The 5 best outdoor cooking gifts for dad: A Father's Day gift guide

Features: 36-inch cooking surface | Four burners | Propane | Cutting board with trash bag holder  

About four years ago, I spent way too much time researching Blackstone griddles and decided to purchase a 36-inch griddle with the two side shelves with a cutting board and a trash bin. About a month after I started cooking everything from steaks and hamburgers to stir-fry, pancakes and even popcorn, we donated our BBQ grill to a family member. 

The versatility of the Blackstone griddle makes it an indispensable appliance for my family and me. As long as the temperate is above freezing, the majority of our meals are cooked on the griddle. The amount of space that the 36-inch model gives, with four adjustable burners, makes it easy to cook all aspects of a single meal at their respective temperatures at the same exact time. 

Pros:

• Can cook anything
• It heats up fast and stays hot
• It makes you feel like a professional chef

Cons:

• You might miss that grilled flavor

Features: 10,000 BTU side burner | 5 burners | 495 square inches of cooking area

I haven't owned a gas grill in several years, but after reading through ZDNet's best gas grills guide, I'm inclined to take Taylor's word that the Char-Broil Performance 5-burner grill is the best gas grill money can buy. It has a large cooking surface, porcelain-coated cooking grates and five different burners you can control and adjust to ensure you get a proper cook. 

There's a side burner that puts out plenty of heat so you can cook a side dish or boil some water while grilling. 

Also: Best gas grills review

Pros:

• Large cooking area
• Side burner
• Solid construction 

Cons:

• LP tank is hard to access
• No utensil hooks

Features: Meat probe included | Wireless connectivity | 780 sq. in cooking surface | Max temp of 500-degrees Fahrenheit | Pellet hopper capacity of 18 lbs

Out of all the outdoor cooking appliances on this list, the Traeger is the one I have the least amount of experience with. Since I have never cooked on a pellet grill, Traeger sent me a review sample for this article. The pellets do more than just provide smoke and flavor. They are also used as the lone heat source for the grill. I've cooked several different types of meat and even some asparagus over the last couple of weeks, and everything has turned out great. 

I've smoked chicken on the Traeger, using the built-in meat thermometer to monitor the cook from afar, thanks to the WiFire feature that lets you use your phone to manage the smoker. I've also grilled bratwursts and some hamburgers with the Traeger set to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. 

There's a learning curve to cooking with pellets -- one I haven't fully mastered myself but will surely get the hang of the more I use it. Which my family isn't mad about helping me with. Traegers are known for being easy to use and reliable, and thus far, that's been my exact experience with the Pro 780.

Also: Traeger Ironwood 650 Review

Pros:

• Easy setup
• Set it and forget it cooking
• Versatile  
  

Cons:

• Pellets can get expensive
• Learning curve if grilling

Features: Propane-powered | Max temp of 950 degrees Fahrenheit | Big enough to cook a 16-inch pizza | 90 second cook time

I love pizza. My family loves pizza. Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, I had started making my own pizza using our oven, and I could never get hot enough. Eventually, I found the Ooni Koda 16 gas-powered pizza oven that can cook a pie in under two minutes. 

My pizza game instantly went from mediocre to something you'd expect to see come out of an oven at a pizza restaurant. In addition to cooking pizza, I've used the Koda 16 to broil steak, veggies and fish. I've even baked bread in it. 

The temperature is hot enough that you can cook a quickly cook one pizza, go and add toppings to the next pizza, and the stone is back to temperature without having to wait for it to get to temp (that was my biggest complaint about cooking in our oven -- it was slow). 

Pros:

• Cooks pizza extremely fast
• It can be used for more than pizza
• Consistent temperature

Cons:

• You'll occasionally burn a pizza
• It doesn't include a pizza peel

Features: Bluetooth connectivity | Up to 165 ft range | Fully featured companion app

Overcooked meat isn't something any of us want. That's why the Meater Plus is my pick for the best outdoor cooking gadget. The Meater Plus comes in a charging case that doubles as a base station to extend the wireless connectivity from the thermometer to your phone. 

After initially charging the probe, the iPhone or Android app walks you through setup. Once the probe is in use, you can set alerts for specific temperatures based on the type of meat you're cooking. I had a couple of instances where the probe lost connection to the base, and it required me to remove the probe mid-cook, insert it back into the case and then the connection was restored. I'm not sure what caused the issue, but it's been infrequent. 

My biggest complaint is that the probe itself is fairly long, and for it to work properly, the majority of it has to be inserted into the cut of meat, which for small pieces of meat is a problem. 

Also: 5 best BBQ tools

Pros:

• Well designed
• Charging case doubles as a base station 
• The app is easy to use

Cons:

• Too big for small cuts of meat
• Connectivity can be iffy