Barbecue Grill Tools & Utensils

[cantlogin]

I've been retired for more than a dozen years and I just bought my first outdoor gas grill ever.
I have never cooked with charcoal or on a gas grill before, but I realize that there will need to be special cleaning and maintenance tools as well as special purpose utensils needed.

It's obvious to me that I can't begin using the grill without at least some of this stuff and I don't want to discover that I need something while in the middle of cooking.

Are there any special insights about buying this stuff?
Are there some things that everyone will tell me I have to have?
Are there some tools and accessories being sold that are really not useful at all?

Any other tips will be appreciated too, so... Thanks!

 

[Big_Hitter]

I just use a big pair of tongs

 

[audreyh1]

Brush, stainless steel bristles.
Grill cover.
Thermapen!

 

[Midpack]

You need tongs, a spatula and a stiff (wire) brush - I think that's a standard set. My only advice, LONG HANDLES. The long handles keep your hand further from the HEAT. The cheap sets are often smaller, with shorter handles, I think you'd regret that.

 

[REWahoo]

Don't go cheap on the quality of brush you buy.

The hidden danger of grilling out - CNN.com

 

[Big_Hitter]

who cleans a grill? that just gets rid of the flavor

 

[Sarah in SC]

We use hardwood charcoal and the latest thing (in addition to the long tongs mentioned) that we bought I would recommend is a chimney starter. I think ours was about $15 on Amazon. Makes starting the fire so easy.

And we don't have a brush, either.

 

[MRG]

I've learned most grill accessories are pretty cheaply made. I only use good tongs on the grill, Allclad makes a great set, that's all you need for the basics of cooking.

You'll need a brush to clean up the grill. Everybody still uses wire including me. There's been a couple of articles about folks who got wire in the mouth from them but I don't recall any solution than carefully clean.

Definitely need a therma pen.

I tend to be a night owl and watch Alton Brown's "Good Eats" too much. I'd check out some of his grilling episodes on Utube for great techniques and ideas. We love grilled pizza.

Some folks think you should have a fire extinguisher around too. Pessimistic outlook but a good idea.

 

[Big_Hitter]

We use hardwood charcoal and the latest thing (in addition to the long tongs mentioned) that we bought I would recommend is a chimney starter. I think ours was about $15 on Amazon. Makes starting the fire so easy.

And we don't have a brush, either.

BIG chimney starters are a must for charcoal - I have a big kingsford one

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

who cleans a grill? that just gets rid of the flavor

This. I just let it (gas) get nice and hot for about 10 minutes (usually gets to 600+ degrees) then scrape the old crap off with wire brush. Have commercial tongs and long handle spatula. That's it.

Also recommend a good cover. I have a Weber E-310 Spirit that is about 4 years old and it looks like new. I did recently replace the grate and "flavorizer bars" because of rust, but we use the grill AT LEAST twice a week..sometimes 3 or more times so that's expected.

I would also HIGHLY recommend seasoning the grill. There are lots of resources out there about the "best" way to do it...but people tend to argue about the "best" way to do...kinda like if it's OK to steal a beach chair or not.

 

[Youngster]

I like tongs for most cooking. I also like those little metal smoking boxes for wood smoking chips in the gas barbeque. The wood smoke give a great additional flavor, and one can vary the type of wood for even more different flavor.

 

[RobbieB]

A cast iron grate will season up like a cast iron pan and become very non-stick. It also leaves nice fat grill marks on the food.

But the best part is the non stick. If you grill fish it makes the difference between a nice fillet or steak and "fish nuggets"

 

[Janet H]

Here's my list - no need to buy a lot of special gear, imo. I also don't keep anything outside at the grill. It all comes inside and goes in the dishwasher after use and stowed back in drawers. left outside it gets dirty, dusty and covered in cobwebs and has to be washed before use anyway...

Long handled tongs from kitchen drawer
Spatula from kitchen drawer
$6.00 Grill brush or wadded up piece of tin foil
$15.00 Grill Basket - indispensable.

 

[GravitySucks]

We use hardwood charcoal and the latest thing (in addition to the long tongs mentioned) that we bought I would recommend is a chimney starter. I think ours was about $15 on Amazon. Makes starting the fire so easy.

And we don't have a brush, either.

+ 1.
No kerosene taste, no stinking up the neighborhood, quicker than lighter fluid.

To OP I recommend a rubbery oven mitt, I think they're made of silicone. Easy to clean. A good basting brush that doesn't shed is useful.

Also, get some wood chips for smoke flavor. Liquid smoke is terrible. Mesquite is great for beef and turkey, hickory and apple wood for pork and chicken. Going to try mesquite with salmon next week...

 

[akck]

One thing about cast iron grills is that they will rust if you live in a wet area. My new grill has stainless steel grills which look like they'll hold up for a long time. I found a brush that has a stainless steel scouring pad on the end. It does a good job and I don't have to worry about bristles in your food. Oh, and have a fire extinguisher nearby. Why the new grill? I had a grease fire in the smoker oven. It got hot enough to melt the plastic knobs on the grill, before my wife brought the kitchen extinguisher to me.

