.
Grillers are often given aprons with goofy logos or sayings printed on the front. I’ve found many of these gift aprons to be stiff, made of some weird material, flimsy and only good for a few times. It was a pleasure to test the aprons sent in by Lacey M. Lybecker who is the owner of A Greener Kitchen.
Lacey’s company offers items that are all geared towards being more eco aware while using eco-friendly materials. Lacey said it best, “You can still be green while grilling up a steak or helping your honey in the kitchen.”
The aprons we tested were the organic cotton twill unisex apron, which comes in Moonless Night Black, Chocolate Brown, and Natural. The second was the Ladies Black and White half apron. Both had easy to use straps, pockets that were deep enough to hold things, and both were well made. The aprons are cut and sewn in the USA by a family-owned company using certified organic cotton from one of the USA’s few eco-friendly textile artisans. Cleaning is simple by hand wash or washed in cold water. Lacey suggests using an eco-friendly detergent and then hang to dry.
The best thing, I didn’t feel like I was wearing a stiff synthetic tarp. I ended up wearing it almost daily while testing items for this article.
Info: A Greener Kitchen. Phone: 206-947-1294. Website: www.agreenerkitchen.com
 Denny Mikes 'Cue Lover's 9 pack
Dennis Michael Sherman was given the nickname DennyMike by his mother when he was a boy. It turns out the nickname was not great for a good-ole Yankee. It worked well when he started learning the fine art of Texas style BBQ from Charlie Arriaga who was from East Texas. The flavors and lessons learned starting in early 1970’s are put to use in DennyMike products which are small batch produced by Dennis in Maine.
We tried out the DennyMike 9 pack gift set aptly named the “Cue Lover’s.” It contained four sauces and five tins of assorted rubs and seasonings. First off, the packaging was very nice. The labels are colorful, fun to look over and the set included a nice recipe booklet. It is defiantly geared as a cool gift item. Don’t let that scare off “serious” que lovers. This gift set is packed with real flavor.
My group of testers leaned towards the Sweet ¡¥n Spicy sauce. It’s not too sweet and had a medium heat level. The Carolina Sauce was a close second. The Hot’n Nasty sauce was hot but with flavor. The Mesquit-O Madness Sauce has a nice mesquite underlying flavor. We used the rubs on assorted grilled items and I have to say that I personally loved the Fintastic seafood rub which I tried on shrimp and tilapia. I also appreciated the tips for use and food parings on the labels. DennyMike does a great job combining small batch flavors with the look of big time consumer packaging while maintaining a fun feel.
Info: DennyMikes. Phone: 207-591-5084. Website: www.dennymikes.com
 Smoke Stack Company Culinary Seasoning Smoke
The Smoke Stack Company offers a neat solution for how backyard grillers can enhance flavors. The choices are Hickory, Alder, Applewood and Mesquite. Each Smoke Stack container is filled with wood you choose as well as seasonings and vintage oak chips. There is also a reusable chip container. Each package holds enough wood for several sessions.
Brant Davis, Owner of the Smoke Stack Company, points out that his product is not meant to replace heavy smoked foods like smoked salmon or turkey. “This is a seasoning smoke for your daily grilling which simply adds that extra flavor.”
Place the chip filled smoke canister on the grill grate as you get things fired up. The company website also mentions that you can also use the canister under the grate. Then, close the lid. We found that allowing several minutes of the canister pre heating before placing food on the grill offered the best results. You’ll notice smoke rising from the hole in the center of the canister lid. Be sure to keep the grill lid closed for best results. The smoke lasts from 20-40 minutes, according to the directions. It really depends on the temperature of your grill.
We chose the Alderwood while cooking pork tenderloin and were very pleased with the outcome. We loved the combination of wood and seasonings as well as ease of use!
Info: The Smoke Stack Co. Phone: 209-747-9146. Website: www.thesmokestackco.com
 Pig of the Month
Do you want to send somebody a neat gift that requires a wet napkin, sauce and a side dish? Pig of the Month offers a full line of barbecue items ranging from ribs and pulled meats to side dishes and assorted sauces. It’s a pretty neat idea.
You can order single menu items from the website or choose a special, select a package deal, a feast, check out catering options, corporate gifts and wholesale options. The company prides itself on their products using select rubs and sauces. We were looking forward to trying the Cattle King Texas Baby Back Ribs and the Cattle King Brisket and BBQ Sauce. They offer several flavorings of ribs and pulled pork as well as several sauces.
The ribs were packed with dry ice. Follow the directions and don’t touch the ice. It will burn you. A quick look over the directions instructed us on several thawing and cooking methods. There was a printed reheating and thawing card in the box. We chose the oven method due to wind and rain. The thawed ribs were removed from the packing, loosely wrapped in foil and placed on a cookie sheet. We reheated for about thirty minutes and proceeded to enjoy some darned good ribs. They tasted great, the rub had a nice slight Texas flavoring and they were easy to prepare. Rib bones up!
Info: Pig of the Month. Phone: 866- 416-9190. Website: www.pigofthemonth.com.
Kent Whitaker is a culinary writer and cookbook author living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is the winner of the Emeril Live BBQ contest and winner of an American Authors Association Gold medal. Mr. Whitaker’s books are in bookstores nationwide and are available online. Visit him online at www.thedeckchef.com or twitter.com/theKentWhitaker. |
