The 9 Best Grill Tool Sets (2023 Review)

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A BBQ Grill Tool SET

When you’re ready to purchase tools for BBQ and grilling, there are three important things to keep in mind:

1. Necessities vs. convenient extras 

2. Materials

3. Length

Grill tools are usually the afterthought of summer and are often purchased during one of those epic summer sales. Score, right

Wrong. 

When your only thought process is bargain related, you’re likely to end up with a disappointing set of tools. The handle might break or they’ll bend or they’ll be too short to use safely. What’s worse is that you may find out the hard way that 8 of the 20 pieces in your grill tools sets are corn holders. Corn holders are definitely convenient, but you want to make sure they’re combined with more than just a few quality utensils.

To avoid these grill tool woes and ensure you’re buying one of the best grill tool sets, you’ll need to consider tools you need versus tools you want, what they’re made out of and their length.

Necessities vs. Convenient Extras

The first thing to consider is the grill tools you need versus the grill tools you want. On the market today, you’ll find grill tool sets that come with the bare minimum to sets that come with things for prep and serving.

Essential Tools Include: 

• Spatula

• Tongs

• Basting brush

• Grill fork

Convenient Extras Include:

• Meat knife

• Meat claws

• Wire cleaning brush

• Grill mats

• Meat thermometer

• Meat injector

• Salt & pepper shakers

• Eating utensils

• Kitchen shears

• Corn holders

• Skewers

• Carrying case

A way to decide which tools you’d personally need is to consider where you’d be doing the barbequing. If you just plan on cooking out a couple times a year, the essentials are just fine. 

If you’re the kind of person that is a die hard tailgater, loves camping in the great outdoors and/or is a social butterfly that hosts barbecues on the regular, you’d benefit from some convenient extras.

For one, a carrying case so you can travel with ease suddenly becomes invaluable. Prep tools like a meat knife, kitchen shears and meat claws suddenly seem handy. Plus, having ways to make food extra tasty outside the house could be beneficial, so do you need a meat injector or a salt and pepper shaker? You tell us! Furthermore, whether you’re grilling in your own backyard or not, a meat thermometer that’ll help keep you from overcooking your meat could be a coup, especially if you’re a novice. Then, think about how handy having a grill brush for cleanup would be. You’re going to need this tool anyway, so consider if you want to buy it as a piece of your set or supplement it.

So, before you buy, consider what you want versus what you need and go from there.

Materials

Once you have an idea about the tools you’d want in your grill set, you’ll need to consider the materials everything is made from, as well as how they’re made.

Why does this matter? Well, for starters, the material will determine the quality. For two, your grill, whether it’s charcoal or gas, gets HOT. In fact, it reaches far hotter temperatures than your stovetop. 

While the gold standard material for grill tools is heavy duty, heat resistant stainless steel, not every set gets this right. This means your tools can get incredibly hot, incredibly fast, so it’s best to look for either heat resistant handles or extra long handles to keep your hands from getting burned.

With that being said, wood handles can help keep hands safe. However, you run the risk of the wood cracking over time, an issue remedied by fully stainless steel tools. Conversely, if you don’t want to go full stainless, consider looking for tools with silicone grips. These grips are dual purpose. They’ll protect you from burns and allow for a better, more controlled grip.

Another benefit to stainless steel is that it’s typically dishwasher safe and rust resistant. This means a good quality set of stainless steel grill tools can last you for many years. 

How the tools are made matters too. For instance, why get a plain ole spatula when you can look for a spatula with a serrated edge and/or bottle opener. You get more bang for your buck that way. 

It also matters how the tools are made when it comes to tongs. Tongs seem to be the weak point in a lot of sets. They can be flimsy which makes it challenging to get a good grip of the food. A way around this blunder is to look for tongs that have a locking mechanism because that makes it easier to hold your grip even if your hand strength is lacking. 

