Ultimate Guide to BBQs: Grilling Tips and Essential Equipment

Nothing works up a healthy appetite quite like the scent of prime cuts, seafood, and veggies sizzling on the BBQ. Whether you’re an enthusiastic newcomer or a (self-appointed) king of the grill, our top tips and essential equipment guide will make your BBQ sessions a searing success.

Preparation, preparation, preparation 

A little forward planning and targeted preparation will ensure your al fresco grilling session runs like clockwork. Long before you give your grill its 15 minutes to preheat, plan your menu, and get the prep work under your belt. Marinating your meat and preparing your vegetables beforehand means that when it's time to grill, you only need to fetch your ingredients from the refrigerator, and you're ready to go. 

Pre-preparing your ingredients will also help you grill hygienically. Having already rubbed spices into your meat, threaded your ingredients onto skewers, and basted your seafood with herb butter, you can avoid cross-contamination at the grill. Using tongs, you won’t need to touch raw meat with your hands, and with a meat thermometer at the ready to check internal temperatures, there’ll be no undercooked chicken on your watch.

Invest in high-quality tools 

It's an important job, running the grill. After kitting yourself out with a sturdy apron and heatproof oven gloves, make sure you've got high-quality tools like tongs, forks, spatulas, and basting brushes (for those last-minute sticky glazes). These tools make it effortless to turn your ingredients for that all-important even cook and then serve them to your hungry crowd. Crate & Barrel has stylish handcrafted BBQ tool sets, neatly presented for easy storage and use.  

After you've spent time carefully grilling a feast, be sure to have attractive serving dishes and bowls ready to present your creations with the finesse they deserve. Wooden slabs and bowls or crisp white dishes help showcase your chargrilled food. Don't forget to add some colourful corn on the cob and grilled peppers to add a dash of colour.

Step up your grilling game 

Expand your BBQ foodscape with a few simple additions to your grilling equipment. A grill basket is a wonderfully versatile tool, allowing you to steam vegetables and delicate seafood on the open grill or roast delicious potatoes, aubergine, or squashes to crispy perfection within a hooded section. 

Cast iron skillets and woks let you add elements like noodles and rice to your BBQ menu—lucky guests! 

Now you’ve got your ingredients and equipment in place, all you need is a little insider know-how: 

• Keep the BBQ lid down as much as possible. This will keep the grill hot enough to sear your food and lock the juices within your meat.  
• Patience! To achieve that scrumptious level of caramelisation, don't turn your food too often—in fact, if your grill temperature is right, you should be able to turn smaller cuts of meat and seafood only once. 
• Be a stickler for cleaning your grill. It’ll prevent your food from sticking and reduce smoking.