We asked chef Michael Symon all our burning questions about his kitchen essentials — and he delivered. (Amazon, Noam Galai/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
For many of us, Memorial Day marked the start of grilling season. But for Michael Symon? There's no such thing. "Probably because I grew up in Cleveland, I love being outside cooking whenever I can. So I grill all year — I set up shop and never go inside!" he says. And he takes the food way beyond your standard burgers and franks. "Anything you can cook outside, you can cook inside; and everything you can cook inside, you can cook outside on a grill. After all, when you close the lid on the grill, it becomes an oven," he points out.
This idea forms the premise not just for the chef's hit Food Network show, Symon's Dinners Cooking Out, but for his new cookbook of the same name. "This is the first book I've ever done based on a show, and one that's very important to me because of when it started," says Symon. (The series launched during the Covid-19 lockdown as a livestream he filmed at his New York home with his wife, Liz.) "It made this a very personal cookbook."
The collection of 100 recipes includes dishes like Grilled Eggplant Parmesan, Fire Pit Steak and Potatoes and even salads that harness the flavor of smoky coals (charred radicchio, anyone?). And Symon tested them in his yard using his arsenal of nine grills and fire pits. Of course, he has other cooking gear he loves, too, and he even admits to cooking in his indoor kitchen every so often. Read on for his must-haves, and once you're sufficiently fired up, check out these hot picks from his fellow celebrity chefs Marcus Samuelsson and Andrew Zimmern.
"A great set of tongs is very important," says Symon. "I don't like the ones that are 100 feet long. I like 10- to 12-inch tongs because I think you have more control over them for flipping food."
The chef says he errs on the simple side when it comes to equipment, which is why plain old stainless steel works for him. "Some companies make so much stuff that is form over function, and I tend to go back to buying things I've bought for my restaurants because they tend to last a lifetime."
Though he certainly has a ton of favorites (like many chefs, Andrew loves his Shun chef's knife and a fish spatula), his top pick is this handy zester. "Has any tool been as transformative for the home cook as the Microplane?" he asks. "Grating cheese, zesting citrus, curling or grating chocolate, liquidizing garlic, grating nutmeg ... a set of these graters is used every day in my house. They define the phrase 'go-to.'"
Symon knows a lot of people don't like wire grill brushes, but he has a technique for using them safely: "What I typically do is I get my grill hot and let it burn off. Then I'll hit the big debris with a metal grill brush. After that, I wrap an old brush with a kitchen towel I coat with oil and clean the grates again. This way, any wires that may pop off are removed."
(Psst, we recently tested the best grill brushes and GrillArt makes our top pick.)
It seemed unfair to try to make Symon name a favorite grill, but he did say he's been using a classic Weber potbellied model since he was a kid. "It's what my dad used, and I have several different sizes, from the normal 18-inch to ginormous."
In case you're curious, here's his full grill arsenal: "I have a Gateway Drum Smoker because I can use it as a grill and a smoker. They make a portable one on wheels so it's not so cumbersome. I have a 10-foot offset Mill Scale Smoker because I like the way it looks. It's like Old Yeller. I have a smaller Gateway Drum Smoker, an 18-inch Weber grill, the 36-inch Cowboy Cauldron, and then I have two different fire pits, one from Breeo that I also grill on and a huge cast iron one. I also have a Fuego griddle."
Plastic bench scrapers come in handy for just about everything, says Symon: You can use them like bakers do to cut butter into dough, but they also come in handy for moving ingredients from a cutting board into a bowl and cleaning up the counter.
"I buy 25 at a time and give them to friends," says Symon. This set comes with six, for just over $1 apiece.
Designed by the late chef Gray Kunz, this little spoon is more than meets the eye: Its proportions make it the ideal tool for spooning or drizzling sauces onto a dish. Many chefs keep it in their toolkits, and as for Symon, he always stashes one or two in a small bain marie pot on his counter.
Much like his beloved bench scrapers, an offset fish spatula does way more than its name suggests. Chefs love this utensil for its ultra-thin blade, which is easy to sneak under filets, but also eggs and other proteins. "A classic offset fish spatula is a must," Symon says.
Symon's a fan of Tilit aprons because "they're big — when you pull the string around, you're not fighting to tie it in the front. They're also super easy to care for," he says. "Full cotton, full apron and leather strap. They last forever."
Sunny may be a professional chef, but she loves a good dinner hack just like the rest of us. "My most-used pantry item has to be pouches of flavored beans or rice of all kinds that you can microwave, and in 60 to 90 seconds be on your way to an easy side dish," she says.
"I discovered these shortcuts during 2020 when I moved most of my shopping online. Before, when I grocery shopped in person, nine times out of 10 I would get exactly what I needed and it would take effort to slowly scan each aisle for new products. But going online and typing in a keyword gives you so many options and can open your eyes to things you walked right by in the store."
She'll eat these microwaveable pouches of beans as is, or she'll mix in other ingredients like sausage or roasted vegetables. It doesn't get easier!
La Marzocco is the gold standard of espresso machines and a must for any high-end coffee shop. Though this at-home model is pricey, Michael says "it's the best investment I've ever made." He has owned one for 12 years!
"I literally couldn't live without it," he says. "It's expensive, but not if you use it six times a day. I basically drink espresso, water and bourbon — and bourbon doesn't start until much later in the day. It paid for itself very quickly."
