Chefs Say This Surprising Grilling Tool Will Help You Achieve the Perfect Char

Achieving the perfect char on your mushrooms, zucchini, or broccoli while also making sure they’re cooked through over a grill can be a challenge. Perhaps there is some magical equation out there to hit the perfect combo of oil, grill temp, proximity to heat, and cooking length in order to turn out absolutely perfect vegetables every time. But as someone who cooks vegetables daily at home, I’m definitely still figuring it out. However, one recently-released cookbook just pointed in the right direction with a counterintuitive, but pretty genius tool. 

In Kismet by Kismet chef-owners Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson, the two chefs cite an essential grilling tool you may never have thought of: a spray bottle.  

Worldgsb Glass Spray Bottle

“I think that most people, when they’re grilling, they’re looking for that charred flavor, but it can be a little hard to control your heat just with the temperature of the coals alone,” Kramer tells me. “I think it’s really nice to be able to add a little spritz of water, because it’ll speed up the cooking time, so you’re not depending just on your hot coals to cook, say, broccolini.” 

Hymanson further explained this technique. She says that introducing a bit of water to your vegetables while grilling them is great for all sorts of produce, from cabbage, green beans, and cauliflower to Brussels sprouts and leafy greens. “It depends on the flame on your grill, but the spray bottle is good for anything you want to cook a little further without getting so much black char on your vegetables as they’re cooking,” she said. 

But why a spray bottle, specifically? Most good spray bottles allow you to adjust the nozzle, letting you switch between a stream, a mist, and possibly different amounts and volumes of mist coverage. Using the mist setting allows the water to evenly cover the vegetable, so you aren’t letting certain parts char more than others. Also, finding the right distance from the vegetable and intensity of your squeeze lets you control how much water you’re actually releasing, since you don’t want to drench your food or, worse, get your coals or wood too wet. 

As far as whether there’s a “best” spray bottle for the job, the Kismet chefs aren’t too picky. “Just your run-of-the-mill spray bottle, wherever spray bottles are sold,” Kramer said, laughing. I chose a glass one, because it looks cool, and because I think the heaviness offers more control. Plus, you don’t necessarily want to be holding a plastic bottle over your grill.

So if you’re gearing up to grill more vegetables this summer, this $8 tool from Amazon will be your new best friend. Even experts say so. 

Shop More Grilling Tools at Amazon 

Cuisinart Smashed Burger Press

OXO Good Grips Grilling Tools

Hotec Basting Brushes

Cuisinart BBQ Grill Cleaning Brush and Scraper

At the time of publishing, the price was $8.