While I love a stylistic tattoo, a lot of people who get a new tattoo want there to be a story behind it. For example, I have a friend who has a cactus palm tattoo, because of a particular few months he spent backpacking through the desert. I have another friend with a tiny bbq grill on their hand because they spent a few months in the south learning how to properly cook a brisket.
So if you’re in the market for a new tattoo and also love barbeque, then we’ve got just what you need. We’ll explore why you might want to consider getting a new tattoo, some of our absolute favorite BBQ tattoos, and answer a few frequently asked questions around tattoo meanings and more.
At Dalstrong we are always looking for new culinary tattoos, because we love people who are passionate about what they cook. If you are a pit master or even an aspiring backyard small charcoal grill master, we see you and love what you do.
Make sure to leave us a comment on Facebook, Tik Tok, or our Youtube, send us a tweet on our Twitter, or shoot us a direct message or tag us in an Instagram story on Instagram if you have a sweet BBQ tattoo. We are always looking to feature those that support Dalstrong and the culinary community!
1. Tattoo Overview
Tattoos have been around for decades, but in recent years tattoos have become the norm amongst all sorts of people. Even the buttoned up folks seem to have some sort of Japanese character hidden on their bodies someplace.
Celebrities have long popularized tattoos, from drummer Travis Barker to singer Justin Beiber to pop star Ariana Grande. I mean Ariana Grande’s tattoo journey consists of upwards of 55 different designs!
But aside from just your average pop star, tattoos are often seen as an opportunity to commemorate an occasion, a person, or something in your life that was very meaningful. It is an opportunity to quite literally wear your heart on your sleeve.
Whether it was a Japanese tattoo on the singer’s hand or some sort of Japanese script somewhere, the intention behind tattoos is often to remember something fondly and display it forever. Some people love a chef’s knife so much they need it tattooed on them. Others have a strong, strong love for barbecue and want to share that with the world.
Whatever the case, we absolutely support a good tattoo that tells the world exactly what we’re all about.
2. Our Top 5 BBQ Tattoos
At Dalstrong we love to grill and think you need all the right gear to do so. Once you have an apron, butcher knife, and carving knife you’re just about good to go. What you need now is just a little something on your skin to show the pit who you truly are.
From a barbecue grill to a wild looking chicken we can’t get enough of the bbq tattoo content out in the world. Twitter is an absolutely fantastic source of this information, as is your average Instagram story. But we’ve made it easy for you and combined some of our favorite BBQ tattoos here to inspire you with your next tattoo endeavor.
I’m a huge fan of the mindset that a simple black and grey tattoo can never steer you wrong, which is why we are absolutely obsessed with this small charcoal grill.
It’s playful illustrative style, and old school looking grill reminds us of summer block parties, our parents behind the barbecue grill at campsites, and all around nostalgic memories of bbq eaten outdoors with messy hands.
While not your traditional Japanese tattoo with Japanese symbols that you see all over the place, we absolutely love this tattoo of a scared chicken running away from the grill. It is by far one of the cheekiest tattoos on the list and we’d love to reach out via Twitter to this dude to be friends with the character who tattooed it.
The way in which the tattoo artist has depicted the pit master’s conquest shows us that while this person loves to grill, they don’t take barbequing too seriously. With its bright colors and cartoon character style, I love the lightness of this tattoo. I also love the way an image of someone yielding this type of butcher knife comes to mind.
3. Always Barbecue Matchsticks
This tattoo of a box of matches is one of our absolute favorites because it’s advocating for an intense love of bbq, but subtly with the text “Always Barbecue.” The lines of the matchbox are clean, tasteful, and it’s a retro design that reminds us of the lovely matchboxes hidden in our grandparent’s old chests.
We know that this type of griller knows their way around any barbecue equipment. I have to hand it to the artist for this design, as it’s simple yet very beautiful.
I can’t exactly put my finger on why I love it so much but there’s something about these slabs of meat (ribs and some sort of lamb chop) that makes my mouth water. Perhaps it’s the classic style black and white sketch, or the way in which I can envision this knife slicing cleaning through the bone, but either way this tattoo is absolutely fresh.
It reminds us of some of our favorite chef tattoos and is a prime example of how loving something can be turned into body art seamlessly.
We close off the list with this playful, colorful design that I’d love to see on more pit master’s myself. The combination of barbecue, the classic backyard/beach chair, and smoke makes this tattoo both interesting and fun. Pop alarms would be ringing if they saw this scene in a backyard bash, but in the best way possible.
The way the flame is crawling out of the grill paints the picture that in order to be a true pitmaster you have to 1) own one of these sets and 2) understand fire in order to control the barbecue and grill up a feast.
3. More Great BBQ Tattoos
We just highlighted our top 5 picks, but there are an endless amount of stellar BBQ tattoos out in the world. I recently saw a Japanese bbq finger tattoo that blew my mind, but the possibilities are endless. Here are some other fantastic BBQ tattoos that should really get the wheels turning for you.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
Anything that you feel you won’t look back at in any given period of time with regret. In other words, think about what you want on your body and accept that you are putting it there forever. (So avoid getting a misspelled tattoo)
That said, it doesn’t have to be your taste for the next 50 years of your life, nor does it have to have some sort of grand meaning, but it should be an image that you accept being on your body permanently. Of course you can always get a tattoo removed, but the experience is expensive and somewhat painful.
Why are tattoos bad?They aren’t, but we should be careful with what kinds of tattoos we are getting. For example, if you’re a huge fan of Japanese culture that doesn’t necessarily mean you should opt for a tattoo made up of Japanese kanji symbols. Cultural appropriation is something to be very cognizant of.
Additionally, while Japanese fans of Next’ singer may be totally justified getting a tattoo of the pop star Ariana Grande’s song “Seven Rings” in Japanese, you might consider getting yourself a Japanese tutor before inking a different language onto your body.
Also be really careful about misspelling whatever it is you want on your body. While tattoos are not at all bad, there can be bad tattoos.
Can we go to heaven with tattoos?Absolutely, if heaven is a concept you subscribe to. Having tattoos doesn't make you a rebellious, sinful person. In fact you could be a great person with a simple tattoo on your wedding finger and I don’t think that’s an invitation to hell. Tattoos simply make your skin a bit more interesting to look at when you are faced with the afterlife.
Are tattoos going out of style 2022?I would argue (and Twitter may confirm) that they are coming into style more and more as the years continue. Nowadays tattoos are much more common in workplaces, and amongst old and young people alike.
Where should I get a tattoo?That’s completely up to you! I know people with hand tattoos, I know some who have tattooed their finger, their ankle, and everywhere in between. Wherever you feel comfortable getting one is a great place to start!
Written by Monique Nicholas
