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How to use BBQ tongs: turn once, then wash the raw pair

Updated: 22 October 2026

The coals are lit, the tongs are in your hand, and a fork is still on the side table out of habit. You turn the food by gripping it, you keep the raw tong off the cooked plate, and you know where the steel rests between turns. This is that sequence. It does not rank the listings on the [barbecue tongs comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tongs). What to buy, including a second pair, is the [buying guide](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tongs/sub/barbecue-tongs-buying-guide). Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings captured on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The coals are lit, the tongs are in your hand, and a fork is still on the side table out of habit.

Our top picks

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)

Best overall

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)
6.8/10about £10.99
View offer
Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)

Rank 2

Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)
7.6/10about £11.26
View offer
DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)

Best value

DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)
7.4/10about £7.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Turn food without piercing it
  2. 2.Coals and where the tongs sit
  3. 3.Raw tong and cooked tong
  4. 4.If you are burned

Turn food without piercing it

A fork lets juice run out of a steak or a chop. Grip the food at the edge, close the arms as far as you need, and lift. A steel head will mark a soft bun if you squeeze as if you were cracking a nut. Oil the meat rather than the grill so the food releases. The Food Standards Agency's 2025 blunders note puts chicken, pork, and burgers at least 75°C in the thickest part. The tong cannot see that temperature. If your only pair is 9 inch, the ZHIYE length, you can still turn food in a pan. Over a full grate you will be leaning in, and that length problem belongs on charcoal BBQ tongs length.

Coals and where the tongs sit

Light the charcoal 15–20 minutes before you cook, wait until the coals are covered in grey ash, and bank them to one side so you have a hotter zone and a cooler zone. Do not cook over open flames. A food tong around 40 cm can bank a shallow kettle bed if you then put the tool down. It is a poor coal rake. Napoleon's UK charcoal tongs are 50.8 cm, sold for coals and ash at £34.99, which is a different product from the £7.99–£11.99 food tongs here. Between turns, rest the tongs on a side shelf, with the head off the bars. A silicone strip or an oak grip slows heat. It does not make the head safe to leave in the fire.
Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)

Testsieger

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)
6.8/10about £10.99
View offer

Raw tong and cooked tong

The mistake that matters more than a slightly short pair is using the raw-chicken tong to plate the salad. A rinse under the garden tap is not a wash. One pair stays with the raw plate until that plate is finished. The other pair only touches food that is already cooked. Colour-coded short tongs, such as the four ZHIYE colours, can mark raw and cooked in a kitchen. They are 28 cm and the listing says to avoid high temperatures, so they are a plate tool, not the pair you bank coals with.

If you are burned

NHS guidance is to cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes. Do not use ice, butter, or toothpaste. Take off anything tight, such as a watch, near the burn while the water runs, unless it is stuck. After cooling, cover with cling film or a clean plastic bag if you need a cover. A longer tong does not replace that first aid. GOV.UK's outdoor fire guidance is the other hard stop: never barbecue indoors, in a tent, under an awning, or in a caravan.

Common questions

Should I turn steak with a fork?
No. A fork pierces the meat and lets juices run, which is why National BBQ Week prefers tongs and a wide spatula. Grip the steak at the edge and turn it once the surface has set. A steak can be pink in the middle if the outside is seared. Chicken, pork, and burgers still need to be cooked through.
How often should I flip?
Once per side is the National BBQ Week line, and once or twice is the Waitrose line. Constant turning makes the crust harder to judge and does not cook the centre in a more useful way. Use a thermometer for meats that must be cooked through, because the tong only tells you that the piece moved.
How do I move charcoal?
Wait until the coals are ash-grey, which Waitrose puts at about 15–20 minutes after lighting, and bank them to one side so one zone is hotter. A food tong can do a short bank. A deep coal bed wants a charcoal tool, not a fireplace log tong, and the food tong should not stay in the coals.
Can the same tong plate the salad?
Only after it has been washed in hot soapy water, if it has touched raw meat, fish, or poultry. The Food Standards Agency wants a different utensil for raw and cooked food. The cleaner version is a second tong that never touches the raw plate. Salad, bread, and cooked meat then stay on that second tong.
How do I wash tongs after raw chicken?
Wash them in hot soapy water, which is the Food Standards Scotland line after raw meat, fish, or poultry, and dry them before they go back to the grate. A garden-tap rinse leaves the problem on the arms. At the end of the day, a dishwasher is reasonable when the listing says yes and the handle is not wood that reviews say will suffer.
What if my hand gets burned?
Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes. Do not put ice or butter on it. Call 999 if the burn is large, deep, or on the face, genitals, or bottom. Use NHS 111 if you are unsure or a child is hurt. If the tongs were simply too short, replace them before you cook again.
When is a spatula better than tongs?
Use a spatula for fish, for burgers that are still fragile, and whenever a pinch would tear the food. National BBQ Week pairs a wide spatula with tongs for that reason. Tongs take over for sausages, chops, and vegetables that hold together. Keep the tong head off the bars between turns.

Related pages

Stainless or silicone tongs

Barbecue tongs

Best barbecue tongs UK: Weber 6317 or the £7.99 pair

Best BBQ tongs UK: length, head, and a second pair

Charcoal BBQ tongs length: about 40 cm on a kettle

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used with the amazon.co.uk listing figures in the display file. Page date 21 October 2026.

  1. FSA: BBQ food safety (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. FSA: common BBQ blunders (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. NHS: burns and scalds (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: fire safety outdoors (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Weber UK: tongs 6317 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Joseph Joseph UK: essential BBQ tools (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Food Standards Scotland: cleaning (retrieved 21 October 2026)