I like to have a spray bottle filled with apple juice to spray onto my meat. Whether it's pork, chicken, or beef, it adds flavor. Also, it helps keep your meat a real golden mahogany-looking color and prevents it from turning black.

For a rub with sweet tang: mix just a little bit of light brown sugar to garlic pepper, black pepper, and onion powder.

A meat temperature gauge is a priceless tool. You can get a very inexpensive one at most hardware or sporting goods stores, which will easily help you determine the temperature of your meat so it is not over or undercooked. Pork is normally done at about 160, internal temperature. Steaks are cooked medium rare from 145 to 150. 165, medium. Well done is about 175, internal temperature.

If your fire begins to flame, don't spray water on it, which most people do. Instead, just close your dampers and the fire will go out because fire must have oxygen.

A basic all-purpose rub: mix together one or two tablespoons equal parts black pepper, granulated garlic, grilled onion, and onion powder. That will give you real good base for any kind of meat. Just increase the amount if you're grilling large quantities.

A good hamburger mix: add equal parts black pepper, granulated garlic, grilled onion, onion powder and some chopped onion. And mix in a little barbecue sauce, which will add even more great flavor.

There are a lot of barbecue sauces. But I've been using Head Country barbecue sauce for 20 to 25 years, which is manufactured in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It's just awesome and has tremendous flavor. Many professional cooks use it and it can be found at Kroger and Walmart stores around the country. I use the Original, which has a white label and is a classic. But there's also a hickory flavor, called Hickory Smoke and one that has a little heat.