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Here are three grill tools every serious grill enthusiast should have. If you're shopping for Father's Day, you can't go wrong with these!

1. Two pairs of 12-inch long-handled locking chef's tongs.
All the fancy spatulas and spears are nice, but — surprise! — not totally necessary. You just need great tongs! Two of them. “It's essential to have one for cooked food and one for raw,” says Karmel. “I'll even put red duct tape on one set, and green on the other. Red means stop, raw food touched these! And green means go!” And the 12-inch handle isn't just a random suggestion. “It's long enough to keep your hand well away from the flame, but short enough that you still have control while you're cooking.”

2. A brass bristle cleaning brush.
Karmel likens cleaning your grill to cleaning your teeth: You need to do it twice a cookout, just like you brush your teeth (at least) twice a day. “Before you cook, you should preheat the grill, then clean it before you put the food on,” she says. “Then after you cook, leave the heat on for a bit to burn off any cooked food, and then clean it again.” And while a brass bristle cleaning brush is a must-have for deep cleans, she has a fix for those times when you can't find your brush or you've only done some light grilling: Just take a piece of crumpled-up aluminum foil, lock it in your tongs, and clean your grates that way.

3. An instant-read meat thermometer.
Even if you think you're good enough to know when your meat is done, Karmel says that most home cooks and non-pros could use the help of a thermometer. “Very few people actually know by touch and feel whether something is done, and you don't want to have to cut into it [to check] because then you lose some of that delicious juice,” she says. “On top of that, cooking is a natural, organic process, and every time you prepare something, it's going to be just a little bit different.” A meat thermometer takes any guesswork out of the process.

Karmel also says you should have a basting brush and a resealable plastic bag to ensure the meat is thoroughly coated in the seasoning. She also says there are four popular grilling tools that aren't actually necessary: a vegetable pan or basket, a grill fork, an oil mister, and a pizza stone.

What are your essential grilling tools? Are they on this list? What are some other grilling tools you like to use? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Article Source: The Kitchn