With grilling season in full swing, there all kinds of gadgets on the market that promise to take your grill to a new level. Consumer Reports tested several of them to see how well they work.
First up, Grill Grates are interlocking panels that sit on top of your grill. They promise to help your BBQ cook more evenly and keep your food juicy, while reducing flare ups.
Lab tests found the Grill Grates did improve the cooking evenness on one of the two grills tested. Even though the Grill Grates didn't totally eliminate flare-ups, testers found it did deliver some nice grill marks.
"If your grill is uneven heating and you're maybe even contemplating replacing your grill, this would be a less expensive option to try and they do offer a money-back guarantee," said Tara Casaregola of Consumer Reports.
They also tested the $150 Bakerstone Pizza Oven Box, which lets you use your grill to make wood-fired-style pizza.
After a 30-minute warm up, it turned out delicious pizzas every four minutes.
Finally, the $130 Grillbot was tested. It's a grill-cleaning robot that promises to scrub your grill grates automatically.
Testers let the robot loose on a grill caked with cooked chicken.
It was noisy, but after 20 minutes, the Grillbot tidied up some of the mess. Still, it took a grill brush to clean up the pieces of burnt chicken stuck in between the grates.
A grill brush is a faster, less expensive solution, but it's not as fun.
To make grilling fish and vegetables a easier, Consumer Reports likes the $17 Master Forge Grill Wok from Lowes. It's good for grilling small batches of food.
And if you love barbecued ribs, the Brinkman Rib Rack holds a full rack of ribs without taking up too much space. It's about $18 at the Home Depot.
