One of the best tools when it comes to cooking meat is the Thermapen™. There are several cuts of meat that have a small window of perfect doneness, and the only way to nail it every time is with a Thermapen™. With 3-second readings and High accuracy to ±0.7°F, no other thermometer can match it. Note: the red one is the fastest.
Cookbooks
There is no better way to explore your horizons than with new cookbook Here are a couple of my favorites:
The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook
Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers
Whole Beast Butchery: The Complete Visual Guide to Beef, Lamb, and Pork
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
If you are looking strictly for a BBQ cookbook, I would go with one of these:
Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue: Barbecue Your Way to Greatness With 575 Lip-Smackin' Recipes from the Baron of Barbecue
Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint
Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste, and Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking
Knives
Who doesn't love a good knife? Knives are the essential cooking tool, and you can never have too many. Here are a couple of good options:
Need a brisket slicer? Check out the Forschner Fibrox 12" Granton Edge Slicer.
How bout a nice Japanese Knife? The Shun Pro Usuba 6.5" is a really nice choice.
Edge Pro Knife Sharpening Kit
Once you have sharpened a knife with the Edge Pro, you will never use any other method. This kit allows you to get a mirror finish on a blades edge. If you are ever in a pinch and need to shave with a household kitchen knife, I would be sure to sharpen it with the edge pro first. There is no gimmick, and the price tag kinda gives that away, but you will never have to use another sharpening system again.
Big Green Egg
Why not go all out and get an egg. You know you want one, and what better time to splurge than at Christmas. They come in all shapes and sizes, so I'm sure you can find the one that is right for the special person on your list. Note: just because they may already have an Egg does not mean that they couldn't use another one.
The Pig Tail Food Flipper
A great alternative to the bbq tool set. Easily flip and handle smaller cuts of meat. I recommend the medium or small version. The largest one is just too big.
A BBQ Class
For the serious bbq'er in your life, look into some of these cooking classes.
Pellet Envy Competition BBQ Classes
Bub-Ba-Q Competition Cooking Class
Jack's Old South Cooking School
Chimney Starter
Most grill masters are probably already using one of these, but if you've seen a bottle of lighter fluid at your buddies house, by all means buy them a chimney starter. If they are using the lighter fluid in other ways you might want to check into this.
Epicurean Cutting Board
These cutting boards are rock solid. I have two of them that I use daily, and they are still as good as new after 5+ years.
Booze
What goes better with meat than booze? This one is really up to your preference, because most booze goes with bbq. Well everything except these:
