It’s summer, and you know what that means—it’s grilling season! But to make the most of your outdoor barbecues, you need more than just a good grill. Investing in the right grill tools and accessories can make your cooking experience a whole lot easier, allowing you to actually enjoy the delicious, smoky results of your hard work. Whether you’ve been grilling your dinners for years or just purchased your first Weber, we could all probably stand to use a few helpful pointers.
“Grilling doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive,” says Texas chef and grilling master Tim Love, which is why his list of essentials ranges from a durable knife to the right cooking oil. And according to Meherwan Irani, chef and founder of Spicewalla, a pantry stocked with a variety of rubs, sauces and marinades is the ultimate secret to grilling perfection.
“I love seasoning meat, fish and vegetables before grilling,” says Irani. “Lean meats do well with wet marinades that have an acid component to help tenderize, but I prefer dry rubs for proteins with higher fat content.” He also swears by fish sauce and sriracha as pantry staples. “A grill master can whip up incredible flavor at a moment’s notice with these two ingredients,” he says. “Whether making your own marinade or a sauce, these are incredible flavor elevators.” And if you spend the money on a nice grill, all the experts we spoke with agree that you also need the right tools to take care of it.
Phew! Sounds like a lot? Fret not, we rounded up the best grill tools, pantry staples and grilling accessories that every BBQ master needs for delicious results every time they fire up the grill.
Best Grill Tools
A Hard-Wired Grill Brush
“If you spend the money on a nice grill, you had better take care of it,” says Love. “Always put a brush on before and after use.” The Kona 360 scrubs every inch of grill grates, both top and bottom, hence the 360 in its name. Its unique design combines three brushes in one so each stroke is the equivalent to three from a standard grill brush. It’s hard-wired stainless steel bristles are 60 percent stronger than conventional bristles and cut through the toughest residue without scratching your grill. And it’s safe and effective on all grill types, from infrared to char-broil. For the best results, repeatedly dip the brush in water while brushing a hot grill to steam clean.
A Durable 8-inch Chef’s Knife
Grilling is an outdoor activity, so you want your equipment to be able to handle the elements. “You don’t want a really expensive or fragile knife,” says Love. “You want something durable that won’t dent or break if you drop it on the grill, and that will hold up if you leave it outside.” You also don’t need the sharpest knife, he says, and recommends the Hammer Stahl 8-inch Chef Knife, which is hefty and long-lasting and sharp enough to easily slice through sausages and steaks.
A Pastry Brush To Evenly Coat Your Meat And Veggies
“Silicone pastry brushes last long and clean easily because they don’t hold any product well,” says Love. If you want to mop up your sauces and evenly coat your meat and veggies, invest in a brush made from horse hair or boar bristles. Love is a fan of the Williams Sonoma Olivewood Pastry Brush because the boar bristles have a gentle flex but are still sturdy. An added bonus: The olivewood handle ages nicely over time.
A Slotted Fish Turner To Easily Flip Food
“People complain when their food sticks to the grill, [and] that is a product of heat, time and [lack of] patience,” Love says. “When properly cooked, food will release smoothly from the grill, and if your grill isn’t hot enough, your fish is going to stick. If you just aren’t patient enough to wait for your grill to heat up, you can compensate and use a fish turner.”
Made of high-carbon stainless Swiss steel, the Victorinox Slotted Fish Turner has a blade on the front that makes it easier for the fish to slide up on without breaking apart, says Love. “It also works great for burgers, allowing you to use a pull scoop technique versus the scoop, which ends with the burger on the back of the grill.”
A High-Quality Meat Thermometer
Love is a stickler for getting things right the first time. “There’s nothing worse than serving chicken and scaring your guests because it’s too pink,” he says. “A meat thermometer provides reassurance that you’ll nail the order. If it’s your first time grilling a steak, I highly recommend using one.” Love swears by the ThermoWorks ThermoPop, which has a rotating display and takes as little as four seconds to give a reading. His tip for perfect poultry: “I take it to the edge, 163 degrees, and take it off knowing it will get to 165 by the time I’m serving.”
A Sturdy Sheet Pan
Love prefers to use sheet pans instead of plates when he’s grilling. “I keep them stacked and use the top one to bring out the meat and veggies, then one for seasoning and one for serving.” The rolled edges of the Great Jones Holy Sheet Pan are easy to hold and help prevent the mess caused by sloshing ingredients around in the pan when seasoning. And if you have leftovers, just put foil or plastic wrap over the pan, says Love.
Best Oils, Marinades and Rubs For Grilling
High-Heat Oil For Cooking
“Peanut oil is hands down the greatest oil in the world,” says Love. “It has an unbelievably roasty flavor and can be used on everything from fish to meat to veggies.” Because peanut oil has a very high flash point (600 degrees), it’s great for grilling, and Love’s preferred version is Spectrum High-Heat Refined Organic Peanut Oil. If you’re allergic to peanuts, he suggests substituting grapeseed oil, but notes it’s much more neutral in flavor.
