To grill like a pro (even if you’re a beginner), you’ll need some of the best grilling accessories. With the right tools and a little bit of practice, you can master cooking up marinated steak, portobello mushrooms, and grilled chicken, all on your outdoor grill.
In my search for the best grilling accessories, I started with my personal favorites, such as my go-to chimney starter, grill tongs, digital meat thermometer, brush, and grilling planks. For the rest of my recommendations, I considered some key factors like material, use, and design.
Check out all of my favorites below so you can have your best BBQ yet.
My Top Picks:
- Best Grill Tongs: Walfos Food Grade Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs – $11.99 at Amazon
- Best Digital Meat Thermometer: ThermoWorks ThermoPro TP19 – $29.99 at Amazon
- Best Grill Brush: GrillArt Grill Brush and Scraper – $21.99 at Amazon
- Best Grilling Planks: Grill Gourmet Cedar Grilling Planks – $16.99 at Amazon
- Best Chimney Starter: Weber Rapidfire Compact Chimney Starter – $18.99 at The Home Depot
Reviews of the Best Grilling Accessories of 2024
1. Best Grill Tongs: Walfos Food Grade Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs
Grill tongs are one of the most essential grilling tools, and the right ones can make all the difference. My go-to grill tongs is this set from Walfos. They’re stainless steel, which means they’re versatile, durable, and rust-resistant, ensuring food safety and longevity. This set includes three different sizes that come in handy when grilling everything from small vegetables to whole chicken.
When it comes to flipping chicken breasts or corn on the cob, I think the longest pair (12 inches) is the best, while the other two options are versatile enough for serving smaller sides. Each piece has a non-slip grip and locking mechanism that gives you more control and makes them easy to store.
Pro-tip: If you don’t need an entire three-pack of tongs, I also recommend the OXO Good Grips 16-inch tongs, which are great for turning big cuts of meat on the grill.
2. Best Digital Meat Thermometer: ThermoWorks ThermoPro TP19
A digital thermometer is one of the best grilling gadgets that make sure your food is cooked perfectly every time. I think it’s a must-have, especially with thicker cuts of meat. My favorite digital meat thermometer is the ThermoWorks ThermoPro TP19 because it can read temperatures quickly, has a backlit display, and is versatile enough to be held in any position. I use it to test temperatures for all kinds of recipes, including my reverse sear steak, which requires gentle and consistent heat at specific temperatures to prevent overcooking.
3. Best Grill Brush: GrillArt Grill Brush and Scraper
Every griller needs a good grill brush to keep things nice and clean after you’ve cooked and chowed down. I like this one from GrillArt — it’s a bristle-free brush, which I highly recommend since it eliminates the risk of bristles falling off and sticking to the grill or — yuck — getting into your food. With the brush’s coiled metal design, I always find that it’s effective at removing buildup and residue with ease.
4. Best Grilling Planks: Grill Gourmet Cedar Grilling Planks
To get that distinctive smoky flavor, you need to add cedar grilling planks to your list of barbecue grill accessories. The wood helps retain moisture and offers a juicy, flavorful end result, especially for recipes like my grilled cedar plank salmon. These planks are easy to use and add a gourmet touch to grilling without too much-added work.
5. Best Chimney Starter: Weber Rapidfire Compact Chimney Starter
When it comes to charcoal grills, chimney starters are one of the best grilling accessories you can buy. I use the Weber Rapidfire Compact Chimney Starter and have found that it’s incredibly efficient and consistent when lighting up my charcoal grill. It heats charcoal quickly and evenly, which is essential for maintaining precise temperatures while grilling.
Despite its small size, it has a large, easy-to-use ergonomic handle and fits perfectly with my grilling setup, making it a practical grilling accessory for both recipe testing and family BBQs.
6. Best Grill Spatula: OXO Good Grips Grilling Turner
A grill spatula is another grilling staple that can help you flip burgers, drain oils, and handle steaks or pizza. This pick from OXO is my favorite because it has a wide head that can easily slide under everything from grilled salmon to grilled zucchini. It also has a longer handle than a standard spatula to keep your fingers further from the hot grill, while the non-slip grip makes it comfortable to use.
7. Best Grill Pizza Stone: Hans Grill Pizza Stone
If you love grilled pizza as much as my family and I do, a pizza stone is one of the best grilling accessories to have. I’m a huge fan of the Hans Grill Pizza Stone and have been using it for years. It’s durable, easy to use, and gives pizza a delicious crispy and crunchy crust. Since it’s made of porous stone, it absorbs oil and flavors from every pizza you make, giving each one extra seasoning and flavor. It comes with a wooden peel to make removing your pizza from the hot grill stone easy and safe.
