Revolutionary Stuff

Meadow Creek’s Chicken Cookers, those grills with rotating sandwich grates, take barbecue fund-raising and backyard grilling to a whole new level. Double-sided rotating grates make it easy to turn the entire rack of meat with one hand. The stainless steel grates never rust and are easy to maintain, for many long years of use.

In addition to their ability to grill amazing bone-in chicken parts, these grills are perfect for many other foods too. So really, the name “chicken cookers” can be a bit deceiving. How many people have ignored these whizbang grills because of their name?

In this article, I will show you how great the chicken cookers are for grilling in general and a sweet list of upgrades you might want to consider for expanding the usefulness of your new Meadow Creek chicken cooker. (more…)

You’ve been researching, and saving for the day you can buy your dream barbecue trailer. The most exciting part of all is making the smoker your own—adding the upgrades that are perfect for you and your needs.

I am a big fan of Meadow Creek’s tank smokers because they come with features that you’d have to pay extra for on many other brands, such as the stainless steel grates and even the fact that the grates slide out of the tank.

A second reason I am such a big fan of Meadow Creek tank smokers is that you can deck them out even further with a long list of options, including insulated firebox, stainless steel work shelves, and an awesome-looking trim package.

Not only that, but Meadow Creek will build your custom barbecue trailer exactly how you order it. In theory, that is how all smoker manufacturers operate, but sadly that’s not how it always works. Of course, we are all human and not above making mistakes once in a while, but when you order a custom Meadow Creek trailer, you can expect it will be built to the specs on the order.

I could go on about all my rational reasons for being so in love with Meadow Creek, but that’s material for another article. In this post, I want to explain the various ways you may choose to deck out your Meadow Creek smoker. (more…)

I’ve been cooking on Meadow Creek’s offset SQ36 smoker for several years. Before I moved to PA, I swapped my older SQ36 with a display model we had in the warehouse. Since I take a lot of pictures for my blog, I wanted to upgrade to the latest design.

To break in the SQ36, I cooked a pile of food for a Friday night barbecue dinner—two whole chickens, two pork butts, a pork tenderloin, a rack of ribs, some chicken breasts, two meat loaves, a few pounds of loose sausage, and a pan of beans. All this fit on the SQ36 at the same time. In the kitchen, my wife made scalloped potatoes, veggies and dip, and a couple of ice cream desserts.

It was so much fun playing with my smoker and cooking all this food. I got plenty of positive comments and strengthened some friendships. Good barbecue can do that, you know.

There are many types of smokers on the market. They vary in size, fuel type, airflow, etc. The SQ36 is an offset charcoal or wood fired smoker, sometimes called a “stick burner.” The offset design places the firebox on the side instead of under the grate. The air draws in through the firebox vents and enters the smoking chamber through a distribution channel that tries to equalize the temperature from one end to the other. The stack draws air from the smoker at the bottom left.

(more…)

As a Meadow Creek reseller, we’ve been grilling with the BBQ26S Chicken Cooker for years. Last month I got one of these for my own backyard as a birthday gift, so I thought I’d show you how Meadow Creek is changing backyard grilling with their chicken cookers.

Meadow Creek originally designed their Chicken Cookers for grilling large amounts of bone-in skin-on chicken pieces. The deep pits are part of the secret in grilling bone-in chicken; you still have a direct fire, but not as direct as a regular gas or park grill. (Have you ever tried grilling bone-in chicken on one of those?)

The trailer units with three or more pits make it easy to crank out huge amounts of grilled chicken. Instead of wiring two big grates together and having a couple of big men flipping them by hand, these grills have a rotating sandwich grate. The grates hinge along one side and lock on the other. Now even a 12-year-old can flip your chicken!

(more…)