Grill Cookware

Grill grates are designed to be spread out, with space between them providing direct exposure to intense heat so that you get the charred, caramelized, slightly smoky taste of perfectly grilled food. Why, then, would you ever need cookware that stands between you and your grill?

While open grates are fine for steaks, burgers, or bone-in chicken pieces, grilling small or delicate items such as seafood or vegetables can require acrobatics to prevent them from falling into the fire. Whether you’re cutting zucchini into planks, wrapping fish in foil, or skewering chunks of boneless meat, a new category of cookware promises an easier option. Shaped like indoor cookware but perforated to allow exposure to the fire, grill cookware is designed to contain and cook smaller, more fragile foods without special preparation—and without sacrificing grill flavor, good browning, or even some charring.

That said, there’s no consensus among manufacturers on style or material. Grill cookware comes in three starkly different designs (woks, skillets with handles, and rectangular sheet pans) and in materials that run the gamut from wire mesh, aluminum, and stainless steel to enameled cast iron and porcelain- or nonstick-coated steel. To determine for ourselves which design and material (if any) worked best, we rounded up models priced from about $5.00 to $50.00 in all three styles and a range of materials. We also threw in an adjustable pan that allows the user to manipulate the size from large to small and a disposable aluminum model that could be cut, bent, and shaped.

The Hole Story

Because recent tryouts of other grill accessories (presses and baskets) taught us that most of this equipment isn’t worth buying, we approached testing with skepticism. As we grilled flaky cod fillets, medium shrimp with chopped vegetables, and batches of quartered potatoes over a gas grill, our caution proved sound: More than half the grill cookware performed poorly.

The worst were the grill woks. This style of grill pan features a narrow bottom and high sides that kept ingredients crammed together and made food steam rather than brown for results so lousy we eliminated such pans from consideration. Also on the cutting block: any grill pans (irrespective of design) with nonstick coatings. High temperatures made this type of cookware emit fumes the first few times we used them, tainting food with a chemical smell and taste.

But some pans did impress us, especially as we learned how best to use them. Across the board, we found that preheating the pans on the grill helped our food cook faster, with much better browning and flavor. We also learned which features matter m...