Tongs & tools

Kamado tongs and tools are the hand tools for lighting, moving and serving: long tongs, heat-resistant gloves, fire starters, brushes and skewers. They should keep your hands well away from a fire that tops 300 °C when searing, and be made of materials that won't warp or shed bits onto your food.

Start with lighting, because a kamado should never see lighter fluid: a hot-air starter like the Looftlighter gets charcoal going in a few minutes without off-flavours. Next, tongs with plenty of reach, such as the 40 cm OXO Good Grips or the 46 cm Weber Precision. Gloves must handle contact heat when you lift the deflector: aramid pairs like the Grill Heat Aid are more nimble, while leather ones like the Weber 17896 feel sturdier. For cleaning the grate, the Char-Broil nylon brush avoids loose wire bristles.

In Torrevieja we light our Big Green Egg Large with hot air and never move a hot ConvEGGtor without gloves. We don't take money for reviews and Amazon links are marked. If you love sardines, a set of 50 cm Avalon skewers is the most Mediterranean tool on this list. The full step-by-step for a calm light with no bitter smoke is in our guide to lighting a kamado.