Going Beyond The Tongs: The Ham Dogger, Pizza Oven Box And Other Grilling Gadgets

You’ve got your apron, your tongs and your basic tools to turn, poke and otherwise keep your meats, veggies and other grilling ingredients happy while you cook up a summer feast. But you’re not limited by the usual fare of basic hamburgers, kebabs and hot dogs. Not with things like a pizza oven box and a plethora of other unnecessary but nonetheless existing gadgets.

Consumer Reports tested one of these items, the Bakerstone Oven Pizza Box, a thing that essentially turns your grill into an oven, as its name indicates. Testers also tried a pizza baked on a stone placed on grill burners.

“The pizzas took about four minutes to bake in the box and less time to devour,” CR notes. “Some staffers didn’t see a big difference between the pizzas cooked in the box and those cooked on the stone, but our pizza master has used his own wood-fired pizza oven at home and in restaurants for the past 20 years. He pointed out that the box turned out pizza with crispier crusts and nicely cooked toppings.”

So what else is out there? A bunch of stuff — and let it be noted that we have not tested these products, nor are we endorsing their use or any particular brand. They’re just a bunch of things you might not know you can buy.

A robot that cleans your grill: For all those times you want a robot to get yet another chance to replace human effort and eventually rule the world.


A thing that helps you stuff burgers: Exactly what it sounds like — a press that essentially shapes a patty around whatever you want on the inside. Cheese, that’s what you want.


Bear claw meat handlers for shredding meat: Ever want to pretend you’re a bear? Go at it, shred that pork.


And then there are the baskets: You can buy a basket to grill S’mores, a basket for meatballs and a cage for corn on the cob. You can even pop popcorn on grills these days.

The ham dogger is a thing: The what? The ham dogger, duh. You know, to make a burger shaped like a hot dog? Obviously.

Happy grilling, everyone, and yay America. Because we might’ve lost in the World Cup (remember when we all liked soccer?) but we WON OUR FREEDOM.

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