8. Best Burger Press: Cuisinart Smashed Burger Press
To consistently make the perfect grilled burgers and smash burgers for my family, I turn to one of the best burger presses: this cast iron burger press from Cuisinart. It’s one of my favorites because of its heavy weight and ease of use. It can press burgers with minimal effort at one pound, but it isn’t so heavy that it’s difficult to hold. It also has a wide diameter of 6.5 inches, so it’s spacious enough to press even larger burger patties down to a consistent thickness.
9. Best Fish Spatula: Mercer Culinary Hell’s Handle Large Fish Turner/Spatula
Fish spatulas are versatile grilling tools that can be used for a lot more than fish — they can also be used for burgers, chicken, or even pancakes. This fish turner and spatula from Mercer Culinary has a large and flexible stainless steel blade with an angled design that makes it easy to maneuver. It also has a textured grip and heat-resistant handle that’s designed to keep your hands safer while grilling.
10. Best Grill Accessories Kit: Cuisinart Deluxe Grill Set
If you’re new to grilling or want a complete set that has all the grilling tools you need, you can’t go wrong with the Cuisinart Deluxe Grill Set. It’s one of the best grill accessories kits, composed of 20 stainless steel barbecue grill accessories: a spatula, grill tongs, a silicone basting brush, eight corn holders, five skewers, a cleaner brush, a replacement head brush, and a digital temperature fork. It also comes packaged in an aluminum storage case, which means it’s easy to transport or stow away.
11. Best Heat-Resistant Grill Gloves: Grill Armor Gloves
To keep your hands safe from the heat and flames, it’s important to keep a pair of grilling gloves on-hand with the rest of your grilling tools. This heat-resistant set from Grill Armor is not only heat-resistant up to 932ºF, but they’re also cut-resistant, so you can chop vegetables and ingredients without any mishaps. They’re thick enough to provide the protection your hands need when grilling, but lightweight enough to provide flexibility and a great range of motion. They come in a bunch of colors, too.
12. Best Flat-Top Grill Scraper: Cuisinart Griddle Scraper
If you have a flat-top grill, a griddle scraper should be one on your list of must-have grilling supplies. The Cuisinart Griddle Scraper has a 6-inch stainless steel blade that can take on heavy residue with ease. Plus, it has an ergonomic handle with a knob grip to give you more control and apply more pressure for spots that need more elbow grease.
Why You Can Trust Us
Hi! I’m Jessica, a certified culinary scientist, food scientist, and author of the Easy Culinary Science cookbook. I love sharing the science behind healthier cooking through family-friendly recipes, cooking tips, the best cooking tools, and more, and have been doing so through my food blog since 2012.
To create my list of the best grilling accessories, I used my personal experience with grilling paired with my educational background. I sorted through customer reviews, the best food publications, and considered factors like material, use, type of grill used, and design.
What to Know About Grilling Accessories
Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Grilling Accessories
When shopping for the best grilling accessories, you should consider details like material, use, type of grill, and design.
Material
The ideal material for a grilling tool depends on the type of grill you own. For the most part, a lot of grilling supplies are made of stainless steel. Stainless steel is durable, resistant to rust, and sturdy, making it ideal for grilling. You should also consider the materials for smaller details, like silicone or wood, to help with grip, comfort, and heat resistance.
Use
You also want to consider what kind of griller you are and the use of each grilling tool. While burger presses and pizza stones are great to have for variety, if you don’t like a particular food, you don’t necessarily need them. However, consider versatile grilling tools that can be used for a variety of recipes or types of cooking.
Type of Grill
The type of grill you have can determine your essential grilling supplies. For example, if you have a charcoal grill, a chimney starter can be a fantastic tool to get light charcoal quickly. But if you have a gas grill, a chimney starter isn’t needed.
Design
Different design elements should also be considered when looking for the best grill accessories. Look for design elements that cater to safety and comfort. Some safety features are long and heat-resistant handles or splash guards. For comfort, look for ergonomic options, including large handles.
What are the Must-Have Items for BBQ?
The must-have grilling accessories can make all the difference between an okay and extraordinary BBQ. The top grilling essentials — regardless of what type of grill you have — are a spatula, tongs, digital meat thermometer, and grill brush. It’s also beneficial to have a basting brush to add sauces while food cooks, aluminum foil to house smaller pieces of food and help ease cleanup, paper towels to wipe up spills and grease, and a fire extinguisher, just to be safe.
Beyond the grill, make sure to have napkins, dinnerware, glassware, silverware, a trash can, and basic condiments, sauces, and seasonings.
The Best Grill Recipes
Once you have the best grilling accessories, it’s time to put them to use! Try your new favorite grilling supplies to test out the recipes below.
- Grilled Shrimp with Honey Garlic Sauce
- Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon
- Grilled BBQ Chicken
- Memphis-Style Pork Ribs
- Hawaiian Chicken Skewers
Prices were accurate at the time of publication.
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