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I have an Icarus-like tendency to try to put larger and larger turkey burgers on the grill. Why? I don’t know. I guess I just like the rush of it. Just as our boy Icarus tumbled into the sea when his wax wings melted, when I try to flip these oversize patties, pieces break off and slide between the grill grates, unfortunately becoming one with coals. My narrow spatulas are simply unable to fully support my large burger ambition.
I’ve regularly lost food to the grill gods—sometimes those stuck burgers, sometimes flaky salmon, sometimes spears of zucchini or tender carrots. But on a trip to buy charcoal for some recent grill testing, I found the solution to my problem: The oversize grill spatula.
Wide spatulas like this one are not new. To be honest, I’d seen them around a lot before I recently impulse-bought one, but they always gave me a suspicious “As Seen on TV” vibe. It turns out, though, that the extra-wide spatula is not only the best way to turn your burgers and chicken breasts—it’s also a surprisingly versatile tool.
When you lose things like vegetables between the grate bars, it’s usually either because they stick a little when you try to move them with tongs or because they slide off a standard grill spatula. With a wide spatula you can do a little one-two punch, using the spatula to fully lift narrower items off the grill, then grabbing them with tongs to turn them with more finesse and control. This works with skewers of shrimp or lamb as well. And even though my spatula is made by Weber and therefore is clearly intended for the grill, it works just as well for moving giant cookies from pan to cooling rack.
An extra four inches of spatula seems like a silly thing to be excited about, but since I upsized I’m convinced it has saved many meals from burning in the coals. There’s only one thing to do now: Make a bigger turkey burger.
