Here’s What Grilling Pros Use at a BBQ Festival

Few things are better than summertime barbecues, so this past weekend, I went to a really fun barbecue festival in Chicago called the Windy City Smokeout. The four-day event had plenty of tasty craft beer, country music, and whiskey, but its big draw was the well-curated menu of food made by barbecue powerhouses. The festival hosted a ton of lauded mainstays from around the country, like Pappy’s Smokehouse (St. Louis, MO), Smoque BBQ (Chicago, IL), Panther City BBQ (Fort Worth, TX), Heritage Barbecue (San Juan Capistrano, CA), and many more. 

As someone who loves grilling at home, I enjoyed getting to taste some delightful and inspiring dishes. As a former restaurant cook and someone who tests cooking gear for a living, I had a blast getting to watch some absolute professionals in their element, serving up fresh barbecue to the masses. Below are some of my biggest takeaways and recommendations for upgrading your home grilling rig to sling ‘que like a professional.

Best Barbecue Tool Upgrades on Amazon

• Mairico Brisket Slicing Knife, $16, originally $20
• OXO Good Grips Chef’s Squeeze Bottle, Set of 2, $12
• Winco Steam Pan, $11
• New Star Foodservice Grill Turner/Spatula, $10, originally $15
• Hotec Stainless Steel 16-Inch Grilling Tongs, $10, originally $13
• Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Charcoal Grill, $297, originally $400
• Royal Gourmet BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker, $118, originally $140
• Avant Grub Eco-Friendly Food Trays, 50-Pack, $15
• Rovsun 21-Quart Electric Food Warmer, $78, originally $83

Mairico Brisket Slicing Knife

A powerful slicing knife is one of the most central tools for quickly preparing and serving great barbecue. Whether you’re slicing smoked brisket, ribs, or sausage, you want something that’s going to glide through the full length of your meat easily. Don’t substitute a regular chef’s knife or a serrated bread knife — you won’t get the long, smooth cuts you see when you enjoy food from professionals. “From the moment I unpacked it, I was amazed by its quality,” one shopper said of this 11-inch carving knife from Mairico. “It is unlike any other knife I have ever used for this purpose, and now I don’t know how I got along without it.” Grab one for only $16 and start slicing like a true professional. 

OXO Good Grips Chef’s Squeeze Bottle, Set of 2

When dishing out great barbecue, you want guests to be able to add a little extra sauce at their leisure, and having a couple of squeeze bottles on the table is absolutely essential. Don’t be lazy and put out the whole container of sauce, as if you just plucked it from the shelf at the market — it kills the mystique. Squeeze bottles are also important to help you quickly add some extra sauce to your food on the grill, so having one close by is key as well. Over 9,000 shoppers recently picked up this set from OXO, so if you’re not dining at one of their houses, then grab a pack for yourself. 

Winco Steam Pan

This is a serious professional move. Want to keep your sauce cool without freezing it or making it so chilled that you change its texture? Put one of these pans over a bowl of ice, and then drop your bottle of sauce inside it. You’ll be able to grab it quickly, and it’ll be the perfect temp without getting too cold. It’s a “portable” version of how most restaurant chefs keep food cold and fresh on the line, and it’s an ideal way to streamline things at a barbecue.

New Star Foodservice Grill Turner/Spatula

When you’re grilling, it’s function over form, and this is the type of cooking spatula that really gets the job done. This popular spatula’s compact size gives you excellent control, and its 3-inch width is great for flipping burgers, turning ribs, or jostling some burnt ends. 

Hotec Stainless Steel 16-Inch Grilling Tongs

Using short grilling tongs might give you good control and take up less space, but when you’re spending a lot of time next to the grill, you want something that’ll keep you at arm’s length from the smoke and fire. I used to work the flat top grill in a restaurant whose kitchen was often over 100°F in the summer, and I’ll do anything to stay cool at the grill these days — so I’m definitely picking up a set of these while they’re $10, and you should, too.

Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Charcoal Grill

I saw a couple of egg-shaped smokers — sometimes referred to as a kamado grill — at the festival, which are favored tools of many home cooks and grilling professionals. This popular charcoal smoker from Char-Griller has an impressive 445 square inches of cooking area, as well as functions for both direct and indirect heat, meaning you can smoke low and slow or throw your food on some ripping heat. One shopper pointed out that it’s easy to clean and that charcoal “lasts forever” in it. “If you want a kamado on a budget, this is the one to get. It has plenty of space to cook and won’t break your bank,” they said. Try it out while it’s over $100 off.

Royal Gourmet BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker

I also saw plenty of classic, old-school barrel-shaped horizontal smokers — no Bluetooth-enabled, AI-boosted grills in sight. Granted, ones that pitmasters bring to events like those (and use in their restaurants) are humongous and make more food than you’d need for your whole neighborhood — but a smaller, more affordable one can help you get the same flavors. This charcoal grill and offset smoker has an amazing 811 square inches of cooking space, and you can grill or smoke, depending on what you’re going for. There’s space for 32 burgers, 16 steaks, 52 sausages, or probably anything else you’re looking to fire up. “You can make fantastic smoked meats with this, just like an expensive smoker,” one home cook said. “This is a great way to get into offset smoking.”

Avant Grub Eco-Friendly Food Trays, 50 Pack

Having disposable food baskets for guests is a great way to recreate the festival or restaurant vibe at home, minimize dirty dishes, and give people an easy way to move around while eating. These are especially good if you’re someone who likes to load up on a bunch of different barbecue dishes and sides, and you can add plenty of extra barbecue sauce to your food without worrying about it spilling over. Grab a pack of these next time you’re having company, and it’ll unquestionably enhance the vibe.

Rovsun 21-Quart Electric Food Warmer

A food warmer (also known as a steam tray) lets you keep your food warm and covered for longer periods of time, so it doesn’t get cold or dry out. I definitely saw many of these at the festival, and this one from Rovsun is a great price for home use. These seriously make a humongous difference — if you grill often, you know how quickly barbecued protein can lose its heat, texture, and juiciness once it comes off the grill, so tossing it into one of these is an absolute professional move that your guests will appreciate.