10 Great Grilling Essentials for Every Backyard
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Grilling is the most elemental way to cook. There's the burning wood, charcoal, or gas-producing heat, and there's your food sizzling in that heat. It's simple, but it can be daunting. How do you know when your meat is done? How do you get an even sear? As with most things, having the right tools makes the job much easier.
If our guide to portable grills got you started on the road to grilling mastery, consider this the follow-up tips-and-tricks edition. Professional chefs may make it look easy to poke a bit of meat and pronounce it medium rare, but for the rest of us these tools help take the guesswork out of grilling.
Updated June 2021: We've added some new smart thermometers and temperature probes to help you grill smarter this summer.
- Photograph: Thermoworks
An Instant-Read Thermometer
ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4After the actual cooker, nothing will improve your grilling like an instant-read thermometer. The gold standard is ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4. It is not cheap, but it's worth the investment. Thanks to its automatic backlight and rotating display, all you have to do is stick the point into your meat and you'll see the results no matter the lighting or angle. It automatically shuts off when not in use and turns back on the minute you extend the probe. (It's powered by one AAA battery.) The foldable design fits easily in your pocket, so you can temp your food on the sly and then, when your friends are looking, poke it with your finger and say, "Ah, yes, medium rare."
If you want something less expensive, try the Habor Foldable Thermometer ($18). It lacks some of the display features of the Thermapen, but I've used it, and it gets the job done. If you want something even more sophisticated for tracking not just the temp of your meat but also your grill, check out our next pick.
- Photograph: ThermoWorks
A Smart Temperature Hub
ThermoWorks Signals BBQ Alarm ThermometerNothing will improve your grilling results more than accurate temperature readings. Even if your grill has one built in, a stand-alone set of temperature probes is usually better. I've tried quite a few smart grilling devices (enough for a new guide coming soon). These setups are ideal for slow cooking, smoking, and anything else where you need to keep a constant but low temperature. Without a thermometer, you're guessing.
My favorite smart hub is the Signals BBQ Alarm Thermometer from ThermoWorks. It's not the cheapest, but it offers quite a few things you won't find in other setups. Most probe devices these days rely on smartphone apps, but the Signals offers its own backlit display in addition to the app. My phone usually isn't in my pocket when I grill, so I really love this feature.
Another really nice system is the SmartFire ($294). It lacks a display unit but has a very nice app that offers loads of data you can use to help improve your grilling. (I especially like the temperature timelines, which allow me to better know when to add more charcoal to long cooks.) If your budget is tighter, Weber's Smart Hub ($125) makes a good choice. It's only got two probes to the four you get with the others, but it will tell you the temperature, allow you to set temperature alarms, and keep track of both your ambient and internal food temps.
- Photograph: Amazon
Heat-Resistant Gloves
Grill Heat Aid GlovesI'll confess: I wasn't planning to test gloves, because I thought they were ridiculous. Who needs gloves to grill? Then the folks at GrillGrates sent me a pair, and I figured, what the heck. Turns out, heat-resistant gloves are awesome. You can do everything with your hands. Later, I got myself a pair of these gloves from Grill Heat Aid, which can handle up to 932 degrees Fahrenheit. A word of caution: These gloves help, but they don't make you invulnerable. You're still dealing with very high temperatures when grilling, so be cautious.
- Photograph: Weber
Heavy-Duty Tongs
Weber Steel Tongs & Spatula
- Photograph: Grillgrates
A Grate for Your Grill
GrillGrates (for Many Grill Sizes)The gas-versus-charcoal grilling debate will never die, but you can skip it entirely with a set of GrillGrates. The extra flavor you get from charcoal comes primarily from the rendered fat dripping off your food, hitting the coals below, and becoming smoke, which then flavors your food. GrillGrates' grill gives you the same effect without the charcoal, trapping juices in its deep grooves where they burn off and flavor your food. They also prevent flare-ups, even when cooking flare-prone foods like bratwurst. They can replace your existing grates or just cover them.
Here's a set to fit the Weber Jumbo Joe ($94).
- Photograph: Weber
Charcoal Baskets
Weber Charcoal Briquet HoldersIf you want to branch out from grilling (high heat) to slow cooking (indirect heat or smoking), do yourself a favor and grab a set of charcoal baskets. These make it easy to cluster your briquettes to one side of the grill so you can keep your indirect cooks on the other. Combine these with a hinged grill and you'll have an easy way to feed in fresh fuel as your smoke progresses. These hinged grates fit the Jumbo Joe, our favorite portable charcoal grill.
- Photograph: Weber
A Veggie Basket
Weber Steel Vegetable BasketA veggie basket is not a necessity, but it sure is nice to have. It lets you slice your veggies ahead of time, toss them in a little olive oil, and cook them without having half of them fall through the grates. Your veggies will cook faster, and there's less mess. This Weber basket is solid stainless steel with no rivets. My only gripe is that it's not big enough for a veggie-loving family of five. If you're cooking for a crowd, try Weber's 14-inch basket ($25).
- Photograph: Weber
A Pizza Stone
Pizza Stone With Carry RackIt's not quite a wood-fired pizza—you'll want to check out our favorite pizza ovens for that—but you can make a pretty good pie with a pizza stone on your grill. I've used this Weber stone many times, but be sure to check the fit for your grill. Want something larger? I didn't test it, but this stone is 18 inches across, letting you make a large pizza. If rain drowns your barbecue, these pizza stones work just as well in the oven.
- Photograph: Proud Grill
A Good Cleaning Tool
Proud Grill Q-Swiper BBQ Grill Cleaner SetA stainless steel or brass wire brush can leave behind small bristles that get stuck in your grill and wind up in your food. It happens more often than you think. Instead, I like Proud Grill's Q Cleaner, which combines a wire-free scrubber, stainless steel scraper, and disposable wipes to clean your grill without leaving your brush a mess.
If you must own a brush, get one that's a single, continuous wire. I love this GrillGrate continuous wire cleaner ($20). Technically, it's made for the deep valleys of the GrillGrates, but it works on other grates as well.
- Photograph: Proud Grill
High-Quality Kabob Skewers
Proud Grill Slide & Serve BBQ SkewersYou know those bamboo skewers at the back of your kitchen drawer you always forget to soak before you toss them on the grill? Stop using those. For one thing, splinters in food are no fun. For another, good skewers just make life easier. I hated grilling with skewers until I got decent ones, and I suggest you get a couple of sets. This Proud Grill set is my favorite for meat. The barbed tips ensure nothing comes off when you flip them, and you can fit enough meat for two on one skewer.
Sometimes you want a straight skewer though, and for those times I recommend BearMoo's stainless steel skewers ($18). They're heavy-duty, easy to clean, and come with a nice rack to elevate your delicate veggies.
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