The Grilling Tools Worth Buying, and the Ones to Skip
A no-nonsense buying guide to grill tools that earn their spot, with real price ranges, plus the gimmicks safe to skip.
The most useful tool at any grill costs about $35.
It is an instant-read thermometer, and it does more for your food than every other purchase on this page combined. Most boxed grill sets are padding you will use twice and lose in a drawer.
Five tools earn a permanent spot. Everything below is what they cost and why.
Buy the thermometer first
Guessing at doneness is where good ingredients go to die.
A digital instant-read gives you the true internal temperature in 2 to 3 seconds, so you pull chicken breast at 160 F and a steak at 130 F for medium-rare.
Budget picks run $20 to $35 and read in 3 to 6 seconds (plenty for a backyard cook). The premium models cost $85 to $105, read in about 1 second, and carry a wider, more accurate probe.
Buy the premium one if you cook a few times a week.
Skip the lid-mounted dial that came with your grill. Those run 30 to 50 F off, which is the whole distance between juicy and dried out.
The five tools that earn their spot
You need less than you think. These five cover 95 percent of what you will actually do, and the doneness temperatures cover most of the rest.
- Long tongs, 16 inch. Spring-loaded, one piece of stainless, no plastic hinge to melt. Good ones cost $12 to $20 and last a decade (the extra length keeps your forearm off a 500 F grate).
- A fish spatula. The thin, flexible, slotted blade slides under delicate food without tearing it, and it flips smash burgers and vegetables better than any thick plastic turner. Figure $15 to $25.
- A chimney starter, for charcoal. This one changes your whole charcoal experience. It lights a full load of coals in 12 to 15 minutes on newspaper and zero lighter fluid, so nothing tastes like a gas station. A solid one runs $18 to $30.
- Heat-resistant gloves. Rated to around 500 F. They let you move hot grates, dump a chimney, and pull a foil-wrapped pork butt bare-handed. Expect $15 to $25 (leather welding gloves work too).
- A grill brush or scraper. A clean grate is what makes food release, and seasoning the bars keeps it that way. A wood scraper runs $10 to $15, shapes itself to your grates, and sheds nothing. If you use a wire brush, replace it every season and check for loose bristles every time.
A buy list by budget
The whole kit, three ways.
| Budget | What to buy | Rough total |
|---|---|---|
| Starter ($60 to $80) | $25 instant-read, $15 tongs, $15 fish spatula, $12 wood scraper | About $70 |
| Solid ($120 to $160) | $40 instant-read, $18 tongs, $20 fish spatula, $25 chimney, $20 gloves, $15 scraper | About $140 |
| Dialed-in ($250 to $320) | $100 instant-read, $70 leave-in dual-probe, $20 tongs, $25 fish spatula, $30 chimney, $25 gloves, $20 scraper | About $290 |
Spend the starter row first (about $70 all in). Every item there earns back its cost in food you do not overcook.
Worth it once the cooks get long
Ribs. Pork shoulder. Anything over an hour, which is where a first low-and-slow cook sends most people.
Two more tools start to matter at that length.
A leave-in probe thermometer buries in the meat and reports to a base unit or your phone with the lid down. Every peek into a smoker adds 10 to 15 minutes to the cook, so the probe pays for itself in fuel and patience.
Dual-probe models run $30 to $70, and wireless ones with an app go $80 to $130.
Gloves earn double duty here, for wrapping foil and for pulling a hot butt off the grate. If you skipped them above, this is the reason to go back.
The tools to skip
These take up space and do a job you can already do better.
- The 20-piece "BBQ set" in a briefcase. Thin tools, stiff tongs, and you will use four of the 20. Buy those four separately and get better versions.
- Lid dial thermometers as your source of truth. Off by 30 to 50 F, as noted. Fine as a rough gauge, useless for doneness.
- Infrared laser thermometers for meat. They read surface temperature, and the 130 F center of your steak is the number you care about. Keep one for a pizza stone or a griddle.
- Novelty gadgets. Branding irons, corn-cob holders, beer-can chicken stands, grill baskets you touch once a year. A $6 pack of bamboo skewers and a sheet pan cover most of what these promise.
- Spray bottles of oil aimed at the grate. Oil the food. Oil sprayed onto hot bars gives you flare-ups and a sticky black varnish.
What separates a good cook from an okay one
A hot, clean grate and a known internal temperature. Tools barely enter into it.
Spend $35 on a thermometer and $30 on tongs and a scraper, and you have out-equipped 90 percent of backyards for under $70.
Add the chimney, the gloves, and a leave-in probe as the cooks get longer.
Buy the thermometer this week.
Frequently asked questions
What is the one grill tool I should buy first?
A digital instant-read thermometer, around $25 to $35. It removes the guesswork that ruins more backyard food than anything else on the list.
Do I need an expensive $100 thermometer?
No. A $25 to $35 model reading in 3 to 6 seconds is accurate enough for home cooking. The $100 versions read faster (about 1 second) and earn their price only if you cook several times a week.
Are wire grill brushes safe to use?
They are fine if you replace them each season and check for loose bristles before every cook, since a stray wire can end up in food, and a wood or coil scraper (around $10 to $15) drops the risk entirely.
Is a chimney starter really better than lighter fluid?
Yes. A chimney lights a full load of charcoal in 12 to 15 minutes with no chemical taste, and it costs $18 to $30 once (fluid is a purchase you repeat all summer).
What tools can I safely skip as a beginner?
The 20-piece boxed sets, corn holders, branding irons, beer-can chicken stands, and infrared laser thermometers for meat, none of which improve your food.
Do I need a leave-in probe thermometer?
Only if you cook things longer than an hour, like ribs or pork shoulder. It tracks internal temp with the lid closed. That saves the 10 to 15 minutes of cook time every peek costs you.