About American Meathead
I’m Jim. I started this site because every other BBQ site sounded the same and clearly hadn’t owned the gear they were “recommending.” I bought the smokers. I cooked on them. I’m going to tell you which one to buy.
Why this site exists
Two things bug me about the BBQ internet in 2026:
- “Best of” lists where the rankings shuffle whenever the affiliate commission changes. If a review site moves a Traeger from #3 to #1 the month a retailer bumps the payout 2%, somebody’s lying to you. Probably the site. Definitely not the Traeger.
- Recipes that treat dietary restrictions like a marketing afterthought. Half the BBQ tables I cook for include somebody who’s gluten-free, keto, low-sodium, or actually-celiac. A keto rub variation isn’t a niche — it’s basic hospitality. So every cornerstone recipe here ships with a tested GF, keto, or low-sodium sibling.
The Method (four rules, no exceptions)
- We buy it. Every grill, every probe, every rub — paid retail. No loaner units, no manufacturer samples, no vendor pitches. The receipts are in our office.
- We cook on it. Minimum 10 cooks per gear unit. Brisket. Ribs. Chicken thighs. Pizza if it claims to handle pizza. Every cook logged with date, temp profile, and outcome.
- We document everything. Temp curves. Smoke ring photos. The grease stains. The auger jams. The control board that crapped out at month 4. You see what we see.
- We rate it honestly. Rankings never change because the affiliate payout did. If we lose the deal, we lose the deal. The brisket doesn’t care.
What I actually own
The current cook lineup, all paid retail:
- Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24 (pellet, primary daily driver)
- Weber SmokeFire EX4 (pellet, for sear + smoke comparison cooks)
- Pit Boss 850 Pro (pellet, the budget reference point)
- Lone Star Grillz 24×40 offset (stick burner, comp practice)
- Weber Performer Deluxe kettle (charcoal, for sears and reverse sears)
- Big Green Egg Large, bought 2019, still running
- Thermapen ONE (primary instant-read)
- Fireboard 2 Pro (for long cooks — 6 probes, real wifi, never the app)
That’s the bench. Anything reviewed here was either tested on one of these or we bought the unit specifically to test for the review.
What this site is not
- A recipe blog with affiliate sprinkles. Gear authority first, recipes alongside.
- Influencer “first impressions” content. One cook is not a review.
- Carnivore-only. The diabetic uncle and the gluten-free niece deserve actual BBQ, not a vegetable platter as an afterthought.
- A stock-photo brand. Every hero shot, every recipe photo, every gear photo is either real or labeled as a placeholder while we shoot the real one.
Get in touch
Editorial / press: jim@americanmeathead.com
Tip line (something to review, something we got wrong): same address.
Newsletter: Smoke Rings & Flavor Things — one email a week, no garbage.
— Jim