BBQ & smoking log for backyard pitmasters
Log every cook.
Cook the next one better.
BBQuill records everything that happens on the pit — grate temps, probe temps, wraps, spritzes, fuel adds. One cook can span every cooker you own — smoker, grill, griddle — each on its own timeline. Give a cook a serve time and it back-schedules everything you’ve timed so it all lands together.
It’s built and running. We’re letting cooks in a group at a time while we finish it — leave your email and we’ll tell you when your spot is ready.
- where a brisket gets probe-tender
- 203°where a brisket gets probe-tender
- of brisket, logged minute by minute
- 12hof brisket, logged minute by minute
- cooker types, from offset to air fryer
- 15cooker types, from offset to air fryer
What it does
A log that plans the next cook
Multi-cooker by design
Brisket on the offset, beans on the kettle, corn on the griddle — one cook, several cookers, each on its own timeline, each fully logged: grate temps, probe temps, wraps, spritzes, fuel adds, flips. So you can sit down when the food is ready, not an hour later. Most BBQ journals model one cook on one pit.
Run it back
Save any item as a plan and reuse it next time. Give a cook a serve time and BBQuill back-schedules every item you've timed so it all lands together. No more doing arithmetic in your head at 5am. So the next cook starts from what worked, not a guess.
Probe targets that mean something
Doneness lives on the probe, not on a guess. Set a pull temp, watch the trend, and get told when it's there.
Pitmaster AI
Ask it anything mid-cook. It knows your cookers, your pantry and your recent cooks — and it proposes plans you approve, never applies them. So you have a second pair of eyes that remembers your recent cooks, not just this one.
Works with any thermometer you already own. BBQuill is a log, not a probe — type what it reads and it does the rest. °F or °C.
What it looks like
A cook, as BBQuill records it
An illustration, not a screenshot. The gauges and log rows are the app’s own — the cook is an example.
Saturday brisket
Offset · serve 6:00 PMFire lit
Oak splits, bottom vent half open.
- 265°F grate
Brisket on
14.2 lb packer, fat cap up.
Spritzed
Apple cider vinegar, first of three.
- 158°F
Wrapped
Butcher paper — stall held at 158°F for 90 minutes.
Hold it on until the flat probes tender near 203°F, then rest at least an hour — because your last two briskets on this offset both firmed up when you pulled at 198°F.
How it works
Three steps to your first cook
- 1
Add your cooker
Name what you cook on — offset, pellet, kamado, kettle, griddle. That's the whole setup.
- 2
Start a cook
Add what's going on, and when you want to eat. BBQuill tells you when to light it and when each thing goes on. The sides come off when the brisket is resting, not an hour after everyone's eaten.
- 3
Log as you go
Temps, wraps, spritzes. It builds the timeline, watches your plan's steps, and files it all to your log.
Launch pricing
Start free. Upgrade when the cap bites.
What the plans will cost when BBQuill opens. Nothing is charged during early access.
Backyard
Core cook logging, up to 2 cookers — free forever.
Free
- 2 cookers
- 3 saved cook plans
- 5 photos per cook
- 20 AI Pitmaster messages a month
Pitmaster
Most cooksUnlimited cookers, cook plans, and photos, plus unlimited AI Pitmaster chat with web search.
$6.99/mo
or $39.99/yr billed yearly — save ~52%- Unlimited cookers
- Unlimited saved cook plans
- Unlimited photos per cook
- Unlimited AI Pitmaster (fair use)
- AI web search + the stronger plan model
- Export to PDF and CSV
BBQuill is built for the backyard pitmaster who wants a record and a plan. It’s not a competition timer and not a restaurant system — every cook is yours, scoped to one owner, with no teams or shared timelines.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can I sign up for BBQuill today?
Not yet. BBQuill is in private early access — we're letting cooks in a group at a time so we can watch real cooks go through the app before opening it to everyone. Join the early-access list and we'll email you once, when your account is ready.
What does early access cost?
Nothing to join, and nothing is charged while you're on the list. The prices on this page are what the plans will cost when BBQuill opens — and the Backyard plan is free then too.
What do you do with my email address?
We email you once when your access is ready, plus the occasional note about what shipped. We don't sell it, we don't share it, and every message has a one-click unsubscribe. See the Privacy Policy for what we store and how to be removed.
Is BBQuill free?
Yes. The Backyard plan lets you log unlimited cooks — grate temps, probe temps, wraps, spritzes, fuel adds — with two cookers, three saved cook plans, and the AI Pitmaster for everyday questions. No credit card required. Pitmaster lifts the caps and adds web search and formatted exports.
Does it work with my smoker?
Yes. BBQuill is cooker-agnostic: offsets, pellet smokers, kamados, kettles, drums, WSMs, gas grills, griddles, ovens, air fryers — you name what you cook on and it keeps that cooker's history. A single cook can span several of them at once.
Do I need a WiFi thermometer?
No. BBQuill is a log, not a probe — you type in what your thermometer reads, and it does the rest: tracks the trend, evaluates your plan's steps, and tells you when something is due. Any thermometer works, including an instant-read.
Can it tell me when to put everything on?
Yes. Give a cook a target serve time and BBQuill works backward from it — an item that cooks four hours and rests one has to go on five hours before you eat — so everything lands together instead of the sides being cold while the brisket rests.
Is the AI advice safe to follow?
The Pitmaster explains its reasoning and always surfaces food safety: USDA safe internal temperatures, the 40–140°F danger zone, and the 4-hour rule. It proposes a cook plan and you approve it before anything is saved — nothing is ever applied automatically. Safe minimums are advisory, so you can cook to your own target and be warned rather than blocked.
What happens to my cookers if I downgrade?
Nothing is deleted. If you go back to Backyard with more cookers than it allows, you choose which ones to pause — a paused cooker keeps every cook ever logged on it, and comes back the moment you upgrade again.
From the founder
Kellen Butler
engineer and independent product builder · Built in Oklahoma
When I was a kid and someone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always gave two answers: an inventor and a cook. BBQuill is where those two finally came together.
Every brisket, pork butt, or rack of ribs teaches you something—a grate temp that ran hot, a wrap that came too early, a rest that paid off—but by the next cook, those details are usually scattered across photos and notes or forgotten altogether. I built BBQuill to keep the whole story of a cook in one place: the plan, what actually happened, and what I learned along the way.
Read moreYour next cook deserves a record
Never guess when the next thing goes on. Join the list and we’ll email you the moment your spot is ready.