Grilling Tools and Accessories: My recommendations

Wondering what you need to get started with backyard grilling or to make the process smooth and easy? You don't want to miss out on these essentials and wish list items for yourself or for any grill-loving friend!

Jeff thumbs-up pic with "Best Gifts for the Grill Lover" text

As someone who does a lot of grilling myself, I promise that these items will impress the recipient with your thoughtfulness and practicality. 

You have my word that I have tested these products personally and would recommend them to any friend.

Essential tools & accessories

A few things that no grill enthusiast should be without. 


Food-safe pink butcher paper — Great for wrapping your smoked meats to help them retain their temperature and moisture while cooking. Heavy-duty paper won't fall apart when wet or greasy. No wax coating to affect food taste or texture.

Extra extra large bamboo cutting board — 100% natural and organic bamboo material, which means no worries about BPA or other chemicals from plastic cutting boards. The extra-large size can accommodate a turkey, brisket, or whole rack of ribs! 

11-inch stainless steel carving knife — A fantastic-sized knife for carving through brisket, pork loins, turkey, ham, smoked salmon and roast. It can also be used to slice fruits and vegetables. Very comfortable to grip. Great quality for a non-professional line of tools.

6-inch curved boning knife — One-piece high-carbon, stain-resistant Japanese steel maintains a great sharpness. The handle of this knife is very comfortable, and the curved blade allows for great maneuverability when trimming any cut of meat to prep for the grill.

Digital meat thermometer — Waterproof, ambidextrous, and motion-sensing to conserve battery life. What more could you ask for in a digital thermometer? How about quick and accurate temperature readings! This thermometer is great at the grill or in the kitchen for meats, candy, or anything else.

Heat-resistant BBQ grill gloves — Besides being heat-resistant up to 1472 degrees Fahrenheit, these gloves are universally-sized, cut-resistant, and slip-resistant. They also come packaged in a nice box, perfect for gift-giving!

Charcoal rake — Stop using your BBQ tongs to spread out your hot coals! This genuine Weber stainless steel charcoal rake is 21" long and is designed to safely and easily distribute your charcoal across the bottom grill grate. You'll wonder why you ever grilled without one!

Chimney charcoal starter — An excellent way to heat up your coals before grilling, this 7.5" diameter, 13" high chimney starter is very durable and gets your coals started quickly. (Read why to use a chimney charcoal starter.)

Welding gloves — Although this might seem like a strange grill-related gift at first, any frequent griller will appreciate having a dedicated pair of gloves that can easily handle the tasks of removing a hot grill grate or maneuvering the grill itself. The gauntlet-style design protects forearms as well as hands.

Neoprene-coated heat-resistant gloves — Ideal for handling wet or greasy foods, these textured gloves are terrific for pulling pork that's still steaming hot off the smoker. The soft cotton lining and 14-inch length make them very comfortable to wear for extended periods.

Weber Gourmet BBQ System Hinged Cooking Grate — Designed for Weber's 22" diameter kettle grill, this hinged grate allows you to easily lift one side to add charcoal, but its primary feature is the removeable center that allows you to insert various Weber specialty cookware (see separate listings on this page).

Wireless remote digital thermometer — Leave these metal probes in your meat and monitor the internal cooking temperature from up to 300 feet away (500 feet model also available) so that you don't have to keep opening the lid or walking away from your guests. The receiver will also beep and flash once your food reaches a preset temperature.

6 Ft x 8 Ft Fiberglass Welding Blanket — This heavy-duty blanket is a great insulator to throw over your wood pellet grill on cold days, to keep the cooking temperature more steady.

Vortex stainless steel "cone" heat deflector — The Vortex allows you to focus heat toward one side of your grill lid, which makes for a nice circulation of indirect heat. It also intensifies and concentrates the heat from charcoal, allowing the grill to achieve higher temperatures for great crispy chicken wings!

Kamado ceramic grill cover — This full-length, industrial strength Polyester cover is waterproof. Keep your grill investment in top shape by keeping out the rain, snow, dust & leaves. Compatible with Kamado Joe Classic I, II, III.

There you have it — a selection of highly-recommended grilling tools and accessories that will give you consistent results and will make your backyard cooking experience more successful and more enjoyable. 

Don't forget to check out my recommendations for grilling books, cookware, and other extras to start enhancing your backyard design or grillscape!

My related pages: Recommendations

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