Barbeque can be tough to prepare without any tools so it may be beneficial to have a cooker, or BBQ smoker. Barbeque can actually be cooked on anything as long as you are able to maintain a consistent temperature. You can use an electric smoker, ceramic smoker, charcoal grill, offset fire box smoker, pellet grill, bullet style smoker, or a gas grill. Whichever you use, you need to be able to control the air flow and fuel. More air in you cooker equals a hotter temperature. When you can control the air flow, you control the temperature.



Perhaps the easiest way to know what the temperature is inside your cooker is having a thermometer there. An oven thermometer will work just fine by placing it at the same level your meat is at. You can get a fairly accurate reading of the temperature by doing a quick look because an oven thermometer doesn't adjust quickly to its surrounding temperature.

If you're a little more serious about your BBQ, you may opt to go for the more accurate thermometer, an electric probe thermometer. This would be inserted into the pit, at cooking grate level. This is a better option because you can check your cooking temperature without having to open the cooker. To assure this accuracy, make sure your thermometer does well in temperatures above 180 degrees F.

Some probe thermometers lose their accuracy above that temperature. You can also find thermometers on the doors and lids of many cookers, these can be used but you need to check the calibration and whether or not your meat is close to it.

An instant read thermometer is probably the most important to tool for BBQ. It is definitely the most simple and efficient choice concerning thermometers. After purchase you can calibrate it by giving it an ice bath. This is done by adding a small amount of water in a tub of ice and inserting your thermometer. It should read 32 degrees F. If this is not the case, you can adjust the lock nut on the back of the thermometer to ensure it reads properly. You could go the other route of course by boiling water. Keep in kind that water boils at different temperatures though.

Whichever thermometer you choose for your barbeque, make sure it is accurate and helping you cook your BBQ the way you want it cooked. The goal is for your BBQ to be tender and well-cooked for a filling meal everyone is sure to love.