Wrapping up yet another year in the best of backyard BBQ is our last edition for 2019 of "HOT From The Pit!", and it's a great one!

The Great Giveaway Sweepstakes winner for December 2019 is new 1st-year member Dave Uheline.

"For real?" Dave said. "Thanks much all. Been using site [for a] few years. Joined in September. Learned a lot. Now better equipped, I Can't Wait!

Dave selected the Hasty-Bake Gourmet 256 Dual Finish Charcoal Grill, MSRP $1,399!

Give Dave a congratulations in his announcement post here.

Each monthly winner also gets:

Every paid USA member* gets automatic entry each month that their membership is current, there's nothing else you need to do. Whether you joined yesterday or have been with us since our first year in 2014, your name is in the hat. Your odds are 1 in 1,333 over the course of a year. *For more on why it's only valid for USA members, please see the Q&A section at the bottom of this newsletter.

You snooze, you lose!

Make sure the email address in your account settings is one you use regularly, and make sure you have us (@amazingribs.com) whitelisted or added as a contact. And when you get an email from us, OPEN IT!

The winner has 5 days from when we notify him or her, and once that time's up we draw another name and the previous winner forfeits, and this is non-reversible. It happens every few months, someone doesn't get our email and they forfeit. Don't let that be you!

If you'd prefer this newsletter delivered to a different email address, just scroll to the bottom of this newsletter and click the "Update Profile" link as shown by the red arrow below. There you can change the email address to which this newsletter goes.

Registration for BBQ Stars is open again only through 12/24 so how about giving it as a gift?

Each of 11 top chefs and pitmasters presents a series of 8 to 10 videos covering all aspects of outdoor cooking. That means 107 videos on how to make great barbecue, 15 of them featuring Meathead! You own them; watch, re-watch, learn at your own pace.

And the even better news is that registration is open once again! For more information and to sign up, see this page for more information. LIMITED TIME ONLY.

Last month we drew a name out of the hat from all who've registered so far for our Meat-Up in Memphis to receive the "Golden Ticket" prize; a free subscription to the above-mentioned BBQ Stars!

Congratulations to Suzanne Pfaff, also known by her member handle "NotLazyRustic", as our November winner!

There's more! Our next contest runs until the end of December. Anyone who's booked a ticket to the Meat-Up in Memphis through December 31 is automatically entered to win a Fireboard Extreme BBQ Edition 6-Probe Thermometer ($249)!

There's more again! W e are pleased to announce January's giveaway: Everyone who's registered by January 31, 2020 will automatically be entered for a chance to  win a classic Pit Barrel Cooker (MSRP $299.99)! You'll be flabbergasted as you create one perfectly smoked delicacy after another with little more effort than preparation. Check out our platinum medal review of the Pit Barrel Cooker  here .

Click here to read Forbes.com's comments on the Memphis Meat-Up . Join us for informative pork seminars, amazing BBQ, a restaurant crawl, social events, and more!

 We're well over halfway to our 400 seat capacity, so reserve your spot soon.

PK Grills has given us an unadvertised bundle deal that they refer to as the "Big BBQ Bundle". This deal isn't promoted on their website, so it can only be seen by people who have access to the Big BBQ Bundle link (us)!

It is a PK360, in silver or graphite (as shown below), and every accessory they sell for it. We are part of a small group that has been invited to promote it.

The superb chefs at ChefSteps, the guys who invented Joule, Meathead's favorite sous vide machine, have an awesome website with some polished videos.

Chef Grant Crilly from ChefSteps knows his BBQ and grilling. They have started their own version of the Pitmaster Club called "Studio Pass". It contains a lot of superb content including recipes for such cool stuff such as grilled yakitori, grilled veggies, potatoes, hamachi collar, and beautiful photos and info about most beef cuts.

Studio Pass lists for $69 a year but Grant is offering it to Pitmaster Club members 50% off because he doesn’t want Meathead to tell you about what he did when they got drunk together.

To get the discount, go here then click on “Studio Pass” and then “Subscribe”. Enter “ AMAZING50 ” when prompted.



Hurry! Offer ends December 31.

Each year we put together a handy gift guide for the BBQ and grilling enthusiast in your life. We've kicked the tires on hundreds of products from the most expensive grills to the least expensive tongs, and here's our top picks!

Meathead designed a Membership Certificate .pdf that you can download, add your name (or your BBQ name), print, and even frame. Let all in your office or your home know just how serious you are!

To download, edit and print, see this post.

Share the love; send a friend, family member, or co-worker who loves BBQ, grilling, and cooking in general this link to snag a free 30-day trial membership to the Pitmaster Club ( o ne free trial per person) : https://amazingribs.com/pitmaster

Members get:

 Once a Free Trial member loves us and becomes a $23.95/year paid member, they'll also get the comprehensive temperature guide magnet & automatic monthly entry into the monthly "Great Giveaway" Sweepstakes.

Maybe they're not ready to join yet? That's OK too. Point them toward our free semi-monthly public newsletter, Smoke Signals , where they can get to know us with free seasonal recipes, tips & tricks, and links to fun & informative content to their email inbox. We never spam or sell their email addresses, and we're happy to share our privacy promise .

Take a look below to see what our members have cooked up in the last month from the "Show Us What You're Cooking (SUWYC) - Volume 15, Fall/Winter 2019-2020" topic!

