Much respect to Blackbird. They now carry the 12-inch cast iron skillet from Lodge, one of the best pans I own and what should be staple in any man’s kitchen. Lodge grill pans are also highly recommended. Best thing is the pre-seasoning – so no need to cook bacon in it for a month or back it in salt before becoming master of stove top burgers.

More looks at one of the most beautiful, and simple, skillets around after the jump.

This is the summer to step up the grill set up. Eyes are on the Big Green Egg. With a ceramic body, the Egg is suited to all types of outdoor cooking – baking, grilling, and smoking. Essentially a complete outdoor cooker, the benefits of the Egg include ease of cleaning and starting (with lump coal charcoal the grill is ready to use in just ten minutes), as well as advertised “awesome results.”

Having shifted between a gas and a charcoal grill (i.e. using two) for years, it seems appropriate to up the ante. Well worth checking out the full details at biggreenegg.com.

Clocked Supergrau today via this fantastic leather saddle. It’s essentially a magnetic knife block, capable of holding 8 knives, but a damn sight sexier than the normal. It fits over several cutting boards, thus providing handsome storage for those too. The chosen material, leather, clearly well-suited to the aging that scraps and cuts will undoubtedly manage. We like aged boots, so why not well aged kitchen accessories too?

Supergrau was founded earlier this year and provides really nice twists to typical home needs. All pieces are hand-crafted near their home base of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Every man needs a slow cooker.

In this need there are several options and most are quite good for making things like beef brisket. Margriet Foolen’s Slow Cooker, however, is a little different animal from the average crock pot or dutch oven. Her design, produced for Dutch brand Royal VKB, modernizes the look of the traditional tagine (a Moroccan device traditionally of Terra cotta). The Slow Cooker is of traditional material, but adds a silicon ring that makes transition from oven to table seamless.

Is it vastly different from a normal tagine? No. But, it is a particularly handsome piece a kitchen equipment. (via Dwell).

The strangest gift I ever received through mail was a Reuben Sandwich Kit from Zingerman’s. The Ann Arbor outpost does a terrific job, however, of sourcing foodstuffs and preparing packages that defy the limitations of ones local markets. That same principle can be applied to mail order steaks. Do local steakhouses have better cuts than you get at your nearby butcher? Do you even have a nearby butcher these days? Yes and no are the typical answers to those questions. Mail order solves the problem.

Having sampled steaks from a full range of mail order meat providers (from the ubiquitous Omaha Steaks to Allen Bros), my favorite is certainly New York’s Lobel’s. Above is their dry-aged Cowboy steak. They’ve also got a fine line in Berkshire and Durac pork, and will happily service a need for American Wagyu.

Another mail order favorite comes from New Bruanfels, Texas. The smokehouse’s sausages are highly recommended.

There are a few solid out door fireplaces on the market. These work wonderfully for your average night drinking beers and (for some) making s’mores. The Fireplate from Radius Design sets itself apart by a) being a little nicer looking and c) including a removable grill plate. This means the potential of cooking things over open flame without just the use of a long stick. Not bad. (via Yatzer).

More images after the jump.

For some folks, summer isn’t official until they’ve sipped their first margarita of the season. Unfortunately, for many the margarita stops at frozen and a bloke named Jose.

Photographer Karl Petzke pushes beyond an average understanding of the liquor in a new book, Tequila: Myth, Magic & Spirited Recipes. He explores the rich cultural history of the agave plant and its distilled juice. How it’s made and tasted are discussed in depth. And, to top it off, Petzke provides recipes common and surprising that allow tequila to lift the spirit of several dishes.

Available from Chronicle.

Taking inspiration from the utilitarian cooking implements of generations (long) passed, designer Matthias Kaeding has fashioned a new version of the neolithic knife. The ceramic knives have both blunt and sharp sides, allowing a full range of kitchen tasks in a single tool. A touch more attractive than the typical chefs knife, and certainly fuller in capacity. (via Yanko).