Share your favorite grilling/kitchen tools


 

Jeff Holmes

TVWBB Super Fan
What are a few of your "I can't live without it" tools you use for grilling, smoking or kitchen support? Here are a few of mine, most aren't fancy or expensive bit they have become invaluable as support for cooking outside.

First is a knife that I love. It's ugly and by no means fancy. It sharpens easily and I love using it. Best of all, it was my wife's grandmother's that passed away in 93. Who knows how old it is

Second is the sharpening steel to go with it. Same background.

Third is the pampered chef onion chopper and cheese grater. I like onion chopped finely and this thing delivers. Very quick cleanup too, just a quick rinse off. I like the grater, but it is a little tough to clean. I'd like to see what you use to grate cheese.




Fourth is a pampered chef chopper. Great for browning hamburger or sausage. Love it!

Fifth is a Rubbermaid spoon. Very sturdy and I like the design.

Of course in my Thermopen

Seventh is one of my two flat spatulas. Great fory griddle or cast iron cookware. I have a perforated one and a smooth one. These were my wife's dad's tgat passed away a few years ago.



Eighth is a handheld blender. I pretty much on use it when I make gravy but even though it's specialized what it does it does we'll

Nineth is an old French fry maker that also belonged to my wife's grandma. It is great for making homemade fries.



Last but certainly not least, as a matter of fact, I use it more than any of the things when I'm cooking outside. It was my wife's dad's and he had several of them. Actually I gave him a hard time about having out in the garage collecting dust and not having much of a purpose. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong. It's an old fiberglass hospital serving tray. It's lightweight and big. I use it to carry all my food and cooking stuff (salt, pepper, meat, plates, tongs etc) outside. I also use it to put my rubs on anything and cut my turkey up, etc on it.




So, whatcha got?
 
No gadgets here, just really useful kitchen tools that I couldn't live without...

Plastic quart containers (the cheapies you get with large orders of soup from chinese takeout). They're awesome for all kinds of kitchen work, housework, and storage. Lids are absolutely spillproof, they clean easy, and they're cheap enough to throw out without guilt.

Kitchen shears - get a good pair, take care of them, and keep them sharp.

Metal prep bowls - get multiples of large/medium sizes. Good for everything from food prep to compost collection. Really easy to clean.

Large heavy steel non-stick baking sheets. Great for cooking but also very useful with prep work, or as a tray, etc.

Disposable aluminum roasting pans (half sheet size). I buy in bulk packs from Costco. They come in super handy all the time - great on the grill or in the oven, work on steam tables, easy to transport food, etc.

Heatproof spatulas (the silicone bowl scraper kind, not the egg flipping kind). Silicone basting brush.
 
NOTHING better than this, guys.....

opener.jpg
 
I'm with Jim. Beer is the only "must have". Other things just make it easier. :cool:
And that's a nice old church key! I have an bottle opener I got over in Germany almost 30 years ago. I'd be heart broke if I lost it!
 
I second that Jim. My only must haves are good quality, very sharp knives. And Jim, love the signature.
 
I second that Jim. My only must haves are good quality, very sharp knives. And Jim, love the signature.

I have just gotten into knife sharpening. My wife gave me a hard time about how much time I spent perfecting my sharpening on cheap knifes before I trusted myself enough to sharpen our nicer knifes. The first time she used them she said "wow these knifes are amazing." For those who have never cooked with a sharp knife you do not know what you are missing!
 
I have just gotten into knife sharpening. My wife gave me a hard time about how much time I spent perfecting my sharpening on cheap knifes before I trusted myself enough to sharpen our nicer knifes. The first time she used them she said "wow these knifes are amazing." For those who have never cooked with a sharp knife you do not know what you are missing!

I used to teach knife sharpening classes when my kids were in Cub Scouts. My wife is a little dubious about the $300 Japanese water stones I would like to buy to keep our kitchen knives sharp :D
 
I'm a gadget freak in general, but in the kitchen, I try to avoid unitaskers (to borrow Alton Brown's term). The one tool that I've found the most unique uses for is my KitchenAid mandolin slicer. Obviously, it's great for thin-slicing potatoes (a la scalloped or chips), dicing carrots, shredding cabbage and any number of other fruits & veggies. It's also, however, great for evenly slicing ham or slightly-thawed chicken breast (for chicken cheese steak sammiches). My only complaint is that cleanup can be a pain since juices tend to get all over every bit of it. This is mitigated slightly by removing the blades/accessories that aren't being used. At least this minimizes the number of sharp implements that need to be cleaned.
 
I like the trays like Jeff H posted, I have one or two for cooking (gray), and a stack of red ones for work projects.

I also like the immersion blender he linked.

Along with what everyone else has added (sharp knives etc) I like this bottle brush: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B008VT0232/tvwb-20 It's for sale a couple bucks cheaper at one grocery store near me but I like it a lot.

My mini food processor sees a lot of action, and I've really enjoyed this salt mill recommended by Rita:
 

 

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