Project Grill Master: Top Grilling Gear Every Home Cook Should Own

Want to become an at-home grill master? Barbecue expert Michael Scott rounds up the top tools you have to have at home, including those you SHOULD have every time you cook, those you COULD have if you want to expand your cook and those you WOULD have if your wife, husband, etc., didn’t know what you just spent this month’s fun money on.

SHOULD have every time you cook

• Thermometer  – Due to the nature of grilling/BBQing, the temperature can vary due to fuel source, air intake/exhaust, wind blowing, equipment used, thickness of meat/fowl and many other variables. Rather than blindly follow a recipe in the “X minutes/hours per Y lbs” format, I cook everything to its own specific internal temp. For example, pork boston butt (shoulders) are cooked to 195F, beef whole packer briskets to 192F, pork spares/baby backs to 185F, chicken thighs 170F breasts 165F, steaks my way 130F and my wife’s way 145F.

• I highly recommend the Thermoworks Thermapen (seen at left).  It is a commercial quality splash-proof quick read thermometer that is used by the pros and most competition BBQ cooks. You can get yours in one of 14 different colors by clicking here, available at $89 MSRP.
• A lower cost option is the Maverick ET-73. While not quick read, it offers a simple wireless option for viewing meat temps while away from your cooking rig. Details can be found by clicking here, available at $60 MSRP.

• Gloves – You can never have enough gloves: ones to protect you from the heat of the fire and/or meat, others to protect your health when preparing the raw meat prior to cooking. I use all of the following with every cook: leather (welding) gloves for grill/BBQ fire duty (usually buy 4-5 pairs for the season at low cost tool stores or big box stores), silicone gloves for handling cooked meat (remember, pork shoulders and beef briskets are in the 190-200F range when done) and disposable latex/nitrile gloves for food safety (think cross-contamination, etc.) Ceramic cookers should consider full gauntlet style gloves (avoid mitts).

• Aluminum pans – An absolute requirement unless you want to spend half of your time washing dishes. Full and half size aluminum pans are found on every competition BBQ teams’ packing list. We use them to marinade, apply dry rub, transfer to the pit, hold cooked meat and for catering/serving. Inexpensive and recyclable, aluminum pans are a must-have item.

• Tongs – Put away your forks, pokers and spatulas and purchase a good set of heavy-duty tongs. Beyond better overall control of food placement and flipping, you’ll end up with a juicier, more flavorful end result by not repeatedly piercing the meat while cooking. Tongs are also a better way to serve your guests.

• Fire starter – Repeat after me: “I will no longer use starter fluid!” Get yourself a charcoal chimney for starting either lump or briquette charcoal. If you’re a stick-burner like me, there is always the roofer’s propane torch to start your fire.

• Firepokerthingamajig – You’re cooking with fire; you’re going to want to poke it, maybe even need to move it around a bit. This tool can be anything from a shovel to a stick, but be aware that a stick will tend to get a bit shorter each time you “stick” it into the fire. I crack myself up sometimes…

COULD have if you want to expand your cook (and by COULD I mean SHOULD)

• BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 temperature controller – Imagine setting your BBQ grill like an oven. Imagine a 12+ hour burn without any need to stoke or feed the fire. Imagine perfect pit control and better BBQ every time regardless of weather or wind conditions. A dream, right? The BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 is real and does all the above. The idea behind the Guru is to control the temperature by controlling the airflow. Born of an idea by an industrial manufacturing thermo control expert, the Guru samples the pit temperature and then controls a fan to increase/decrease the internal temperature. Add in meat temperature control, and you have one of the competition circuit’s secrets to award winning BBQ. Key requirements are the pit/grill must be charcoal or wood fueled and relatively air-tight (any leaks would defeat the purpose of control). Find out if they have already certified for your pit by clicking here. All of the options can be found also by clicking here. Price: $185 + adapter and fan for your pit.

• Grill skewers, basket, wok – A relatively new product is the Firewire flexible skewer. Take the old, rigid skewers and toss them out for the ease of using Firewire. Since they are essentially a sturdy reinforced wire, you can load them up, put in a bag of marinade, place on the grill and finish off with a beautiful plate presentation. Find yours at firewiregrilling.com, available at $25 for 4 MSRP. Additionally, a grill basket and/or wok can be used to provide some flair to your sides by grilling right along with the main course.

• Rib rack – Looking to cook more than a couple slabs of ribs at a time? Go vertical with a standing rib rack. There are a number of vendors out there, from the big-box stores to higher end kitchenware shops.

• Injector – Great food has flavor throughout. How do the competition teams infuse flavors deep into the meat prior to cooking? By injecting! The Cajun Injector is the most well known consumer product and is a requirement any time we deep-fry turkeys.

• Rotisserie – Check for a rotisserie option for your grill from your manufacturer. If they don’t carry one, there are some universal models that can be retrofit. Who doesn’t admire the sight of a spinning whole chicken or perhaps a standing prime rib roast? Our rotisserie can even do double-duty for roasting green coffee!

WOULD if you can get away with it (and by WOULD I mean WILL SOMEDAY VERY SOON)

• BBQ Guru CyberQ WiFi temperature controller – Take the earlier discussed DigiQ, make it wireless, add a webserver and you have the just released BBQ Guru CyberQ WiFi. It allows you to check your pit temp and up to three meats via desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone! The CyberQ WiFi has the same initial requirements as the DigiQ. I’m trying to get my wife to buy this for me for Mother’s Day. Order yours by clicking here. Price is $295 + adapter and fan for your pit.

• Yeti cooler – So an M1A2 tank and a coozie had a baby. They named it the Yeti cooler TUNDRA series. It stands up to grizzly bears and hurricanes and is on my top 5 items to be stranded on an island with (along with ZZ Top’s Eliminator LP). Sizes range from the YT35 to the gigantic YT420. The only thing that would make them any better is if they were out of College Station, TX instead of Austin. Yours can be by clicking here. Price varies – $260 to $1,300 MSRP.

• Last but not least, another (or perhaps a third) Thermapen.

When life gives you lumps, make charcoal. Click here for Michael Scott’s advice on purchasing a grill, here on advice for guidance on becoming a meat-smoking champ and here for the 411 why on why he believes BBQ’ing should have no rules, no secrets.