What To Look For In A Good Pair Of BBQ Tongs

What To Look For In A Good Pair Of BBQ Tongs

Getting into barbecuing starts with the right equipment. When you’re looking for the best tongs to go with your grill, Cook’s Illustrated suggests you pay attention to three big things: length, strength, and grip.

Image from rdecom.

Cook’s Illustrated test eight different pairs of grill tongs by banking coals in a charcoal grill, grilling whole chickens and full slabs of ribs, and serving the resulting grilled goodness. They found that the best pair are the OXO Good Grips 40cm Locking Tongs. (Unfortunately, these particular tongs are unavailable in Australia.) Here’s the criteria they used, and what you should look for in your tongs:

  • Length: Cook’s Illustrated suggests your grill tongs should be about 40cm long. This provides ample space away from the hot grill while still giving you the leverage you need to turn your food.
  • Strength: Your tongs should have medium strength and heaviness. Too weak and you won’t be able to hoist big cuts of meat to turn them, too strong or heavy and you’ll tire out your arms trying to keep a grip on your food.
  • Grip: Make sure your grill tongs can grip a variety of foods. You want ones that are delicate enough to manoeuvre small or thin things like asparagus, while still being able to open wide enough to grab onto large cuts of meat or whole vegetables. The best ones had shallow, scalloped curves that made it easy to pick things up.

Besides these three areas, make sure the tongs align evenly and that the locking mechanism is easy to undo with one hand (in case your other is full with a platter of food). Thoroughly play with your tongs before you put them to use so you know you’ve got the perfect pair.

Grill Tongs Review [Cook’s Illustrated]


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