Best Grill Set: The BBQ Tools You Actually Need, and Sets Worth Giving

The restaurant kitchens I worked beside never owned a grill set. They bought tongs by the dozen from the restaurant supply store, the plain spring kind with scalloped ends, and they bought turners the same way, and when one went missing (one always went missing) another came out of the box. In years of walking those lines, I almost never saw a cook pick up a barbecue fork. The tools that got used were the ones that grabbed and the ones that flipped.

That is a useful way to think about BBQ tools at home, and especially in November, when boxed sets fill the seasonal aisles and turn up on every holiday wish list. The short answer: the best grill set for most people is a small one. Tongs, a sturdy spatula and something to clean the grates cover nearly every cook, and the Weber three-piece below does exactly that. A big kit in a case makes sense for tailgaters and as a gift, and a good glove is worth more than any extra gadget. Here are five sets, then the advice that makes any set, or a handful of loose tools, work.

What tools you actually need in a grill set

Strip a grill set down to what gets used and it comes to five things, only three of which usually come in the box.

1. Tongs. The most used tool by a wide margin. Grill tongs should keep your wrist out of the heat, which usually means 16 in (40 cm) or more, with scalloped tips that grip a wing without tearing the skin and a spring that opens easily without fighting your hand.
2. A turner, or spatula. Look for a wide head with a thin, bevelled front edge that slides under a burger or a fish fillet instead of shoving it across the grate, and an angled neck that keeps your knuckles above the heat.
3. Something to clean the grates. A bristle-free brush, a scraper or both.
4. A glove. For the chimney handle, a grate you need to lift, the lid on a windy day.
5. An instant-read thermometer, which almost no set includes and which does more for your food than any other tool on this list.

Everything else is optional: a fork, a basting brush, skewers, a grill basket for vegetables, corn holders and the small serrated knife that turns up in some cases. Nice to have. Rarely what decides whether dinner is good.

Best overall: Weber Precision Grilling Tool Set

Three stainless steel pieces: a spatula, tongs and a brush. It is the basics done well, with nothing in the box you will not use, and that restraint is the reason it is the top pick. It suits a first grill, a new homeowner, or anyone replacing a drawer full of mismatched tools that have collected over the years.

What it leaves out is the trade-off. There is no glove, no thermometer and no case, so plan on a hook or a drawer near the grill. And before the brush touches your grates, look at what its head is made of. If it uses wire bristles, inspect it before every cook and replace it the moment any bristles bend or loosen; our guide to grill brushes explains why that matters and which bristle-free heads to consider.

Budget pick: Kaluns Heavy-Duty BBQ Tool Set

A big stainless steel kit that packs into an aluminum carrying case. It is built for people who cook away from home, at a tailgate, a campsite or a cottage, and it makes a generous-looking gift because it arrives organized and ready to travel.

The trade-off with any big kit is that you will not use every piece. Read the list of what is included before you buy, so you know which tools you are getting and whether the brush suits your grates. On day one, take out the tongs, spatula and brush and hang them by the grill; leave the rest in the case for road trips. Make sure everything is dry before it goes back in. Stainless steel resists rust, but tools packed away wet in a closed case can still come out spotted.

The upgrade: Cuisinart 3-Piece Grilling Set with Glove

Long stainless tools plus a heat-resistant grill glove, aimed at keeping your hands away from the coals. That glove is why it is the upgrade. Charcoal cooks spend a lot of time near real heat: lifting a hot chimney, moving a grate to add coals, shifting a kettle lid, reaching across a fire to rescue the wing that rolled into the coals. A set that covers the hand nearest the fire from the first cook is a better gift for a keen griller than a box with twice as many tools.

Know what a glove does and does not do. It buys you seconds of contact with hot metal, not minutes, and a fabric glove that gets wet or greasy lets heat through fast. Check the maker's care instructions and keep it dry between cooks.

Also good

The Alpha Grillers four-piece set adds the piece the others skip: a fork, alongside a spatula, a brush and tongs, all in stainless steel. It suits the cook who roasts whole chickens or turns a big pork loin on the grill and wants something to steady it while carving.

The OXO turner and tongs set is just the two tools you reach for most, with grippy handles and a build meant for outdoor use. It is the right buy for a condo balcony or a small gas grill, for anyone who already owns a brush they like, and as a gift paired with a thermometer.

Tongs vs fork: why the fork stays in the drawer

Tongs win for almost everything on a grill. They grab a sausage without spinning it, lift a chicken thigh by the bone end, turn a skewer, flip a corn cob a quarter turn at a time and move a single wing off a flare-up. A fork does most of those jobs worse.

The usual complaint about forks is that every hole lets juice out. Some does run out, and on a grill it mostly drips into the fire and feeds flare-ups. The bigger problem is control: a fork holds food at one or two points, so it twists, spins and slides off at the worst moment, usually over the coals.

A fork still earns a place in a few situations:

• Lifting a whole bird or a big roast, working together with tongs.
• Steadying meat on the board while you carve.
• Spearing half an onion, cut side down, to rub across hot grates before cooking.

