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Up your grilling game with these tools for getting the perfect sear, smoke, roast, even pizza if you want to pull out all the stops.
Grilling is the most elemental way to cook. There's the burning wood (or charcoal, or gas) producing heat and your food sizzling in that heat. But while it's a simple way to cook, it can be daunting. How do you know when your meat is done? How do you get those great grill marks? As with most things, having the right tools makes the job much easier. If our [guide to portable grills](https://www.wired.com/story/best-portable-grills/) got you started on the road to grilling mastery, consider this the follow up tips and tricks edition. Professional chefs may make it look easy to poke a bit of meat and pronounce it medium rare, but for the rest of us, these tools help take the guess work out of grilling.
1. Thermometer
It takes a lot of grilling practice to know the temperature of meat just by feeling it. This is an admittedly cool skill you can work toward, but really there's no need. You can grab a great instant read digital thermometer like the [Habor Foldable Instant Thermometer for $16](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RKZ4JVC/){: rel=nofollow}. The small foldable design is easy to palm so you can temp your food on the sly and then when friend are looking, poke it with your finger and say, "ah yes, medium rare." Fancy something fancier? The [MeatStick ($65)](https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Thermometer-Grill-Stove-Rotisserie/dp/B07GWC48CB/){: rel=nofollow} is a wireless thermometer you can leave in the meat and it'll broadcast the temperature to your phone.
2. Fire/Heat Proof Gloves
I'll confess I wasn't even planning to test these because I thought the idea was ridiculous, who needs gloves to grill? Then the folks at Grill Grates sent me a pair and I thought, what the heck. Turns out, heat resistant gloves are awesome. You can do everything with your hands. Later I got a pair of these [Grill Heat Aid gloves ($29)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RUBZNDQ/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}, which can handle up to 932 degrees. A word of caution: these help, but they don't make you invulnerable. You're still dealing with very high temperatures when grilling, always be cautious.
3. Tongs, Serious Tongs
Cooking large pieces of meat means flipping large, heavy pieces of meat. Most kitchen tongs are not up the task. To avoid dropping your half cooked food, I recommend getting some heavy duty stainless steel tongs. I love these [Weber Tongs ($22) ](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-6645-Original-Portable-Stainless/dp/B005LR3BB2){: rel=nofollow} and the set includes a nice heavy spatula as well.
4. Grill Grates
The [gas](https://www.wired.com/2013/07/gas-grilling-is-objectively-scientifically-better-than-charcoal/) versus [charcoal](https://www.wired.com/2013/07/charcoal-grilling-is-objectively-scientifically-better-than-gas-2/) grilling debate will never die but you can skip it entirely with a set of Grill Grates. The extra flavor that you get from charcoal comes primarily from the rendered fat dripping off your food, hitting the coals below and becoming smoke, which then flavors your food. Grill Grates give you the same effect without the charcoal, trapping juice in its deep grooves where they burn off and flavor your food. The also prevent flare-ups, even when cooking normally flare-prone food like brautwurst. They can replace your existing grates or just cover them. Here's a set to fit the [Weber Jumbo Joe ($90)](https://www.amazon.com/GrillGrates-Weber-Kettle-Grill-Jumbo/dp/B00C2OC97O?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} and another for the [Weber Q1200 gas grill ($60)](https://www.amazon.com/GrillGrate-13-75-Interlocking-Grate-Tool/dp/B002MAHRAM/){: rel=nofollow}.
5. Cleaning Brush
Not one of the grilling manufacturers I talked to for this piece endorsed this, but I have been cleaning my stainless steel grill grates with wadded up aluminum foil for years. A stainless steel or brass wire brush can leave behind small bristles that get stuck in your grill and wind up in your food. It happens [more often](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0194599815627794) than you think. If you simply must have a brush, get one that's a single, continuous wire. I like this [Grill Art](https://www.amazon.com/GRILLART-Grill-Brush-Bristle-Free/dp/B07F731D86/){: rel=nofollow} brush or you can go for an [Earthstone grill cleaner (17) ](https://www.amazon.com/GrillStone-Cleaner-Starter-Handle-Blocks/dp/B00322Q0LG/){: rel=nofollow}, a pumice-like stone cleaner made from recycled glass. If you get the Grill Grates there a [cleaner for those as well ($20)](https://www.amazon.com/Grate-Valley-Bristle-Free-Double-Cleaning/dp/B019EF5DPS/){: rel=nofollow}.
5. Charcoal baskets
If you want to branch out from grilling (high heat) to indirect cooking, like smoking, do yourself a favor and grab a set of [charcoal baskets](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-7403-Char-Basket-Charcoal-Briquet/dp/B000WEMGM4/?tag=w050b-20). These make it easy to cluster your brickets to one side of grill so you can keep your indirect cooks on the other. Combine these with a hinged grill and you'll have an easy was to feed in fresh fuel as your smoke progresses. These [hinged grates](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-7433-Hinged-Cooking-Grate/dp/B01F5YHRZQ/){: rel=nofollow} fit the Jumbo Joe, [our top pick for portable charcoal grills](https://www.wired.com/story/best-portable-grills/).
6. Veggie basket
The veggie basket is not a necessity, but it sure is nice to have. It allows you to slice your veggies ahead of time, toss them in a little olive oil, and cook them without having half fall through the grates. It also makes clean up much easier. I like this [Weber basket ($15)](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-6481-Stainless-Vegetable-Basket/dp/B0071V7WOS/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}, it's solid stainless steel with no rivets. My only gripe is that it's not big enough for a veggie-loving family of five. If you're cooking for a crowd, try [the 14-inch basket ($26)](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-6434-Professional-Grade-Vegetable-Basket/dp/B000WEIJUW/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}.
7. Pizza Stone
It's not quite a wood-fired pizza—for that you'll want check out [our favorite pizza ovens](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-pizza-ovens/)—but you can make a pretty good pie with a pizza stone on your grill. I've used this [Weber stone](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-8836-Gourmet-System-Pizza/dp/B006WRLBNU/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} quite a bit, but be sure to check the fit for your particular grill. Want something larger? I didn't testing it, but this [stone](https://www.amazon.com/Weber-8829-Stone-Grill-Accessory/dp/B077JSMV8X/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} is 18-inches across, allowing for a proper large pizza. If rain drowns your barbecue, fear not, these pizza stone works just as well in the oven.
While you can buy fancy pizza oven attachments for your grill, or even grab a full on wood pizza oven, I've managed to get by with just a pizza stone. It's
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