It’s no surprise that we LOVE us some BBQ over at FTHQ. We’ve also had our bout with smokers. Wood fueled, electric, even gas powered and they all fell short. Part of the problem is that we’re impatient and good ‘que is a patient wo(man)’d game. The key, any pit master will tell you, is in the consistency. Sure, the wood, the meat and the rub all are critical BUT without consistency it all falls apart. Specifically we’re talking about temperature. The uber fail of most amateur pit masters is the fluctuation in heat as it relates to time. A 12 hour smoked pork butt fluctuating 100 degrees is better used to feed the dog than serve the family. That’s why the Char-Broil Digital Electric Smoker with SmartChef™ Technology got us so jazzed up. The electric smoker communicates with your phone letting you know the internal temperature of the meat and the chamber. This means you can do “other stuff” while smoking but never miss when you need to add more water, wood chips or heat. This will be in our backyard all summer. If you’re thinking about getting into (or back into) the bbq game, this is the move.
More Gear Stuff
Soft Shell Ice Cream Ball
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream made with the Soft Shell Ice Cream Ball, a product from YayLabs!. It combines two of our favorite summer pastimes, ice cream and ball games. Pleasing to both artisanal ice cream aficionados and more casual ice cream enthusiasts alike, the Soft Shell Ice Cream Ball embodies the highbrow/lowbrow dichotomy in a way that only a homemade ice cream maker that looks like your average, everyday kickball could. Fight the been-there-done-that end-of-summer slump by bringing it on all of your adventures and shaking, tossing, rolling it until you get the smooth and creamy ice cream you had previously been too intimidated to make on your own (and it only takes 20 to 30 minutes!). We urge you to proceed with caution, however — you don’t want anyone mistaking your next batch of strawberry-blueberry ice cream for their next dodgeball weapon.
Bruvelo Coffee Maker
12 years ago I bought a Vietnamese pour over on the streets of Saigon for 12 cents. Since then a lot has changed in the quality and consumption of coffee in our over caffeinated, craft-focused country. Dustin Sell has spent years perfecting the perfect coffee maker in order to preserve that quality and enhance the consumption experience. He’s so dedicated that he scrapped his first crowdfunding effort because it just wasn’t “right”. Now he’s back with a perfected version that makes the perfect cup of coffee and looks great on your counter top while it pours it’s deep, rich, sweet, bitter, chocolatey, earthy, mellow, nutty, spicy, sweet, bright, sharp, magic.
Sheep Shaped Popcorn Bowl
Miki, Idan and Gal are good friends that share a passion for “cool, innovative and inspiring products”. (To quote them directly.) In what could be considered a non-sequitur those three adjectives manifested themselves into a popcorn bowl shaped like a sheep. Ask them and they tell you popcorn is the #1 snack in the world and SHEEPOPCO exists to enhance your snacking pleasure.
Copper Corkscrew
Ladies listen up. You know how your man has become a home mixologist and has started to junk up the kitchen with his cocktail toolbox? This functional yet beautiful copper corkscrew, from the Kikkerland peeps, will balance that push of masculinity into your hard earned, post-bachelor decorated apartment. This makes the perfect gift to balance his passion with your control. (kidding on the control bit)