We're excited to announce a couple improvements to both our Pitmaster Club search functionality and our "Great Giveaway" Sweepstakes prize list!

We've recently made the switch to Google for AmazingRibs.com searches. Now you'll see more specific, detailed search results through our 2,000+ pages of recipes, reviews, mythbusting, and cooking science quicker! Notice that you can also search the Pitmaster Club with vBulletin's search functions.

If you missed the announcement last month in The Pit, we've added two new prizes for our monthly Great Giveaway Sweepstakes!

The fine folks at Slow 'N Sear (SnSGrills.com) have put together the "Slow 'N Sear Platinum Bundle", which includes the following 12 items:

Green Mountain Grills has added their new TREK Prime portable pellet cooker, complete with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and both AC or 12-volt DC power capability, to our Second Prize list! Value $399.

View the full list of all available prize choices here.

Last, but certainly not least, we have an exciting announcement for the 4 summer months of May through August;

In celebration of peak BBQ and grilling season, we have teamed with the fine folks at Weber to offer 4 months of Amazing grill giveaways exclusively to our Pitmaster Club members!

Current paid Pitmaster Club members will be automatically entered into our regular 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Prize "Great Giveaway" Sweepstakes, but will also have automatic entry to win one of 4 Weber prizes during the months of May, June, July, and August!

Featured are:

And with more great exclusive stuff coming soon, now is the perfect time to invite friends and family to become members!

These prizes will be announced and awarded in the same manner and in conjunction with our regular Great Giveaway Sweepstakes, and according to our Official Sweepstakes Rules.

"A great way to wake up on Easter morning. Very excited to win the Grand Prize. I’ll select the Blaze Prelude with cart and natural gas. We just built a new home and have a natural gas setup out on the patio. Thank you!" he said. Sounds like you're going to have a great setup, Steve!

Blaze is a newer brand with an interesting history. Parent company BBQGuys.com, carries a vast catalog of products for cooking, grilling and entertaining, including a variety of popular gas grill brands. This basic model has few frills, but is beautifully made in high grade 304 stainless steel with a seamless welded hood and 8 mm stainless rod grates. It has three heavy, cast stainless burners with 14,000 BTU each. Flame stabilizing grids blanket the burners to spread heat and reduce flare ups. Removable dividers between each of the main burners accentuate heat zone separation. On “High”, it can hit 650°F, with the optional IR ceramic sear burner, Blaze blasts to 850°F. It’s a breeze to swap out one of the mains for the sear burner, because all burners slide in and out of valve posts at the front by the control panel and are held in place by cotter pins at the back: No tools needed. We tested the next size up, the 32″ 4-burner.

Second Prize winners get to pick 1 prize from an excellent array of options:

April 2023's Second Prize winner is Allen Calvert. He chose the Ergo Chef Ultimate Grilling Kit Knife Set, MSRP $300.

That smile says it all. Congrats, Allen!

Third Prize winners get the $436 value Backyard Pitmaster Prize Package with a variety of cool stuff as shown here:

April 2023's Third Prize winner is Michael Hiers, a.k.a. "mhiers".

Congrats, Mike!

WE NOTIFY SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS BY EMAIL. Nearly every month at least one winner forfeits the prize by not responding to our email with the good news! Make sure the email address in your account settings is one you use regularly, and make sure you have @amazingribs.com as a contact in your email software. And when you get an email from us, OPEN IT!

To view your registered email address, look at the very top center of the screen when you're logged into the Pitmaster Club. To change it click My Membership in the main red menu bar, then My Settings. Then click the ACCOUNT tab. Here you can see your registered email and click the Request Form link to change it.

You may remember that Max Good shared his review-in-progress of the Traeger Ironwood & Ironwood XL pellet cookers back in mid-February. He finished his thorough testing of the midsized Ironwood, and his review is ready for your enjoyment and education!

We thought we'd add to the fun and start sharing some killer fire & flame shots submitted by our members over the years. Be sure to visit the 🔥 Feed the Flame! 🔥 topic and share your 'before the food' shots.

Redman snapped this perfect action shot on his Weber Kettle.

Old Glory seared these pork chops on the IR burner. The flames were blasting!!

ecowper had surf and turf on the sear!

DaveD had these coals screaming on his Weber Kettle.

And now for everyone's favorite part, here's the Show Us What You're Cooking (SUWYC) Highlight Reel!

These shots were taken from our Show Us What You're Cooking (SUWYC) Volume 29 - Spring 2023 in the Show Us channel.

Tough to beat a smash burger hot from the griddle, courtesy of Attjack

Next up we have some great looking roasted chicken from Elton's BBQ. Cooked on his Weber Kettle with Vortex insert.

Troutman ups the game with this cherry smoked turbot filet over a bed of avocado/mango/strawberry salsa. Served with rosemary balsamic potatoes.

While it is spring time, the winter in the upper-midwest will not quit. Consequently, this beef soup with roasted veggies from Richard Chrz is just what the doctor ordered.

Henrik was gifted this Japanese table grill. He just had to break it in with two thin ribeyes. And a casually interested third party.

Spring time is also pastrami season! Check out this Reuben made by barelfly

DaveD smoked up this pork shoulder on his Weber Kettle and Pit Boss pellet smoker. Double duty produced some killer results.

Seafood delight: oysters on the half shell, garlic shrimp, and mushroom risotto from troymeister. Spectacular!

SoulHunter07 cured these venison hams to be hanged for 5 months! This is his version of Italian Mocetta.

Red beans, rice with Rancho Gordo Domingo Rojo beans. Served with Aleppo pepper sausage. mnavarre had this cooking all day long for a perfect end of the day meal.