Well let's kick this month off with "Ernest" . He was having some fun in the kitchen and making some "tater scallops" Check these out. Could've fooled me. :)

"theroc" cooked a 2.5 pound pork loin roast sous vide. It was dry brined then rubbed with MMD, then into the bath for 3 hours at 137F. GrillGrates were then fired up for some direct heat. Looks like he had some yummy results.

"gijsveltman" was on that baby back train this month. The highlight were these baby back ribs which he cured using the same recipe as he uses for bacon, then he smoked them for about 5 hours. Spectacular color!

"ItsAllGoneToTheDogs" fired up the MAK pellet cooker for an epic beef cook that he mentioned made everyone "fat 'n happy". He chopped these two massive steaks right off the prime rib. He reversed seared them and the results were fantastic. Look at that crust.

Now let's head down to Texas for some good home cookin'. Check out this pork wellington that was made by "texastweeter". This is the kinda meal that sticks to your bones.

Next up, we head out to New York for a massive T-bone cooked up by "SteveB"......Caveman-style!

"Richard Chrz" continues to wow us with his wonderful bread creations. Check out these lovely loaves of bread. Just beautiful.

Well it looks like "Attjack" and his new Blaze gas grill are getting along nicely. Check out his yakitori cook! Not to be left out, he fired up the Evo flat-top griddle as well for some pork pot stickers.

"rgriffeath" made one of my favorites, turkey pot pie! I can't think of a better meal for a cold winter day.

"Red Man" scored some Snake River Farms American Wagyu flap meat and made some killer, flavor-packed tacos. Great looking cook.

"Old Glory" made t ri-tip rubbed with Oakridge Santa Maria seasoning cooked on the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill using the Vortex accessory for the reverse sear. It looks like it was a huge hit.

Well it is time to give some props to the Boss, "Huskee" . Just to prove that he still has it, check out his USDA Choice brisket that he smoked up on his Yoder Loaded Wichita log burner. Bark and smoke rings for days! Great work, Boss!

"Berner9" shares this nice shot of wings? Nope...chicken breasts on the kettle, for tacos. What a shame there's no picture of the tacos. Next time, Berner9!

"treesmacker" may have coined a new acronym: SVAF, for sous vide air fry. Wings cooked SV with Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin seasoning, then air fried with a tater. Wow, I would be plenty pleased to see that waiting for me.

Here's a gorgeous bird "painter" cooked in his new 12" Smithey cast iron pan, complete with home-grown spuds.

"Troutman" is all about the holiday season. Here we have a California Prime tri-tip dressed in its festive chimichurri sauce, followed by a snapper stuffed with oyster bread stuffing and a good sprinkling of Tony Chachere's seasoning, fresh dill, olive oil and lemon. Gorgeous presentations, sir!

To round out this month we need to go down to El Salvador for another awesome outdoor cook by "gijsveltman" . F irst he made tacos al pastor on a horizontal trompo to cook the tacos, using a wood fire; full of spicy, smokey flavor. Not to mention some dino ribs. What a cook, and what a note to end on!

Your assignment: sharpen your photography skills and set up some great poses to help your pic get in the running for next month's issue. Make sure to consider proper lighting and unique dishes to make your cooks really stand out. To share your cooks, please visit the "Show Us What You're Cooking (SUWYC) - Volume 15, Fall/Winter 2019-2020" topic.

Don't forget to learn a little about your fellow Pit members and others in the BBQ biz by listening to Greg Rempe's recent weekly interviews on his members only PitCasts, posted each week on Thursday in The "PitCast" with Greg Rempe channel.

Here are the most recent shows:



DON'T MISS THE CHANCE to be a guest on Greg's next PitCast!

You don't have to be a pro pitmaster or chef, you don't even have to know much about cooking or BBQ, you just have to answer his questions and tell us a little about yourself. He does most of the work and makes it very enjoyable. Click here to let Greg know you're interested.

You may have asked:

Q: Why are only USA members eligible for the monthly Sweepstakes?

A: Most countries have laws governing sweepstakes and drawings like ours to make sure they are honest. In the US they are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. It cost us $3,000 to have lawyers write  the rules for our sweepstakes . They put us in compliance with US law and we pay an annual fee to have the winner drawn at random by a third party. We have members in more than 20 countries and we could never afford to do legal compliance for all of them. In addition, many of the manufacturers do not ship outside the US, and even if they did, the shipping costs and customs charges are prohibitive. If you list a US address in your account info we assume you are eligible for the sweepstakes.  But there are many many other good reasons to join .

Q: Then why can't members outside the US get a discount on membership since we're ineligible for this perk?

A: It is illegal to charge for entry into a sweepstakes. Therefore if we discount non-US memberships and charge more for US memberships, we are in effect charging for the perk of the Sweepstakes, and this is illegal. Everyone pays the same low rate of about $2 USD per month! There are many many other good reasons to join .

For more Help and FAQ topics, be sure to visit our "User Manual" by clicking the Help button in the main red menu bar.

Join Meathead live every last Thursday of each month at https://facebook.com/AmazingRibs

Bring your toughest questions!

" HOT From The Pit! " is the exclusive members-only monthly newsletter of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club by

Pit Boss Aaron "Huskee" Lyons

and Moderator John "Spinaker" Bowlsby.

You're receiving this because you're awesome and you're a member of the Club

For past issues check out the newsletter archive.