The Top 10 Tools You Will Need for Grilling

Once you have acquired your grill that you always wanted; one that allows for you to control exactly how fast the food cooks and control the temperature with ease, it is now the time to make sure your grilling equipment is also up to par. The following list of grilling tools are the essentials. They will make grilling much easier and enjoyable for you.

1. Tongs: The tongs are the most used, most important tool you can possibly have. You will need two sets of tongs in fact. One set for placing raw food on the grill and positioning it once on the grill, and one set to remove the food from the grill (as to avoid contamination of the food with any bacteria from the raw meats, fish, or poultry). Simply put, you can never have too many sets of tongs.
2. A Grill Brush: A high-quality grill brush is absolutely essential for removing food that has stuck to the grilling grates. It is best to use the brush both before and after cooking. By doing so, your food won’t taste like last night or, even worse, last week’s dinner. It is recommended to replace your grill brush once the bristles have worn down to about ½ their original length.
3. Grill Pan: Nearly everyone who has grilled before has seen a few items slip through the grates down into the fire. This is precisely what a grill pan will help to prevent. Foods such as delicate fish meat, or finely chopped fruits or vegetables will cook thoroughly and will not fall to their peril through the grill grates.
4. Chimney Starter: A chimney starter is wonderful for allowing you to start your coals more quickly and evenly than if you were to use lighter fluid (we never, ever use lighter fluid). We recommend using a chimney starter that allows for a capacity of at least 5 quarts of briquettes (80-100 pieces). Finally, your chimney starter should have two handles and include a heat-proof handle and a hinged top as to provide you with support when you’re dumping hot coals into the grill.
5. Instant Read Thermometer: Everyone who has grilled before has overcooked a steak. There is also the instance where food is removed from the grill prematurely. Both of these common occurrences can easily be avoided by using a high-quality digital thermometer. In order to get the most accurate read of the food’s inner temperature, we recommend inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat (the thickest part of the meat takes the longest to cook through).
6. Sheet Pan: This piece is most important for both preparing food prior to grilling and for removing food from the grill. So again, you’ll need at least two sheet pans. First you can oil and season the raw food on one sheet pan and proceed to cook. Then you can use the clean sheet pan to remove the food from the grill and eliminate potential contamination of your food.
7. A Basting Brush: Everyone loves to baste their food they are grilling. It’s almost ingrained in humans to baste their meats! Our new, top of the line basting brushes consist of stainless steel with silicone bristles with beads attached at the tips of the bristles to assist in applying more sauce evenly. Even better, rather than having to hand wash our basting brushes, you can simply put it in the dishwasher once finished with it.
8. Barbecue Mitts: In order to ensure you don’t burn your hand or arm while managing your charcoal fire, barbecue mitts are an absolute must. These, much like tongs, are put through the gauntlet and will be washed very often. In order to maintain longevity of your barbecue mitts, make sure to invest in high quality barbecue mitts.
9. Grilling Spatula: We recommend using a long handled spatula accompanied with a bent neck (this ensures the blade is set lower than the actual handle). By using this type of grilling spatula it will be easier to lift food off the grill. For everyday grilling we recommend a 4 inch blade. If you are cooking a whole fish, however, you will need a longer blade for turning it over.
10. Skewers: Bamboo skewers seem to be very common in grilling. The only downside is that they must be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before they can be put to use. In order to avoid the hassle of this, we recommend using metal skewers. If you have ever grown frustrated by the food spinning loosely while rotating the skewers we recommend the use of double pronged or flat metal skewers.

These tools are all essential to an enjoyable grilling experience every time you grill. If you are unsure where you would obtain all these items at one store, the answer is Backyard Middle East. We have nearly everything grilling related you could possibly imagine in-store. Did you really think we wouldn’t have the 10 most essential grilling tools? We only carry the highest quality grilling tools, so you can be assured that you are going to get a quality product that lasts. Furthermore, we are always happy to educate our customers on the details of all our equipment. If you have questions, simply call us at +966 13 845 6798 or visit our Knowledge Center online where we constantly update our information with all things related to creating the best grilling experience possible.