Chances are if you’re a serious griller you own a grill wok or grill basket. If you don’t, you’re missing out on one of the easiest and most efficient ways to cook non-traditional or difficult ingredients on the grill.

Years ago, when the first woks and baskets came out, someone had the brilliant idea of bringing the technique of a sauté pan or wok to the grill. But what’s the difference? Well, clearly flames and smoke can’t reach the ingredients in your average pan – which in the realm of grilling would be a huge letdown. So the idea centers around perforation. Large holes dot the entire surface of a grill wok, while grill baskets are made of fine mesh.

Both designs feature one basic function: letting smoke and flames reach the food while preventing ingredients from falling through the grill grates. Since their inception, the grill wok and the grill basket have taken on many forms. Let’s take a look at some of the newest products in this ever-expanding category.

3-Compartment Grill Basket

Sometimes while grilling you’re faced with a big dilemma: you’ve got several different types of veggies or meats that all require different cooking times. You could buy two or three grill baskets and cook them all separately, or you could buy a 3-compartment basket and cook them all with the same easy-to-use tool. The 3-Compartment Grill Basket allows you to cook three items, meats, or vegetables in separate compartments. Each basket, which features plenty of space to hold your food, sits side by side. There’s a swinging hinged lid that locks down to secure food in its respective basket. When each item has finished cooking, simply unlatch the lid and remove the basket from its frame.

CC3129 3-Compartment
Basket
Product on White

Round Wok with Removable Handle

There are vegetables that do just fine on the grill by themselves, but for everything else there’s the round grill wok. You can now cook vegetables that would fall through the grill grates due to their shape, size, or way you’ve cut them. Woks are also great for grilled stir fry with chicken, shrimp, beef, or your other favorite protein. This particular wok comes with a folding, removable handle that comes in handy for longer cooking items, like potatoes, carrots, or Brussels sprouts, giving you the ability to remove the handle and close your grill hood.

CC3126 Round Wok
w/ Removable Handle
Product on White

Wok It Out

So what else can a grill wok do? Well, if enabling you to cook certain ingredients or recipes that you couldn’t cook before isn’t enough, there’s another reason you should consider. Grill woks (and baskets) save space while you grill! All those vegetables that would normally take up valuable grill space are contained in a movable, controllable, and versatile cooking device. You can also quickly move your food to avoid flare-ups or hot spots.

At the other end of the spectrum, if your grill isn’t quite hot enough, most baskets and woks can be used over the super-intense heat of an infrared sear burner for a beautifully charred finish on your food. If your grill doesn’t have a sear burner, check out our Sear & Grill Plancha.

Since grilling is a combination of timing, heat control, and ingredient manipulation, any tool that helps to control these factors should be a part of your arsenal. Grill woks and baskets do a great job of making any vegetable or protein suitable for grilling, no matter the size, shape or how long they take to cook. Pair a wok or basket with the right new grill tools at your next barbecue and chances are you’ll have a lot more time to play host instead of short-order cook!

Daniel Replogle

Daniel does business development and marketing at The Companion Group. When he isn’t writing you can find him rock climbing or doing ceramic artwork.