Grill School: Robyn's Essential Grilling Tools (Video)

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You don’t really need all the grilling tools and gadgets under the sun. All you need are a few basic grilling tools that are essential whenever you’re firing up the grill.

With the right outdoor cooking tools, you will set yourself up for success. You’ll become a BBQ and grilling aficionado in no time.

Watch this Grill School video breakdown of all the essential BBQ and grilling tools you need to get cooking outdoors.

It starts with the right grill brush

All grill brushes are created equal, right? In reality, the answer is definitely not.

While the right grill brush will perfectly prep your cooker’s surface, the wrong one can end in another horror story about ingesting grill brush bristles.

Luckily, the solution is fairly simple: get a bristle-free grill brush that is all in one piece.

The right brush will cost you less than $20 and will more than do the job when it comes to prepping your grill.

For a complete set of grilling tools, it’s an absolute must to own the right grill brush.

It’s also important to remember that the best time to clean a grill is right after you’re done cooking.

It’s tempting to call it a day after you pull your meal off the cooker, but taking a few seconds to scrape down the grill will make it much easier to get all the food particles off.

Choosing the right oil to go with your grilling tools

One of the most common mistakes at the grill is choosing the wrong oil.

While olive oil is used almost universally in the kitchen, it’s not actually a high-heat oil and is not a great dancing partner with your grill due to a relatively low smoke point.

Instead, I personally love to use peanut oil, although other high-heat oil staples include pomace oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, and vegetable oil.

Just dip a paper towel in a small dish of your preferred, high-heat oil, give the whole grilling surface a good wipe down, and you’ll be all ready to fire up the grill.

Don’t guess the temperature: pick up an internal read thermometer

Holding up a delicious hunk of chicken to the light to see if there is any visible pink is just not a good place to be. That’s especially true now with the many terrific internal read thermometers that you can pick up to make your job dramatically easier.

While a basic digital-read thermometer will run you about $10, a higher-end thermometer will give you a few more bells and whistles for $15-$20.

Not only will you have a much easier time grilling your meat to a safe level, but you’ll also be much more likely to land in that perfect taste zone.

Tying the meal together, particularly with chicken, another helpful tool to have around is a simple grill basting brush. Lather up your meat with a delicious sauce or marinade with a basting brush and you will have the perfect complement to your meal.

Although a grilling enthusiast can easily outfit herself with a small army of grilling tools, it really only takes a few basics to get you more than ready to impress at your next cookout.

For more grilling tips and tricks, don’t miss our other two-minute Grill School videos!