Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. Features

Six Essentials to Ease You into Grilling Season

Feasting is our column dedicated to cooking, grilling, eating and discovering what’s on the menu across America and the world.

It’s that time of year again when we’re all dusting off our grills to get some good ole marks on our favorite meat, fish and veggies. But a new season deserves some new tools, especially if you haven’t upgraded your grill or gear in quite some time. Check out our grilling essentials guide, and you’ll be ready to fire up every meal like a pro this season.

Recommended Videos

Kenyon City Grill $475

Kenyon City Grill
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Those of us who live in urban areas where open flame grilling is prohibited tend to feel left out when grilling season begins. VERY left out. Thankfully, Kenyon thought of us apartment dwellers with nary an outdoor space in site. The City Grill is virtually smokeless and can be used indoors in your kitchen our outside on your balcony (if you’re lucky enough to have one).

Napoleon TravelQ 285 Portable Grill Buy Now

Napoleon TravelQ 285 Portable Grill
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Whether you don’t have a lot of space, love to camp or simply want to take your BBQ on the go, the Napoleon Portable Grill delivers big performance from a small package. Cast iron WAVE Cooking Grids provides a non-stick surface and even heat distribution while the JETFIRE Ignition System is wind-proof to help the grill perform in any weather condition. The large grilling area can fit 20 hamburgers at once, and the lightweight design (28 pounds) makes it easy for anyone to transport.

Personal Creations King of the Grill BBQ Set $50

Personal Creations King of the Grill BBQ Set
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Perfect for gifting to yourself or a fellow grill enthusiast, this 7-piece set will equip you with everything you need at arm’s reach. The slotted spatula, BBQ fork and tongs are all designed from professional grade steel with solid wood handles. An oven mitt and salt and pepper shakers round out the set, and it all folds neatly into the apron for easy storage and travel. Personalize the apron with any name up to 10 characters.

Grillinator Brush $40

Grillinator Brush
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Funded in a mere 24 hours during their Kickstarter campaign, the Grillinator Brush is already in high demand, and it’s still in the pre-order stage. Designed with multiple rows of dense, overlapping bristles that vary in length to clean both the tops and sides of the grates and a stainless steel shaft that comes with a lifetime guarantee, it gets the grill clean in no time with half the effort.

Jacobsen Salt Co 6 Vial Salt Sampler $30

Jacobsen Salt Co Core Salt Trio Gift Set
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Harvested from the cold, pristine waters of Netarts Bay on the Oregon Coast, Jacobsen is the first company to harvest salt in the Pacific Northwest since Lewis & Clark. This six salt set is perfect for finishing just about anything you have on the grill and includes Pure Flake Salt, Lemon Zest Salt, Vanilla Bean Salt, Pinot Noir Salt, Ghost Chili Salt and Smoked Cherrywood Salt.

Bronx Brewery Beer

Bronx Brewery Beer
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You didn’t think we’d let you stand over a hot grill with no refreshments, did you? The Bronx Brewery is a small team with a big mission: to craft the absolute best pale ales on the east coast. With six year-round beers, seasonal ales for spring, summer, fall and winter and a handful of unique, rare B-side brews, they dive deep into a few styles and do it really really well. Crack and ice cold one while you watch those steaks sizzle.

Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
Rotisserie chicken is back and better than ever
Slow-turned birds are back, baby
Rotisserie chicken at ROSTO.

What goes around comes around, again and again. Certainly the culinary world knows as much, just consider the slow food movement or even a good Cosmopolitan cocktail recipe, back in its best forms since, well, the 90s. The latest thing to reemerge is slow-cooked chicken on a spit.

Yes, rotisserie is back and arguably better than ever. Like most things, the epicenter of the movement is taking place in New York City, but it's spread to other food-friendly towns, from Portland to Providence. Maybe we never wanted to let the style go. Maybe we're reliant on a relatively cheap protein in this wobbly economy. Regardless, there's no denying the deeply comforting sensation that is chowing down on some.

Read more
How to make a Batanga, a delightfully simple tequila cocktail
Blanco, Coke, citrus, and salt
The Batanga cocktail.

Do you know your Mexican cocktail recipes? Sure, you can make a bartender-grade Margarita or Paloma, but what about the lesser-known agave spirit drinks? Meet the Batanga, a simple yet satisfying drink featuring Mexico's most iconic spirit.

This drink goes back to the early 60s in Mexico. It's a bit like a Cuba Libre cocktail, taking advantage of some soda. Our recipe comes from Flecha Azul and is essentially a three-ingredient cocktail.

Read more
Torabhaig’s First Core Whisky Bets on Gentle Smoke
The young Isle of Skye distillery launches Taigh, its first permanent single malt, during a rocky stretch for Scotch.
Glass, Alcohol, Beverage

After nearly a decade of one-off releases, Torabhaig is finally planting a flag in the ground.

The Isle of Skye distillery launched Taigh today — its first core expression, and the bottle it plans to build its whole house style around going forward.

Read more