The best BBQ gadgets
When the whiff of barbecue lingers in the air, you know the season for outdoor cooking and al fresco eating has arrived.
Barbecuing is a failsafe way to give your food that sweet, smoky flavour synonymous with cooking over charcoal. Chargrilling can also enhance meat and veg by caramelising their sugars and creating a criss-crossed appearance.
The possibilities for prepping delicious dinners are endless, from sides like buttery baked corn on the cob, sizzling seafood including these fiery prawn and pepper skewers or for something sweet after, try our barbecued banoffee splits. It helps to have the right quiver of barbecue equipment.
We’ve given our tried-and-tested favourite bits of barbecue kit ‘best for’ labels below, having cooked a variety of ingredients on the barbecue to test them, including halloumi, burgers, spatchcock chicken and individual chicken pieces. The rest are products we rate highly for their quality and price.
Food expert Barney Desmazery also shares his top 10 barbecuing tips. Whether you’re cooking on gas or over charcoal, discover our selection of the best barbecue tools, gadgets and accessories to help you get the most out of your outdoor grill
Looking for a new barbecue? Visit our reviews section to find round-ups of the best charcoal barbecues, best portable barbecues and best gas barbecues. Plus we've brought together our picks of the best outdoor tableware.
KitchenCraft cast iron grill press
Best for searing meat
Grill presses are a lot easier to use than a spatula for pressing meat like burgers and steaks whilst they cook over a barbecue. The result should be evenly seared meat that's packed with barbecue flavour. This grill press by KitchenCraft has a good surface area and being cast iron, can be heated on the barbecue to sear the meat from above whilst the meat cooks below.
Tramontina BBQ tools pack of three
Best BBQ tool essentials
The Tramontina pack of three barbecue tools are impressively sturdy. Firstly, they’re long, allowing you to manage what’s cooking without having your hands too close to the hot grill. Wooden handles work particularly well here because they don’t conduct heat. A good pair of tongs are also crucial, plus the flipper has a sharp serrated edge which comes in handy for splitting ingredients in two to check if they’re done. Nothing fancy, just three really useful tools for a good price.
OXO Good Grips silicone tongs
Best tongs to use on a barbecue
These tongs are really well-designed – the rubberised handles are easy to grip and the flat silicone tips are slightly flexible so they can be used as a spatula to flip food. They're ideal for burgers but really come into their own when having to turn fish or vegetable slices.