• There are a variety of grilling tools for professional barbecue chefs.steaks grill image by robert lerich from Fotolia.com
  
  There are a number of tools used by professional grill masters and barbecuers to properly cook a wide variety of meats, vegetables and seafood on the grill. These tools often are sold in sets, but it is important to know what these tools do and how they should be used before you use purchase them.
  
  

Metal Spatula

• Metal spatulas are essential barbecue equipment, especially when cooking burger patties, large pieces of fish or fragile meats and seafood. Your spatula should be made of stainless steel and have holes or indentions in it, which will grip partially cooked meats and allow you to flip them easily. Many spatulas have wooden grips or handles. It is difficult for a barbecuer to work without a metal spatula of some kind.
  
  

Tongs

• As important as the spatula, tongs allow you to pinch and pick up very small or very large items that a spatula wouldn't be effective at grabbing. This includes steaks and other large pieces of meat that might slide off a spatula, or vegetables that need to be turned. Tongs should be made out of metal and flat at the ends, so there is more surface to grip the meat without tearing it. There are some spatula/tong sets available that are excellent at handling large pieces of food during grilling.
  
  

Baster

• A baster is a brush that allows barbecue chefs to paint marinade, spice, butter or oil onto the food while it is cooking. This tool is integral to the proper spicing and cooking of certain foods on the grill. A baster helps create more flavorful food as well as keeps it from burning. Basters have either wooden or metal handles with fine bristles on the end. They should not be left over the fire very long as they will be ruined quickly by intense heat.
  
  

Fork

• Long two- or three-tine forks are used by professional barbecuers to stab meat, flip it or check how close it is to being done. These forks are very sharp and made out of metal, intended to spread the meat apart so chefs can look inside to see the color of the meat.