I'd also recommend getting a side burner on a gas grill. It's a great way to start a chimney filled with charcoal and we no longer deep fry in the house.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I'd also recommend getting a side burner on a gas grill. It's a great way to start a chimney filled with charcoal and we no longer deep fry in the house.

deep fry in the house? seriously? I deep fry in my driveway with a turkey fryer

 

[cantlogin]

Thanks for the advice.

I guess this isn't going to be so hard after all.
I'll just find some good quality long handle tongs, a spatula, and a stainless scouring pad.

That Thermapen looks nice, but NINETY bucks for a meat thermometer seems... wow!

What about one of those $20 or $30 meat thermometers by the same company?
Is the folding probe the only real difference, or is there something else I'm not seeing?

 

[Big_Hitter]

Thanks for the advice.

I guess this isn't going to be so hard after all.
I'll just find some good quality long handle tongs, a spatula, and a stainless scouring pad.

That Thermapen looks nice, but NINETY bucks for a meat thermometer seems... wow!

What about one of those $20 or $30 meat thermometers by the same company?
Is the folding probe the only real difference, or is there something else I'm not seeing?

Yes, just get a cheap electronic termometer

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

Guess I can't help you with what to buy. Still using the fork, spatula, and tongs that my dad bought in 1962 (inherited from folk's estate). They're 2' long, 1/2 stainless steel and 1/2 wood handles. They sit out all winter hanging on a nail next to the house. They've never rusted and wood has never rotted. My 22' Weber is 30 years old (won it in a contest from a company I worked for). Had to fix a few screws on the grill and a couple of spots are getting rusty, but still works great. Used to use a regular old wire brush, but bought a smaller grill-specific brush. Used to grill out about 4 times a week (even in winter), but not so much any more--heat & humidity seem to bother me more. Never noticed a kerosene taste from using charcoal lighter fluid, but one of my sons-in-law actually collects grills (he now has 8) and has 3-4 of the starter chimneys, so I'm thinking about having him give one up since I bought him a $300 smoker-grill for Christmas.

 

[akck]

deep fry in the house? seriously? I deep fry in my driveway with a turkey fryer

That was before we wised up. It was always fun smelling what you fried 2 days earlier when entering the house. We use the side burner for little jobs and turkey fryer for big ones now.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for the advice.

I guess this isn't going to be so hard after all.
I'll just find some good quality long handle tongs, a spatula, and a stainless scouring pad.

That Thermapen looks nice, but NINETY bucks for a meat thermometer seems... wow!

What about one of those $20 or $30 meat thermometers by the same company?
Is the folding probe the only real difference, or is there something else I'm not seeing?

Lots of discussions on Thermapens here by serious cooking/grilling aficionados. It's super fast and very precise, which is important when you are grilling meat or seafood at high temps. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/meat-thermometer-too-slow-44945.html

You can sometimes find them for sale at around $76. Still expensive. But worth it IMO.

 

[Bamaman]

We seldom cook inside the house in the Deep South--year round. And every barbeque chef has a gas grill, a charcoal grill (preferably Weber) and a smoker for when we have time and enough beer on hand to cook 8 hours.

As far as tools go, my favorite is a Pampered Chef barbeque spatula. Meat thermometers are seldom used except when barbequing a long time--like a Boston Butt. I cook by time on steaks, pork chops and ribs.

If anyone has any questions about barbequing, including recipes and hardware, the best place online is at AmazingRibs.com. Although Meathead is from Chicago, he's right on in everything he publishes online--including rating all the grills and smokers. His recipes on sauces and bbq rubs are simply great.

 

[Tailgate]

Lots of discussions on Thermapens here.html[/url]

You can sometimes find them for sale at around $76. Still expensive. But worth it IMO.

+100 on the Thermapen for an instant read, high quality thermometer...
also a plug for the Maverick 732 probe thermometer.. set and forget..

My outdoor cooking skills took giant leaps forward when I learned to cook by temperature, not time... just hit the target and you cannot fail.

good luck

 

[pb4uski]

I use the Thermopop from the same company... it takes a couple extra seconds to get the temperature but I'm ok with that since it was less than half the price IIRC. I prefer a spatula to tongs... even for turning nice steaks. I hardly ever use tongs anymore.

Best thing that I ever bought for our Weber is the enameled cast iron grates... they give me the superior heat retention of cast iron with the low maintenance of enameled grates. IMO better than both the stock enameled steel grates and stainless steel which does not have the heat retention of cast iron.

I sometimes use a smoker box but not often. I have a rotisserie and enjoy using it but don't use it often.

One other must have that I have not seen mentioned is a stand for beer can chicken. Somehow, we ended up with two.

 

[RobbieB]

A thermometer is good when starting out, but with a few years you will be able to judge "doneness" by look and feel. The only time I use one anymore is for long cooking of large food (whole fowl and large roasts), and I like the probe in all the time versions as I don't like to stab the meat repeatedly.