Next, consider how your basting brush is made. Majority of them come with silicone bristles. However, consider the length of the bristles and their density. Longer bristles are usually softer which can allow you to slather on a lot of marinade at once and cover a big area quickly. On the other hand, when you have a brush that has shorter bristles that are more dense, your slathering experience can be more precise.

Finally, think about the material of your carrying case if you’re choosing a set that comes with one. Carrying cases that are made out of aluminum are going to be a little more heavy duty than a cloth case. The downside? With all those tools packed inside, it might be pretty heavy to lug around. They also tend to take up more space than cloth cases. And what’s worse, aluminum is prone to rust. 

So, does this mean the best opinion is a cloth case? Maybe, but your tools are going to be slightly less protected in a cloth case. This is because cloth cases are softer, so your tools can potentially take more abuse than in a hard aluminum case. Plus, not all cloth cases are waterproof, which can certainly spell disaster when it comes to maintaining the quality of your tools.

However, there’s another aspect of your grill tools to consider, other than the material they’re made from.

Length

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Buddy, but size does matter. I don’t just mean the size of your … um … tool, but your grill size matters too.

The larger your grill, the longer your grill tools need to be, so you can easily keep your hands away from the flame as you’re loading the grill and cooking. Longer grill tools can also be useful for novices, because it gives you a little wiggle room. Your hands always stay far from the flame and you have more time to work before your spatula starts getting too hot to handle.With this in mind, anything less than 12 inches is a bad idea. 

The standard length is 16 inches. This length will allow you to maneuver the meat at the back of the grill, but should ensure that meat is the only thing you’re cooking. 

However, it is important to note that grill tools that are too long can be difficult to control. Plus, they’re more likely to bend or break. Meaning, anything longer than about 22-inches, even if you have a whopper of a grill, is probably unnecessary and likely to tire your arms out quickly.

(Personally, 18-inches is my sweet spot. It’s long enough that I don’t get burned, but not so long that I struggle to keep control of the utensils.)

Things to Avoid

Now that we told you what to look for in quality grill tools, let’s talk about some things to avoid.

1. Bargains: Don’t buy it just because it’s on sale. Do your research and pay attention to things like materials and length first. That is, unless you want to replace your tools every year, or even more often.

2. Tools made from aluminum: A storage case made from aluminum is one thing, but tools made from aluminum are very low quality. You can expect them to bend easily and heat up quickly.

3. Tools made from plastic: At high heat, these could melt (even if they’re “heat-proof”) or at the very least leach chemicals. Plus, they’re likely to break.

4. Tools with wood handles: These can look really high-end. They’re even great because they tend to be heat proof, but the downside is that over time the wood can crack. 

5. Nylon-coated tongs: These are also likely to melt. Plus, food can slide right out of that smooth nylon grip. Can we say, “useless waste of money?”

To sum it up, your grill tools can make all the difference, so it’s important to find a set that has everything you need and want. To do that, you’ll have to consider the materials the tools are made from, how they’re made and even their length. As a helpful bonus, we’ve even included a short list of what to avoid.

This guide will help you choose the best grill tool set that’s right for you!

Why Trust Grill Cook Bake?

Grill Cook Bake was created by amateur chefs and food lovers to help people cook better. Whether you’re new to cooking or a seasoned chef, having the right tools, equipment, and gear can be the difference between a good meal or a bad meal.

Our goal at Grill Cook Bake is to provide you with comprehensive and unbiased reviews and information so that you can make informed buying decisions. Our team has decades of combined experience in the cooking field. This knowledge includes a deep understanding of both brands and individual products.  

This article was updated by Jacki Chaplain, a freelance writer and product reviewer for Grill Cook Bake. Jacki Chaplain is a seasoned food writer and blogger. She received masterful culinary training under an esteemed Johnson and Wales graduate. Today, she’s combined her divine love of all things food and artful way with words into a full-time career as a freelance writer for various foodie websites.