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How to use BBQ tongs

Updated: 22 October 2026

The food is on, the lid is up, and the fork from the kit is the tool your hand finds. That is the mistake. How to use BBQ tongs, and when to switch to a turner, is a short sequence: oil, turn without piercing, rest, then wash raw-meat tools apart from cooked food. Several sets in our [barbecue tool set comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tool-set) include a fork. Leave it in the bag. This is a cook's sequence, not a ranking. Contents below are from the amazon.co.uk listings compared on 20 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The food is on, the lid is up, and the fork from the kit is the tool your hand finds. That is the mistake.

Our top picks

Weber Weber 6645

Best overall

Weber Weber 6645
9.2/10about £26.04
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QH7 QH7 bag set

Best value

QH7 QH7 bag set
9.0/10about £14.99
View offer
Ezilif Ezilif EZ-2

Rank 3

Ezilif Ezilif EZ-2
7.5/10about £18.98
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Which tool in your hand
  2. 2.Heat, oil, and rest
  3. 3.Wash raw and cooked apart
  4. 4.If a tool is faulty

Which tool in your hand

Flat food takes the turner. Burgers, fish, and halloumi want a blade under them, not a pinch. Food with height takes the tongs: sausages, chicken thighs, corn, and peppers. National BBQ Week's essentials guide makes that split, and it does not recommend a grill fork for turning, because juices hit the coals and flare. The fork is in the box more often than the job requires. KALAHOL lists a double-ended fork. QH7, GQC, both grilljoy sets, and both Romanticist colours include one. CMANLNYK's included line is a fork, a bottle opener, and a scraper, with no tongs. Weber 6645 is a spatula and a tong. Ezilif lists a spatula and tongs, not a fork. Owning a fork is not a reason to turn with it. Do not press a burger with the turner. Turn once, or twice if a side is still pale. If fish sticks, wait rather than tear it. A thin turner used to scrape is how a minority of Weber reviewers bent a blade. If the kit includes a wire brush, the check is on the wire BBQ brush page, and it happens before the food goes on.

Heat, oil, and rest

Two UK guides disagree about oil. National BBQ Week's beginners' notes say oil the bars. Waitrose says oil the meat, not the grill, because oil on the bars burns. Oiling the food is the clearer default when you cannot see the whole grate. If you oil the bars, use a little oil on kitchen paper held in the tongs, and keep your hand back. Do not pour oil onto the coals. For poultry, pork, burgers, and sausages, the Food Standards Agency's barbecue note says cook them through. This page does not invent a core temperature the note does not print. Handles must not sit on the grate. Which set to buy is on the best BBQ tool set page.
Weber Weber 6645

Testsieger

Weber Weber 6645
9.2/10about £26.04
View offer

Wash raw and cooked apart

Raw and cooked food do not share a tong. The FSA note asks for separate utensils. Use two pairs, or wash the one pair when you stop handling raw meat. Ezilif says dishwasher No, the handles are wood, and the bullet points at a hand rinse. CMANLNYK has no dishwasher line, so do not assume one. Zwilling's UK page allows a dishwasher for steel and still prefers a lukewarm hand wash. Dry steel before it goes back in a bag.

If a tool is faulty

If a tool bent on first use, or a promised injector was missing, that is a fault against the description. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects satisfactory quality for the price. Take it up with the seller. It does not change the next burger.

Common questions

Should I use tongs or a turner for a burger?
Use the turner. A burger is flat and it sticks, and tongs tear the crust. Slide the blade under it and turn once, or twice if a side is pale. Tongs are for sausages, chicken portions, and vegetables with some height. Waitrose's guide is the same idea: turn only once or twice, then leave the food alone.
Why not the fork that came in the set?
Piercing lets juices run onto the coals and flare, which is why National BBQ Week does not recommend a grill fork for turning. KALAHOL, QH7, GQC, both grilljoy sets, and both Romanticist sets include a fork anyway. Leave it in the bag. Stabbing a burger does not cook it through, and it is not a substitute for tongs.
When do I oil the bars versus the meat?
Waitrose says oil the meat, not the grill. National BBQ Week's beginners' notes say oil the bars. If you oil the bars, use a small amount on kitchen paper in the tongs, with your hand back. Oiling the food is the clearer default when you cannot see the whole grate. Do not pour oil onto the coals.
How do I stop the handle getting hot?
Do not lay the steel across the grate. Heat travels up a metal handle, and a QH7 reviewer needed gloves. Rest the tools on a side shelf, off the fire. A cool-handle line on a listing is not a measurement. If the grip is already hot, use a dry cloth and move the tool before you hold it again.
What has to be cooked through?
The Food Standards Agency's note says poultry, pork, burgers, and sausages should be cooked through. Colour on the outside is not enough. Use a thermometer if you have one. This page does not add a core temperature the note does not give. Cut a sausage or a burger and look at the middle if you are unsure.
How do I wash the tools afterwards?
If the listing says dishwasher Yes, you can use it, and Zwilling still prefers a lukewarm hand wash because cycles wear steel. Ezilif is dishwasher No with wood handles, so rinse that pair by hand. Dry everything before it goes into a bag. Wash any tool that touched raw meat before it touches food you will eat.
Where do wooden skewers fit?
Soak them for about 30 minutes first, so the bare wood does not catch while the middle is still raw. That is the National BBQ Week beginners' step. Turn them with tongs, not a fork. Metal skewers do not need a soak, and they stay hot, so do not pick them up by the food end.

Related pages

BBQ tool set buying guide

Barbecue tool set

Best BBQ tool set: top pick, best value, and skips

BBQ tool set with case, a zip bag, or two tools only

Wire BBQ brush bristles: check the head before food

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 20 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on food-contact materials (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012, regulation 4 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: BBQ food safety (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. BBC Good Food: best BBQ gadgets, tools and accessories (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Weber UK: premium tools 6645 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. BBC Food: barbecue cooking risks (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. Weber UK: grill brush bristle warning (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  9. National BBQ Week: essential BBQ tools (retrieved 20 October 2026)