Best BBQ Accessories you need this summer

If you’re looking to buy a new BBQ tool set, you are almost spoilt for choice as there are some great products out there that are available for reasonable prices. For us though, king amongst them is this set from Cuisinart. Here’s a look at that set close up:

After browsing online for a while, you’ve probably noticed that although most BBQ tool sets look identical at first glance, under closer inspection they each have a few differences when it comes to tool selection. To our minds, this Cuisinart set offers the best selection of tools for the money, and that’s why it is in our number one spot.

This 20-piece set includes a multi-purpose spatula, a good set of tongs, 5 kebab skewers, a metal handled, silicone basting brush, a cleaning brush with replacement head, 8 corn holders, and my favourite piece: the digital temperature fork.

All of the tools are made from premium stainless steel and look fantastic. Not only that, but they also feel substantial and I have no doubt they’ll be durable. The spatula has a bit of play to it, and this has upset a few customers, but personally, I like to have my spatula with a little bit of flex and it certainly isn’t weak or flimsy.

The digital temperature fork is a great addition to this set, and the small display shows not only the current temperature of the food, but also the desired temperature too, and I thought this, plus the light that allows you to use the tool at night, were excellent features.

The only thing that I would like the manufacturers to improve upon would be to add some kind of lock or clip on the tongs that would keep them closed when not in use. As they are, they remain spread open when not pressed together and this makes them take up more space on the table or shelf than is necessary. It’s an easy fix with a strong elastic band, piece of wire, etc. but some kind of locking mechanism would be welcome in future.

Apart from that little gripe, I have no other complaints about this BBQ tool set. The tools are good quality and a good length so you won’t burn your hands, and the carry case it all comes in looks fantastic too. It’s definitely a product worth the current price tag, so check it out.

When compared side by side, there is very little separating these two sets, and both offer excellent value for money, with a great selection of practical tools and eye-catching aesthetic. They even have the same spatula design that has a serrated edge on one side for cutting meat, and a built-in bottle opener for when you need a cold beer or soft drink while whipping up a feast.

As well as the spatula, the Romaticist set includes tongs, meat fork, four kebab skewers, a basting brush, cleaning brush with spare heads, and eight small corn holders. Unlike the Cuisinart set, the fork included in this one doesn’t double up as a thermometer, but there is a separate thermometer included in the aluminium case.

However, I have to say that the thermometer you get here doesn’t feel as durable as the digital fork found in the cuisinart set, and I felt as though I would have to be careful with it or it would end up bending or breaking. This is a shame, as the rest of the BBQ tools feel decent quality for the low price.

There is also the same issue with the tongs that we found in the previously reviewed BBQ tool set, and that is that there’s no way to lock them together to make them easy to store away. As mentioned above though, it’s an easy thing to fix yourself, but I still thought it was worth mentioning.

These aluminium carry/storage cases that are all the rage these days do look fantastic, but they aren’t the most solidly built things in the world and I have seen some customers complain of damage to them on delivery. This has more to do with the logistics company and how they’re handled than how they are made, but it is still a possibility that the case will get dented, and I’d have preferred it to be made of a harder metal.

Having said that, aluminium will not rust or suffer from corrosion, so as long as you don’t bang it around, it should last you for years. Aluminium is also a very lightweight material and this makes taking the tool set camping with you much easier.

Keeping your BBQ clean is essential if you want it to last, and even after blasting it down with a pressure washer, there is still work to be done. Stuck on pieces of meat and other food debris can get into places that are hard to reach and become a permanent feature of your BBQ if you don’t have the proper cleaning tools. Here’s a look at the brush on video:

A good cleaning brush is worth its weight in gold and although multi-tool sets usually contain one, they really can’t compare with products that you buy individually like this one from Kona.

Everything about this BBQ brush screams quality, from the rigidness of the brushes, right down to the bristles themselves, and it gives you confidence that this is a product that has been built to last.

The plastic used to make the handle is extremely strong and the same thing can be said about the three brush parts. This means that you can really give it some elbow grease, safe in the knowledge that the tool won’t fall apart on you if you do.

Another great thing about this brush’s design is that it allows you to clean your BBQ while it is still hot and if you add a bit of water, you can pretty much steam clean your grill. The long length of the brush helps with this, keeping your hands away from the heat as you scrub away.

With some of the flat design BBQ brushes it sometimes ends up with the top of the grill bars being nice and clean but the underneath still being covered in grease and food scraps. With this Kona brush, the bars get cleaned all the way around, hence the 360 degrees that features in the name of the product.