When you are buying tongs on their own, open and close them a few times in your hand. The spring should feel easy over a dozen squeezes, the tips should meet evenly along their length, and a locking ring keeps them closed in a drawer. Silicone-tipped tongs are kind to non-stick pans; on a hot grate, plain metal tips are easier to trust.

Gloves: what keeps your hands in one piece

Gloves come in three main types, and each has a job it does well.

Whatever the type, check the maker's heat rating, and make sure the glove fits. A glove two sizes too big is clumsy enough that you will take it off, and a glove on the counter protects nothing. For charcoal, a long cuff matters as much as the palm, because reaching over a hot chimney puts the inside of your wrist right in the rising heat.

The tools sets leave out

A grill set covers grabbing, flipping and cleaning. These are the things that complete it.

• An instant-read thermometer. The difference between a dry chicken breast and a good one is a few degrees, and the only way to know is to measure. Our meat thermometer guide covers the picks, where to probe and the safe temperatures to know.
• A chimney starter and a metal ash can, if you cook on charcoal. The charcoal grilling guide for beginners walks through lighting with one and dealing with the ash afterwards.
• Two sheet pans. One carries raw food out, a clean one carries cooked food back. Bringing burgers in on the tray that carried them out raw is an easy food safety slip, and a second pan prevents it.
• A light. Once the clocks go back at the start of November, most weeknight grilling happens in the dark. A clip-on grill light or a headlamp beats holding a phone in your teeth.
• Paper towels and a little oil, for wiping and oiling the grates just before the food goes on.

Good tools and a hot grate still need timing. The grill time calculator gives minutes per side and the temperature to pull at for burgers, chicken, steak and more.

Storage and care, through the winter

Stainless steel is called stainless, not rustproof. Left wet or salty, it spots and can pit, especially at rivets and seams. Dry tools after washing and before storing.

• Follow the maker on dishwashers. Wooden handles and some coatings do not like them, and hand washing takes a minute.
• Never rest tools on the grate or the closed lid. Handles scorch or melt, and the metal heats up enough to burn the next hand that grabs it.
• Hang tools on hooks by the grill during the season, then bring them inside when the grill goes quiet for winter. Tools left on a side shelf until spring tend to come back rusted at the joints, with a spider in the tong spring.
• Each spring, check that rivets are tight, tong springs still open fully and spatula heads have not worked loose.
• Store a case dry and open it once in the off-season to let it air out.

Buying a grill set as a gift

Early November is when these start showing up on wish lists, and the right set depends on who is opening it.

• A first grill, or a new homeowner: the Weber three-piece or the OXO pair, with a thermometer tucked in the box.
• The tailgater, camper or cottage cook: the Kaluns kit in its case.
• The charcoal devotee: the Cuisinart set, for the glove.
• The one who carves a holiday roast every year: the Alpha Grillers set, for the fork.
• Someone who already owns tools: do not give another full set. Give a single better pair of tongs, a good glove or an instant-read thermometer, the upgrades people put off buying for themselves.

Long tools are awkward to wrap, so a shoebox or a length of butcher paper is your friend. A bag of lump charcoal sitting next to the box under the tree also says what you hope will happen in spring.

How we chose

We have not used these particular sets on a grill. The picks come from the makers' published details (number of pieces, materials, what each set includes, a glove or a case), the strengths and complaints owners commonly report for grill sets as a group, such as kits full of pieces that never come out of the case, and years of watching commercial kitchens work with plain tongs and turners. We picked by job: the basics, a travelling kit, a set with hand protection, one with a fork and a two-tool option. Anything we say about the brushes in these sets is advice to check the head type yourself, because that detail matters more than the box suggests.

FAQ

What tools do you need for grilling?

Tongs, a turner, something to clean the grates, a heat-resistant glove and an instant-read thermometer. Everything else, from forks to skewers to corn holders, is optional and depends on what you cook.

Is it better to buy a grill set or individual tools?

A small set is the easy way to get matching basics that work together. If you already own a brush or a glove you like, buying the missing tools one at a time usually gets you better versions of exactly what you need.

Should you use tongs or a fork on the grill?

Tongs, for nearly everything. They hold food securely without piercing it, which means better control and fewer drips into the fire. Save the fork for lifting a whole bird or roast and for steadying meat while you carve.

How long should grill tongs be?

Long enough to keep your wrist and forearm out of the heat, which for most people means about 16 in (40 cm) or more. Much longer than that and they get harder to control with one hand.

Can grill tools go in the dishwasher?

It depends on the maker and the handles. Plain stainless steel usually copes, but wooden handles and some coatings should be washed by hand. Either way, dry the tools fully before storing them.

What is a good gift for someone who already loves to grill?

Skip the full set and upgrade one tool: a better pair of tongs, a proper glove or a fast instant-read thermometer. Keen grillers tend to buy their own gadgets and put off buying the tools they use every cook.