Five Tools That’ll Solve All Your Grilling Problems

Have you vowed that this summer’s the season you’ll finally step up your grill game? If so, here’s something to keep in mind: the only thing standing between you and the title of seasoned grill master are the right tools. Below are five tools that solve our biggest barbecue problems (they’re so essential that we won’t grill without ’em!).

The Problem: You’re secretly afraid of fire.

The Solution Tool: A Pitt Mitt

If you own a grill but a fear of the open flame keeps you from using it frequently, we have just the tool for you. This Pitt Grilling Mitt, made with heat-resistant aramid fibers, offers unmatched protection; it withstands temperatures of up to 475ºF. Bonus: It works on both right or left hands, and comes with an extra-long stretchable cuff that protects your forearms, too.

The Problem: You want to grill small foods, but they fall through the grates.

The Solution Tool: A Grill Pan

Invest in a chef’s pan that goes directly on the grill. Its perforated design brings food in contact with the flame, ensuring a char-grilled flavor—only without losing any valuable ingredients into the fire. This nonstick version comes with a removable handle that makes closed-grill cooking easy.

The Problem: You spend nearly as much time cleaning you grill as you did using it.

The Solution Tool: A Steam-Cleaning Grill Brush

Ever spent 30 minutes hover over the sink scrubbing grill grates while everyone else is enjoying their burgers? We have, and we don’t recommend it. Trust us: It’s worth it to splurge on a state-of-the-art tool like The Grand Grill Daddy Grill Cleaning Brush, which harnesses the power of steam to sterilize and melt away baked-on residue as it cleans.

The Problem: Your countertop is a confusing mess of raw and cooked platters.

The Solution Tool: A Set of Prep Trays

Make steak night easier—and safer—with a set of grill prep trays. These color-coded trays are designed to prevent cross-contamination between raw and cooked meat, and are double-layered and nested to make transporting food easy and convenient. They’re also made with shatter-resistant, lightweight, dishwasher-safe melamine.

The Problem: You grill fish, but it always sticks to the grates and falls apart.

The Solution Tool: A Flexi-Basket

We like to say that grilling a whole fish is the final frontier of mastering the modern grill. (Bonus points if you caught it yourself!) But in order to execute this properly, you need to have the right tools and cooking approach: Make sure you use an appropriately-sized hinged grill basket, so that you can flip the fish without it falling apart; we like our new High-Heat Nonstick Flexi Basket because its rugged nonstick coating helps prevent sticking, but also withstands temps of up to 660ºF and is PFOA-free.