SheliaAnn made this country fried steak with potatoes and peas. Nothing stick to your bones better than this home cooked meal.

texastweeter grilled up some crappies and bluegill for tacos and cilantro rice.

DTro grilled up this salmon fillet over live fire. Marinaded in soy sauce, sake and sesame oil.

VanW smoked up these chicken thighs on his Weber Kettle.

TWBarbecue made these "Heritage Farms Cheshire porterhouse pork chops" with dijon mustard cream sauce.

Slieb845 seared this ribeye on his Weber Kettle. He also cooked asparagus and potatoes on the kettle.

This was only a fraction of the great shots members are currently uploading to our current Show Us What You're Cooking topic, there's plenty more but we can't fit all of them here. Thank you to all who shared yours, we really appreciate it!

For food photo tips, be sure to read Meathead's Food Photography article.

In case you've forgotten, here's the perks available to all current members...

Paid members, remember to click the link above, sign in and download your 6 FREE e-books:

They're a college course on cookin'! They retail for $3.99 each, but paid members get all 6 free. Free Trial members get one free.

Don't forget about your FREE digital subscription to “Tailgater Magazine, Your Parking Lot and Backyard Entertainment Guide”. They feature great food & drink recipes, entertainment ideas, and cool gear and products to make your next tailgater super.

The DigestThis.news Bulletin is the monthly newsletter from our companion website DigestThis.news.

Keep up on essential food news "from farm to fork", curated from credible sources the world over on a variety of food-related articles by award-winning author and food journalist Dave Joachim.

Founded in 1989, Barbecue News Magazine is the only magazine devoted to barbecue and it features columns from BBQ Hall of Famers Ardie Davis and Paul Kirk, recipes, news from BBQ associations, a calendar of events, a restaurant guide, book reviews, and ruminations by other experts including the team at AmazingRibs.com. Your FREE digital versions are especially cool because they're interactive. Many articles and ads are clickable linking you to more info.

First-time customers get $15 off $100 purchase from Porter Road, an online butcher shop specializing in meats from Kentucky and Tennessee. Hand-cut at their facility and shipped fresh whenever possible!

Get a 10% discount at Heaven Made Products, unlimited use. HMP offers a wide variety of high umami, low salt, low MSG, gluten-free, soy-free and egg-free products. Don't let what's not there fool you, these products are awesome, they're Huskee's favorites!

Get $10 OFF your $99+ purchase at Snake River Farms (SRF) by using your code found here at checkout.

Meat N’ Bone is an online butcher shop offering more than 350 premium quality meats from the best programs in the US, Australia, Japan and Spain. They focus on G1 Certified USDA Choice and Prime beef, Wagyu-Angus Cross Beef (Prime+), and Japanese Wagyu A5. They offer 24 different types of ribeye and 5 types of picanha!

Pitmaster Club Members can now get 10% Off any order from Hassell Cattle Company Texas Wagyu!

Located in Rusk, TX, Hassell Cattle Company is a 3-generation ranch and home of "Blue Collar Wagyu", a high-Prime Wagyu/Angus cross that the "every man" can afford and enjoy. 100% hormone and antibiotic-free F1 cross of certified Wagyu bulls and Angus cows.

Orders of $200+ ($150 for those in Texas) will ship free!

These Grill Armor cooking and grilling gloves are EN407 certified and can withstand heat up to 932°F! These are thick but lightweight gloves, with flexible five fingers flex design and silicone super-grip, providing the highest protection for your hands, so you can cook with confidence!

Members can get 10% off here at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Grill Armor's website through April 2023.

Do you enjoy whiskey, bourbon, rye and other spirits? Fellow Pitmaster Club member and founder of www.ForWhiskeyLovers.com, Doug Stone, has given us a special 10% off code for anything on his website. They ship to 47 US states and 27 countries.

The team at Grill Masters Club hand picks the finest BBQ sauces, dry rubs, marinades, mustards, hot sauces, wood chips, recipes and more, and sends them to you in their cool subscription boxes. It's a great way to discover new and delicious products!

As a Pitmaster Club member, you can get $5 off with the code here.

Give the gift of membership! Get your friend, family, coworker or neighbor into earth's largest BBQ membership community of pitmasters, fire tamers, and kitchen pros. Cost is $40 and this includes the $34.95 1-year membership, the cost of the card and the postage to their mailbox.

Get the NY Times Best Seller that the pros love too!

Coming Soon: The Meathead Method: Barbecue Science Meets Art

In his forthcoming book, The Meathead Method: Barbecue Science Meets Art, Meathead teaches more of the innovative methods and uses his master's degree in art to help you elevate your cooking with fire and smoke to culinary art by exploring the intersections between art, craft, and science.

Watch for it Spring 2024. Until then don't forget your membership gets you free previews of this new book!

Whether you're buying knives, pool filters, batteries, or bed spreads, by starting your Amazon shopping adventures at http://tinyurl.com/shop4amazingribs, AmazingRibs.com will receive affiliate revenues for each of your purchases. This has zero impact on your purchase price since the affiliate revenues are paid directly by Amazon!



Join Meathead on the last Thursday each month (unless it's a holiday) at 7:30 p.m. Central for his live monthly "fireside chats" on YouTube or Facebook. Bring your toughest questions, a drink, and click the icons below.

"HOT From The Pit!" is the exclusive members-only monthly newsletter of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club lovingly prepared by Pit Boss Aaron "Huskee" Lyons and Moderator John "Spinaker" Bowlsby

For past issues check out the "HOT From The Pit!" archive