Barbecue and Grilling Accessories You Didn't Know You Needed

They hang there, suspended on hooks, glistening brightly in the sunlight. They are your barbecue tools, and they have served you well. The flat expanse of your trusty spatula, the tongs that never wavered from their task, and the barbecue fork, piercing the hides of tenderly grilled meat. Their long-crafted handles keeping your hands safe from the heat, they are not just tools, they are your barbecue companions.

With the addition of a grill brush, for cleaning the charcoaled remnants of hastily consumed foods off the grill, you might think you already possess all that you will ever need for proper barbecuing. But there exists an extended family of barbecue tools and accessories to make the easy even easier, the cooking cleanlier, and the grilling more efficient.

Marching to the beat of convenience and practicality, a stainless steel vegetable basket is top of the list. A simple basket designed to sit on top of the barbecue, allowing you to grill vegetables easily without worrying about any tender pieces falling through to the flames below. Turn them, mix them, toss them with reckless abandon within the tray, never fearful of any loss. Better still, use the basket for diced chicken, beef, or pork. Simulating the properties of a wok, but allowing flavorful grilling over an open flame, the vegetable basket is a shining star in the lineup of barbecue tools.

Speaking of woks, why not try your hand at traditional wok cooking over the grill instead of the stove. The cast iron BBQ wok retains heat evenly throughout, and rests easily upon your grill. Create amazing stir-fry dishes imparted with all the smoky, barbecue flavors delivered unto your meal by the hot flames beneath the grill.

Who doesn't like a nice, smoky tender slab of ribs fresh off the barbecue, slathered with tasty BBQ sauce? Though they have a tendency to make a suitable mess of your grill and your hands, the taste and satisfaction is ultimately worth it. But with a handy-dandy rib rack you can at least save your grill from a laborious cleanup. The rib rack is in essence a metal wire frame that sits atop the grill, fitted with up to six wire racks, allowing you to grill up to five complete racks of ribs at once, evenly, tenderly, and deliciously juicy.

Your spatula has always been there for you, but lets face it; large filets of fish can present a bit of a challenge. Cousin to the barbecue spatula is another spatula with an oversized head, easily rising to the task at hand, fitting neatly under filets of fish and turning or removing them from the grill with no muss or fuss, and most importantly, the fish stays intact.

The barbecue basket is a nifty little accessory designed for convenience and efficiency. A wide basket able to accommodate fish, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, vegetables, lobster tales, shrimp, or nearly anything you might want to grill, is attached to a long handle, allowing you, the master chef, to keep your food sealed securely within the basket at it cooks, and then flip the basket to complete grilling the other side. Marvelous in its simplicity, and a welcome accessory for any barbecue enthusiast.

A close cousin to the barbecue basket is the kabob grilling basket. This basket is actually an outer rectangular frame on a long handle, into which up to 6 skewers can be inserted and held in place for easy grilling and flipping. You no longer need to worry about burning yourself as you struggle to turn each skewer, or fuss over food stuck to the grill, threatening to tear away from metal rod.

Though there are in fact many additional barbecue accessories out there competing for your attention, these are the best of the best, in terms of ease of use and factors of necessity. Any one of them is sure to make your barbecuing lifestyle easier and more exciting.