What’s Your Favorite AND Least Favorite BBQ/Cooking Accessories?

[tbob4]

To spare everyone from redundancy I’ll list one of my favorites that I haven’t seen listed: my large Avanco deli slicer. I would have preferred a slightly more expensive model (with more angle) but what I bought has been great and durable!

[Troutman]

I wish my wife would allow me to have a giant slicer

[troymeister]

The Kettle SnS combo is such a fixture for me I hardly think about anymore. It just is.
I have a 10" Carbon Steel Pan I adore.
I have an old 1970's La Machine Food processor I like and use a lot.
I use the Thermopen almost daily.
My Smoke Thermometer is on its last legs. I think I'll get the SnS Probe Thermometer next.
I use the DnG a Lot.
I do use the Vortex once in a while.
I have 2 good chef knives
I have an old school whetstone that keeps them razor sharp.

I have a Ninja Blender that has a heating element that cooks too. It doesn't blend that well at all. It is just an "er". I hate it. It might as well be a boat anchor too. It is that heavy.
I have an Emeril Air Fryer that is basically an expensive toaster oven with a fan. It has its merits but is substandard over all.
I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer that I love but is as heavy as a boat anchor as well too. It just sits there in my pantry wanting to be used.
I have a pasta maker I spent good money on and sits in my pantry wanting to be used.
The grill grates were "grate" when I got them, they sort of fell to the wayside.

[Troutman]

Vitamin John, pull that trigger. LaMachine, talk about a stab from the past. I have an old one from the ‘80s and it still works as well. Only problem is over time we somehow lost the accessories.

[PBCDad]

Panhead John as I understand it, most blenders come with a sharp blade and an okay motor to drive them. Once the blades dull, they are impossible to sharpen and then the motor isn't strong enough to blend anymore.
Vitamix comes with a dull blade and a motor that can just crush anything you put close to it. That's why they (and Blendtek) are more expensive and why they last so much longer.

[Spinaker]

+1 on the Grill Grates

[WayneT]

This is a fascinating topic and I’m glad I found it before my collection grows into a bunch of obsolete gadgets.

Faves

AR
Anova Sous Vide/tub
Fireboard
Breville immersion blender

Least fave

Not joining AR sooner

[HawkerXP]

This isn't going to help you win anything, you know that, right?

[WayneT]

HawkerXP What!? And I thought that was so original and eloquent.

[Mosca]

I’m not going to count general kitchen stuff, like knives, and cast iron pans, etc. This is just stuff I got for the outdoor area.

Stuff I use all the time:

DigiQ DX3
CyberQ
Thermapen
Thermopro Smoke
S&S and half moon griddle, but as a griddle on the Kettle
Grill Grates, upside down
Lower grate for BGE, to get steaks down to the fire
That steam power cleaner brush thing, don’t remember the name
Kingsford charcoal storage bins


Sometimes I use a veggie basket.


Stuff I never use:

Vortex. We just don’t eat many wings, and the BGE makes great chicken thighs.
Pizza stone. I don’t have the time or patience for this. I can order great pizza.
Rotisserie. Every time I’ve used it, it’s great. But it’s not BETTER than doing a roast or a bird indirect, and it’s a PITA to set up, and then to clean and store.
Burger press. I should use this, though. I need to move it to my burger prep area.
Sous vide. Every time I use it, stuff comes out great. But I’m not into planning meals a week in advance.
The Smokey Joe. That is one damn nice little cooker, and I only paid $20 for it brand new in the box. I just don’t need it. And I have nowhere to put it. Anything I can do with that, I can do in the Performer using the S&S area as a main grill.

[Panhead John]

Mosca I use the vortex for more than just wings. I push it to the rear of my kettle and do reverse seared steaks with it, same with thick cut pork chops. The sear it gives them is awesome. I even did those vortex pork ribs a few times, they came out great! Anyway, just a thought if you ever wanted to pull it out of storage.

[hoovarmin]

My Sous Vide circulator is like an old gf that pops back in to town now and then. The magic is there when we're together, but I don't miss her when she's gone.

[Mosca]

Panhead John I take my S&S, remove the water channel, and use it like you use your Vortex. For burgers, I put the half moon griddle on top and make smashers.

[Spinaker]

I got rib of most of the things I no longer use.

Some that stick in my head though.....

Wooden grill scrapers. (Never really had good luck with them.)
Grill Grates. (PITA if you ask me.)
Silicone Food Gloves. (Nitrile and cotton gloves work so much better and you get more dexterity)
SNS (Don't hate me, I just bank the coals, IDK seems like the same thing to me.)

[WayneT]

Spinaker, was that an intended pun, "I got rib…"?

[Spinaker]

Ha, yes. WayneT

[Spinaker]

Yeah, I wanted them to work so bad. hoovarmin

[Spinaker]

My least favorite, I'm ashamed to say, is the Rib-O-Lator.

