REVIEW – It’s blustery & cold here in Pennsylvania, but we’re grilling! I’m testing the Drip EZ BBQ and Meal Prep Tub, a collapsable combination prep tub, cutting board, and food transport device. It may be cold but the grill is fired up! To the review!
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $29.99 – $49.99 ($42.99 as reviewed)
Where to buy: Drip EZ web site and Amazon
What is it?
It’s an expandable food prep tub with a cutting board for a base designed for food prep and transport.
Tech Specs
Note: specs below are for the Original size provided for my testing. Please refer to the Drip EZ web site for specifications on other sizes
20” L x 16.25” W
2″ deep when collapsed with lid
Tub depth expandible up to 5″ deep when fully expanded (7″ total depth including base)
3.75 pounds (including lid)
Dishwasher safe, but hand washing recommended
FDA approved food safe
Design and features
The Drip EZ BBQ and Meal Prep Tub comes out of the box in its fully collapsed form, ready for storage or packing into the car. I’m testing the Original size which measures in at 20″ by 16.25″ and 2″ deep in it’s collapsed state.
Walking quickly around the details before we open her up, you’ll find sturdy grab handles on either side of the unit. The whole thing is a lightweight 3.75 pounds empty.
The base sports a set of rubberized feet to keep the tub from slipping around on your countertop, table, or grill shelf.
The lid has two clips on either side (4 total) that keep it sealed. Pop those clips to remove the lid…
… and now you’ll see the integrated cutting board that also serves as the floor of the tub. This surface is made from vinyl and is food-safe for residential and commercial use.
You’ll also find the ridged rubber liner that you see below. Grab a handle, give it a tug, and you can now expand the tub to use for food transport and/or food prep!
You have two collapsable depths to the tub at 3″ and 5″ on this model.
Once you’ve expanded the tub, you can seal it again with the lid if you’re transporting your food or resting your proteins. Drip EZ states that the unit is heat safe up to 200 degrees, so you wont want to put it in the oven. You can store hot food in it, however, just keep in mind that it is not insulated.
The Drip EZ BBQ & Meal Prep Tub is also sealed against leaks to keep juices from ruining your countertops or the trunk of your car. The pic below is from a water test I did when I was cleaning it. Not a drip was to be found outside of the bucket!
The build is lightweight and sturdy. I could not find any specs on a max carrying weight for the device.
Performance
There’s a lot of simple, versatile usability in the design of the Drip EZ BBQ & Meal Prep Tub. Blackened grilled chicken was on the menu for this cook. You’re looking at just over 2,5 pounds of chicken breasts in the pic below for size reference. The cutting board itself measure about 12.5″ by 10.5″, which is just enough to trim & slit these breasts on the board.
I’d be careful trimming bigger cuts of protein on this board. The board itself is dense and durable — no concerns there — but I would not want to puncture the tub lining accidentally if I was working a knife around a pork shoulder or a brisket.
Now that I have trimmed up my proteins, I can expend that tub and apply rubs and seasonings. This design is really convenient for this kind of work, since the deep tub keeps the seasonings from spilling all over my kitchen counter. If I was doing a long marinade with the dry rub (like ribs or pork shoulder overnight), I could seal it up with the lid and pop it in the fridge without messing with foil or plastic wrap.
This particular cook included a brief 30 minute rest with a Cajun rub, then I hauled the tub out to the grill to get the chicken on the fire. This is a great demonstration of the simple usability. Those side handles make for stable transport, and the adjustable tub keeps things from falling off in transit.
After the trip to the grill I did a quick wash to sterilize the tub. There are some grooves and crevices in the tub design to work around, but the round corners allow you to get into all the spaces. A thorough scrub with a sponge or a brush gets the job done.
I mentioned above that the tub is sealed, which is a good thing given the size of the unit. While you may not be able to completely submerge the tub in smaller sinks, you can kind of fill, swirl, and drain the tub a few times to get it thoroughly cleaned. The lightweight build and excellent handle design help with maneuverability.
Now we’re back at the grill to retrieve the chicken. Depending on our setup you’ll need a wide surface to plant the tub next to your grill, so check your measurements. Drip EZ does sell several different sizes on their web site so you cant find something appropriate for smaller or larger payloads.
And now we’re heading back into the house. If you’ve ever known the pain of having your finished proteins the dirt while you’re finishing the job, you’ll appreciate the design of this product for protecting your work.
Here I finished the job by cutting the chicken on the board before serving. I do love that I can do this all on one device without dirtying up another board.
I’m thinking that this will be great for camping, beach trips, or outdoor events where I’m limited to the space and/or tools I have to work with. The collapsable design is super packable, and I can serve things right up in the tub without needing any extra gadgets.
I can see a whole bunch of creative applications for this device. Saucing up a bunch of wings, portioning ribs, cleaning and prepping baked potatoes, making large quantities of salad… its got endless possibilities for prepping large volumes of food products. I don’t know that it will hold uop to large quantities of liquids, however, given the potential weight and the tub design.
Final thoughts
I really like the simple design and versatility of the Drip EZ BBQ & Meal Prep Tub. It really does deliver on the promise of being a kitchen/grilling multitasker for food prep, storage, transport and service. I may actually pick up a few of these for use this summer, especially when I’m cooking for a larger crowd. We’ll see how my test model holds up to more regular use as the weather gets warmer!
What I like about the Drip EZ BBQ & Meal Prep Tub
- Compact, portable and stowable design
- Lightweight
- Easy to maneuver from grill-to-table
- Keeps everything (proteins, seasonings, sauces) contained during prep, cooking, and delivery
What needs to be improved?
- A little extra effort is need for cleaning those crevices and corners, but not much
- Be careful with your cutting tools so you don’t puncture the liner!
Price: $29.99 – $49.99 ($42.99 as reviewed)
Where to buy: Drip EZ web site and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Drip EZ. Drip EZ did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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