Sriracha To Spice Up Marinades
“People are surprised to hear that Trader Joe’s has a wonderful sriracha,” says Irani, who uses it to make a ginger garlic paste base for marinades. “A 1/2 cup of peeled and chopped ginger and a 1/2 cup of peeled garlic with 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil will make a magical flavor bomb base for a marinade,” he says. “I make jars of the stuff and then make my own marinades by adding spices and herbs, lemon or lime juice, salt, soy, fish sauce and mustard. And when grilling, the ginger-garlic rub caramelizes into crusty bits of incredible flavor—an added bonus.”
Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Finishing Meats
Many prefer to save olive oil for finishing meats. Love’s go-to is Cornicabra Extra Virgin Olive Oil by José Andrés Foods. Made from the prized Cornicabra olive from Toledo, Spain, this extra virgin olive oil has a strong, peppery finish that adds a nice depth to food.
Salt With A Tangy Twist
“There’s a reason every recipe calls for salt and pepper,” says Love. “I like to finish with a good coarse salt and citrus. Bona Furtuna Sicilian Sea Salt with Organic Lemon kills two birds with one stone.” Fifth-generation producers harvest the sea salt by hand from the famed marshes of Trapani, on Sicily’s western shores. It’s then infused with Lunario Lemons (known for the tart essential oils in their peels) grown on La Furtuna Estate. Love likes to use it to season steak and rib-eye.
A Multipurpose Rub
Love’s secret ingredient is his namesake Bad Ass Rub. “It’s like Dorito dust,” he says. “I use it to finish meat and poultry. I’ll grill chicken wings and toss them in it. It’s also great on chocolate ice cream and fruit.” Love ranks the smoky blend of guajillo chile, rosemary, salt, pepper, cumin and thyme a three on the heat scale. If you want heat, he suggests basting your meats in chili oil.
An Oil Spray To Get That Sear
A light, even coating of oil on whatever you’re grilling is critical to get that great sear and helps your food not stick to the grill, says Irani. “Even with a high fat content protein like a ribeye steak or burgers, a light coating of oil helps with that initial sizzle,” he says. “I love sprays because the fine mist sticks well to whatever you’re grilling and doesn’t drip off and cause flareups. I apply it after I’ve seasoned what I’m grilling.” Avocado oil is a heart healthy oil that has a higher smoke point than olive oil so it’s perfect for the grill, he says.
A Burst of Umami With Fish Sauce
This is a super versatile staple for your pantry, says Irani. Made from wild-caught black anchovy sourced from the Phu Quoc archipelago in Vietnam, it contains twice the amount of protein of most fish sauce on the market. Fermented in wooden barrels using a centuries old method with only first-press batches bottled, it has a well-balanced flavor that’s perfect for marinades. “I use a splash of it to make a glaze by mixing it with melted butter, honey and sriracha,” he says. “It’s great to baste onto fish or to toss on your wings as they come off the grill.”
Best Grilling Accessories
A Thick Apron
After Love watched a leather maker in Barcelona construct a racerback apron, he returned home and asked designer Marc Nelson to come up with a similar model. Made with denim sourced from the legendary Cone Mills denim factory in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Marc Nelson Denim Love Collection Apron is stylish enough to wear behind the grill or front of guests. Multiple pockets make it easy to stash your spatula or seasonings and the heavy duty leather straps come off so you can pop it in the wash.
An All-Purpose Pizza Stone
Why invest in a fancy pizza oven when you can buy a pizza stone and cook your pie on the grill? Love is a fan of PK Grills charcoal grill and says the company’s pizza stone matches the quality. The ceramic stone distributes heat evenly while absorbing excess moisture to create a super crisp crust. “Stainless steel handles make for easy handling,” he says.
A Reliable Fire Starter
Any avid griller should have a fire starter to get flames burning quickly. Chef de cuisine Tristen Epps cooks over live fire every day at Red Rooster Overtown in Miami. “Webber Rapid Fire Chimney Starter is easily replaceable when it gets burnt out,” he says. “It’s affordable and super effective at getting a beautiful live fire going.”
A Hibachi Grill
Not only does this style of grill have an elegant look and small footprint that makes it easy to store, but it’s able to create powerful heat, says Epps. “Because of the small size, I can use it on my apartment patio and easily take it with me to events,” he says. Epps likes to use binchotan charcoal with the grill. This type of charcoal comes from a very dense wood, so it’s nearly smokeless and creates a super-hot, intense, pure heat that’s great for caramelizing and grilling food quickly with a ton of flavor, he says.
