You don't need much to be a great griller, but there are a few things that make grilling easier and more successful. There are also a few things you need to take care of your grill. Remember no matter how much you spent a dirt, uncovered grill won't last. These suggestions are intended to help you put together a few of the basics that work, work well and make you a better griller. Remember that these are just suggestions. To be a great cook you need to find accessories that work best for you.
1. Weber 16" Stainless Steel Locking Tongs
Napoleon Grills
A good pair of tongs let you get a good grip on your food. They need to be easy to squeeze, yet bounce back quickly. Good tongs allow you to grip on to small and large items without crushing even the most delicate foods. Good tongs have a gripping edge that holds on but doesn't cut into meats. Find tongs that fit your hand and have enough reach to get deep into your grill without leaving your hand over the fire. Also avoid tongs that are too heavy. If you have a lot of cooking to do you don't want to add several pounds of tongs to the weight of the food you are flipping.
2. Backyard Warrior's Fork it Over
Backyard Warrior
Most people will tell you that you should never use a fork on meats that you grill. This is a barbecue myth. If you have a stack of chops to flip the easiest and fastest way to flip them is with a fork. This fork combines the standard design with side flipping fork that lets you quickly and easily hook the edge of a piece of meat and flip it straight over. You don't even have to pierce it deeply to catch. it. When it comes to flipping meat, this fork is the easiest and the fastest.
3. Weber Stainless Steel Spatula
Weber-Stephen Products Co.
A good barbecue spatula doesn't need loads of funny little gadgets on it. I have one that has a cutting blade on one side, a vicious turning fork and an opener for your bottle of beer. Does everything, but isn't good at sneaking under delicate fillets of fish. A good spatula can easily slip under foods to lift and turn. That's all it needs to do, but it needs to do it well, because sometimes things stick and you need to get them up without tearing them apart.
4. Super Silicon Angled BBQ Basting Brush
Grill Friends
If you haven't used a silicon basting brush to sauce, mop or baste your barbecue or grilling then you don't know what you are missing. These brushes transport large amounts of sauce to the subject and leave it there. Easy to clean, heat resistant, and fantastic to use. This really is the basting brush of the 21st century. This particular model has exactly what you want in a BBQ basting brush: A long, angled handle so you can get in there without burning yourself.
5. BBQ Brush Hog
Global Innovations, LLC.
Most grill brushes rust, fall apart, break or just don't last. I've been using one of these several times a week for well over a year and I've hardly cleaned it (don't tell anyone). With either brass or stainless steel bristles these brushes to a great job cleaning your cooking grate and are built to last. Wash it out once in a while to remove the gunk and you won't have to buy a new one next year. The heavy duty scrapper is perfect for getting at the burnt on food.
6. Steven Raichlen Stainless Steel Skewers
The Companion Group
Have you ever gone to turn a kebab on the grill and have the skewer turn and not the food? What you need is a good flat blade skewer. Kebabs where invented on Bedouin Swords. A great kebab needs to be held firmly on the skewer and turn with the blade. Look for broad skewers and not those black metal sticks everyone sells. These skewers are large so they will let you load up the kebab with lots of great foods. These are also stainless steel so they won't rust in the bottom of your drawer (yeah, I know where you keep them).
7. Propane Guage/Leak Detector
Ever run out of gas because you weren't born with X-Ray vision to see inside a steel propane tank? You need a fuel guage to tell you how much propane you have left. The great thing about this fuel guage is that it also detects gas leaks to give you a little peace of mind and increased safety. Fuel leaks are one of the most common causes of gas grill related fires. So find out how much gas you have left and don't let it leak away.8. EZ Que Rotisserie System
If you are used to the old fashioned rotisseries then you probably don't want to use one. You used to have to skewer foods, balance the rod and then set it in place. The great guys at EZ Que came up with this basket style rotisserie system that lets you drop whole chickens, roasts or pretty much anything in, lock it in place and put it on the grill. This is the easiest and best rotisserie system on the Market. It is now the system used by Weber, FireMagic, Kalamazoo and many more grills.9. Grill Wipes
One of the secrets to successful grilling is a clean, well oiled cooking surface. Put one of these oil infused grill wipes on the bristles of your grill brush and wipe down our cooking grate. Not only does it help clean off the surface but coats it in a fine layer of high temperature corn oil. A new invention but certainly a necessity for the modern griller.10. Grill Topper Wok
Sometimes you want to grill up something little, something bound to fall through the cooking grate. What you need is a grill topper. These come in a wide range of styles and types. This wok type folds up on the edges to keep food in place and not take up your entire grilling area. This unit lets you grill your steaks while doing a little stir-fry right on the grill. A grill topper lets you grill so many more things. You can also load it up and place the whole thing on a hot grill.