10 Essential Accessories to Up Your Backyard Grilling Game

Grilling is the most elemental way to cook. There’s the burning wood, charcoal, or gas-producing heat, and there’s your food sizzling in that heat. It’s simple, but it can be daunting. How do you know when your meat is done? How do you get an even sear? As with most things, having the right tools makes the job much easier.

If our guide to portable grills got you started on the road to grilling mastery, consider this the follow-up tips-and-tricks edition. Professional chefs may make it look easy to poke a bit of meat and pronounce it medium rare, but for the rest of us these tools help take the guesswork out of grilling.

Updated June 2021: We’ve added some new smart thermometers and temperature probes to help you grill smarter this summer.