Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Barbeque Accessories

The chinaberry tree and rock roses are in full bloom. The spring breeze carries the aroma of sage and honeysuckle. Orange-and-yellow western tanagers fly through the yard daily. Spring is in the air, summer on its way, and the barbecue beckons. But our barbecue tools are a sad hodgepodge from cheap sets that fell apart after a use or two. Patrick wants to replace the lot of them with one quality set of barbecue must-haves. I don’t want to pay too much.

Erika D’Eugenio, general manager of Great News! Discount Cookware in Pacific Beach (858-270-1582; great-news.com) recommended purchasing tools from open stock rather than in sets. “Barbeque tools are personal,” D’Eugenio explained, “and sometimes the tool sets don’t give you exactly what you want. Get in the store and feel the individual tools in your hand.”

Another tip: know what kind of grill grate is on your barbeque. “If you have a porcelain grate, it can’t always be cleaned with an abrasive brush because you will strip the porcelain and your barbeque will rust. So, know your grate. I like the Big Head rosewood brush [$12.94], and you can buy replaceable brush heads. We carry one barbecue brush for the porcelain grates [$5.94].”

And give some thought to spatulas, D’Eugenio advises. “Some spatulas have a little serration on the side, so you can come across your meat on the side to get the meat off the grill. Some spatulas are thinner at the top. You might want a different spatula for fish than you would for your burgers.” Prices on spatulas range from $12.94 to $16.94. “I like the Big Head rosewood spatula [$12.94], which is wide and has the teeth on the side.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

D’Eugenio singled out the stainless steel Oxo grilling tongs ($14.94) for recommendation.

“Flavored grilling planks are popular,” she continued ($10.94 to $11.94 for a two-pack). “We sell pecan, hickory, and cedar. They infuse the flavor of smoking without having to perform any sort of smoking onto the meat, chicken, or fish. They say they are one-time use, but if you take care of them, they can be used a few times.”

For thermometers, “I actually recommend both a probe thermometer and an instant read because sometimes you have two types of meat going at the same time. Or you might have a large cut of meat and a smaller one. I like the Maverick remote wireless meat thermometer [$59]. You can be anywhere in the house, and with the little remote it will tell you when the steaks are ready.

“We also sell little square woks that go on the grill, which are popular. With them, you can cook just about anything outside in the summer months — even stir-fry on the grill [Charcoal Companion 12-inch square grilling wok, $13.94].

“I also have a cool grilling grid by Charcoal Companion [$16.94], which is two pieces that open up and you fill the middle part with herbs and put it on the grill. You are infusing what you’re cooking with all the herbs.

“We carry some burger presses that leave the little divot at the top so you can put a little pad of butter, which they recommend for a perfect burger.” The burger presses run from $5 to $20.

At Brookstone in Fashion Valley (619-296-4091; brookstone.com), salesperson Tina suggested a grill light. “Our handle-mount grill light [$39.95] runs on batteries; you just clip it onto the grill.” The light has an automatic shut-off after six minutes.

“We sell a motorized grill brush with steam-cleaning power [$29.95],” continued Tina. “It’s also battery-operated — it spins and lets out steam to wet the grill to clean it.” The brass bristle brushes are removable for cleaning.

Rich from BBQ Depot in Clairemont Mesa (858-571-7858; bbqdepot.com) suggested a broiler basket, $22.46. “It’s a basket that you put on the grill, and you can put vegetables in it to cook. It’s metal. It looks like a basket you dump fries into for a fryer.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”

The chinaberry tree and rock roses are in full bloom. The spring breeze carries the aroma of sage and honeysuckle. Orange-and-yellow western tanagers fly through the yard daily. Spring is in the air, summer on its way, and the barbecue beckons. But our barbecue tools are a sad hodgepodge from cheap sets that fell apart after a use or two. Patrick wants to replace the lot of them with one quality set of barbecue must-haves. I don’t want to pay too much.

Erika D’Eugenio, general manager of Great News! Discount Cookware in Pacific Beach (858-270-1582; great-news.com) recommended purchasing tools from open stock rather than in sets. “Barbeque tools are personal,” D’Eugenio explained, “and sometimes the tool sets don’t give you exactly what you want. Get in the store and feel the individual tools in your hand.”

Another tip: know what kind of grill grate is on your barbeque. “If you have a porcelain grate, it can’t always be cleaned with an abrasive brush because you will strip the porcelain and your barbeque will rust. So, know your grate. I like the Big Head rosewood brush [$12.94], and you can buy replaceable brush heads. We carry one barbecue brush for the porcelain grates [$5.94].”

And give some thought to spatulas, D’Eugenio advises. “Some spatulas have a little serration on the side, so you can come across your meat on the side to get the meat off the grill. Some spatulas are thinner at the top. You might want a different spatula for fish than you would for your burgers.” Prices on spatulas range from $12.94 to $16.94. “I like the Big Head rosewood spatula [$12.94], which is wide and has the teeth on the side.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

D’Eugenio singled out the stainless steel Oxo grilling tongs ($14.94) for recommendation.

“Flavored grilling planks are popular,” she continued ($10.94 to $11.94 for a two-pack). “We sell pecan, hickory, and cedar. They infuse the flavor of smoking without having to perform any sort of smoking onto the meat, chicken, or fish. They say they are one-time use, but if you take care of them, they can be used a few times.”

For thermometers, “I actually recommend both a probe thermometer and an instant read because sometimes you have two types of meat going at the same time. Or you might have a large cut of meat and a smaller one. I like the Maverick remote wireless meat thermometer [$59]. You can be anywhere in the house, and with the little remote it will tell you when the steaks are ready.

“We also sell little square woks that go on the grill, which are popular. With them, you can cook just about anything outside in the summer months — even stir-fry on the grill [Charcoal Companion 12-inch square grilling wok, $13.94].

“I also have a cool grilling grid by Charcoal Companion [$16.94], which is two pieces that open up and you fill the middle part with herbs and put it on the grill. You are infusing what you’re cooking with all the herbs.

“We carry some burger presses that leave the little divot at the top so you can put a little pad of butter, which they recommend for a perfect burger.” The burger presses run from $5 to $20.

At Brookstone in Fashion Valley (619-296-4091; brookstone.com), salesperson Tina suggested a grill light. “Our handle-mount grill light [$39.95] runs on batteries; you just clip it onto the grill.” The light has an automatic shut-off after six minutes.

“We sell a motorized grill brush with steam-cleaning power [$29.95],” continued Tina. “It’s also battery-operated — it spins and lets out steam to wet the grill to clean it.” The brass bristle brushes are removable for cleaning.

Rich from BBQ Depot in Clairemont Mesa (858-571-7858; bbqdepot.com) suggested a broiler basket, $22.46. “It’s a basket that you put on the grill, and you can put vegetables in it to cook. It’s metal. It looks like a basket you dump fries into for a fryer.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.