Kona are so sure of the durability of their BBQ that they are offering a 5 year warranty with it, and having used the product personally, I would have to say that they are right to have such pride and confidence in their creation.

There are a lot of people out there, myself included, that just love that smokey flavour that you get from cooking on a charcoal BBQ. Sure, you can buy things like smoke pellets such as the product reviewed below, but to be honest, they can’t really match a real charcoal-based smoked taste when compared.

What puts some off using charcoal BBQs is that you can’t just press a button and get instant heat like with a gas BBQ or electric BBQ, and instead have to get those coals up to temperature before you can cook.

Usually, chemical firelighters are used and they work really well, but there are some drawbacks to these products. For one, they usually produce a strong petrol-like smell and fumes, and they aren’t the best for the environment either, even after you’ve used them and thrown them in the garbage.

These natural wood eco-lighters from the Wood Barn change all that, giving you the option to get your charcoal BBQ, fire pit, or chiminea, blazing without hurting the planet. Made from wood wool and wax, these eco fire lighters are easy to ignite and then will burn for around ten minutes. Depending on the size of your BBQ, I would say 2-4 of them should be enough to get the party started.

As they are made from natural sources, there is none of that bad odour that comes with chemical firelighters, so it won’t affect the taste of your food, and they are completely biodegradable too.

The only complaint I have about them is that they are just loose inside the box. The outer box is nice and sturdy but there is no inner packaging and I think it is something that needs to be addressed by the company. Luckily, these lighters don’t really get damaged but when you’re paying up to 20 quid for a box of 200, you expect a little better.

Looking for that smokey taste but own a gas or electric BBQ? Don’t worry, all is not lost. You can still have a steak or burger that has similar flavours to one cooked on charcoal by using wood pellets like these from Cookinpellets.

They’re so easy to use. All you have to do is to either make a smoke ball from tin foil and fill it with the pellets, or spend a little and get yourself a proper pellet smoker like the one from Skoo that we review below.

Once you’ve got your pellet smoker or smoke ball ready, you simply pop it on the grill on medium heat and watch the magic happen. I’ve used a pellet smoker on a portable electric BBQ before during a caravanning holiday in France, and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Some BBQ pellets contain chemicals and binders, and these aren’t what you want to be using and, unfortunately, they are becoming more and more common. So, I was happy to try out these particular pellets as they contain none of that unwanted stuff and are 100% hardwood.

What’s more, is that they contain a mix of the most popular woods used for smoking meat, such as cherry, hard maple, apple, and hickory, and produce a really nice smoke to infuse your food with.

At the time of writing, an 18kg bag of Cookinpellets will cost you under 35 pounds, and should be enough to last you for a very long time. I would have liked to see an option for buying a smaller bag for folks who don’t smoke meat that often, but I guess that you can always store the pellets well for later.

This is a must have product for those who love the smokey flavour you get from cooking on charcoal, but just don’t like the mess those grills can make., but please be aware that using these pellets will create ash that you will need to sweep out later.

In my opinion, the best way to make use of wood pellets is to use them in a dedicated pellet smoker, and this one from Skoo is one of the best you can get your hands on right now.

The Skoo pellet smoker has a modern hexagonal design that not only makes it look very cool on your grill, but also has very practical applications such as allowing the smoke to flow out in multiple directions while remaining steady on the grill, and won’t roll around if nudged with your spatula as I found when using this.

There’s no chance of your wood pellets slipping out and dropping into the bowels of your BBQ with the Skoo, as it seals up on both ends, and once filled with apple, hickory, etc. will keep those pellets inside until they turn to ash.

Another advantage to this design is that the ash is kept inside the hexagonal shell, and this makes cleaning up much easier. Skoo has even included a cleaning brush that has been made to the right measurements, allowing you to keep your pellet smoker spotless with very little effort.

Skoo’s pellet smoker is a sturdy little thing, and feels nice and solid. I’ve bought cheaper ones in the past and always regret it after it gets squashed or dented by even the lightest things, but I didn’t feel that would be an issue here. Made from high quality 303 stainless steel, not only is it tough, but this smoker is highly resistant to rust and heat too.

You get around 5 hours’ worth of smoke from a full load of wood pellets when using this smoker, and if you need more, you can always refill or simply have another one ready to go. I did find that the tube had to be filled in order to get it to operate properly though. Using a blowtorch or similar, it only takes a couple of minutes to get the wood chips burning, and then they will be smoking away within another 5-6 minutes or so.

If you’ve never used one of these products before, fear not, as Skoo have included detailed instructions on how to get the most out of their product, including temperatures and timings, so anyone can create their own smoked delights.