Ohhhh that is a BBQ mis step that belongs in your BBQ journey book. Kinda like my electric Brinkman smoker. I always think of it as my "What was I thinking?" moment. LOL

[Panhead John]

+1 on the electric smoker, mine was a cheap Smokey Joe brand…P.O.S.

[RichieB]

I'll chime in.

Favorite, all my cookers including the Genesis 3 burner may it R.I.P. The vortex, pizza oven with pizza stone and rotisserie for the Kettle. Little things like the heat diffuser for the side burner and the chimney grilling grate. I like the SnS but I can't remember the last time I used it. I do like and use the DnG. All the Lodge cast iron stuff. And the Presto electric griddle for counter top use. Great for that breakfast and smash burgers. The Anova but it gets a rest in the summer. All my thermometers, Smoke, DOT, POP, MK4 Pen and IR gun. Also the Thermoworks silcon heat pads. Finally, the electric cork screw opener.

Not favorite, the Weber rib rack for 5 racks. Might have used it once. And the 2 beer can chicken stands. In a past life, they were used but I haven't in at least 7 years.

That's basically it.

[Richard Chrz]

Favorites:
custom table for my 22 kettle.
my 26 kettle
fire bricks (I use instead of SNS)
my sns easy spin grate
fireboar(s) and fans
carbon steel 15 inch paella pan from lodge
anova SV
pizza steels for oven
whet stones
Mercer bread knife

Least favorites:
billows
Weber grate with removable center
KA stand mixer 600 pro
I have very few accessories, so not a lot of least favorites.

[Richard Chrz]

I mix about 8 loaves of sourdough, and about 8 sourdough pizzas a week. I have no real experience outside the bread realm with it. But this mixer https://www.ankarsrumoriginalusa.com/ for the same foot print and size, it handles 2x3 times the amount of dough for batch sizes. Far better system for mixing torque, and if looking new today, about the the same when considering pricing that size. If I can afford one, hopefully this winter. Too many wants. Lol

[WayneT]

I hear ya. I used to bake a lot more bread before my A1C went too for north. Trying hard to reduce carbs but not succeeding as well as I should. I love baking bread. There’s just something so satisfying about taking four basic, everyday ingredients and making something so delectable. It’s real artistry. I even went so far as to make my own baguette peel for transferring from the couche to the pan. I would buy 50# bags of high gluten KA bread flour and put it in gamma sealed buckets. Alas…

[Richard Chrz]

I buy those big bags as well. Im about 700 lbs of flour into the year right now, I’m a type 1 diabetic, so I eat very little of it. Thankfully my friends buy it all! Lol

[JCBBQ]

Tunes and temp - never cook without them. Whatever my least favorite was I got rid of.

[hoovarmin]

That's a great combo right there.

[LA Pork Butt]

Like most
Ceramic Grill Store Rig & Accessories
Ceramic Grill Store Woo
Defusers
Vortex
Thermapen
18” thongs
Smobot and Party
PAPRIKA app
BBQ Dragon

Don’t use often, but still like
Pizza Stone
SNS
Starter Chimney
Propane Torch

Like Least
Grill Grates
Everything that has found another home.

[hoovarmin]

+1 on the Paprika app. Don't know how I lived without it so long

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Love:

• 41x18 Craftsmen tool chest (10 drawer) keeps all my BBQ stuff handy
• 4 probe ThermoPro... recently acquired and not sure how I made it this far without it
• Hot Gloves (can move burning split w/o any drama)

Don't Use:

• Shredder claws for pulled pork
• Beer can chicken holder (currently used to hold fatwood sticks standing on end in the deep drawer)

Still Interested In

• Top for my tool chest (Richlite? //Poly cutting board? //Silicone?)
• Moisture meter for the wood....more for show and talkin smack when people are hangin around the pit

"Hey, grab me a piece of that 12% wood....nope not that one....try again "(you get the picture!)

[smokin fool]

Can't think of a fav off the top of me noggin.
My hate of the month right now is tongs, I can't find anything that grips worth a damn or is worth throwing over the back fence.
I've tried most all styles, tweezers, clap, scissors.
Metal, plastic, silicone, titanium....ok maybe not titanium but you get my drift

[Mosca]

I second the Weber tongs. That’s a good item.

[smokin fool]

I found my set of Weber BBQ tongs, I find them cumbersome, clumsy, awkward and overkill for most things I'm cooking apart from the grip thing.
I much prefer smaller kitchen style tongs, easier to use.
Added benefit, reduces the hair off ones knuckles so good for Qing and personal appearance....

[LA Pork Butt]

I like the ones that are hinged, and find the ones that are like a blended piece of metal at the hinge end to be cumbersome.