Reach for the wrong tool and it does not matter how good your seasoning is. A spatula and a pair of tongs look like they do the same job, but they are solving two different problems. One lifts. One grips. Using them interchangeably is where good cooks lose good food — a smash burger torn off the grates before the crust has set, a fillet squeezed apart before it makes it to the plate.
Understanding what each tool is actually built for changes the way you cook. Here is the breakdown.
What Each Tool Is Designed For
The Spatula
A spatula is built for foods that lie flush against the cooking surface. The thin, flat blade slides horizontally under the protein, lifts from below, and supports the full surface area in one clean motion. That bottom-up lift is what makes it essential for anything with a developing crust or a delicate structure. Try to grip those foods from the side and you will pull the crust away before it has finished forming.
The Current® Spatula for Grill & Griddle is built with a tapered edge that slides cleanly under food and a stainless steel blade rated for high-heat cooking. It is the tool you reach for when surface contact is doing the work.
The Tongs
Tongs are built for three-dimensional proteins. Foods with height, mass, and structure that need to be rotated or repositioned rather than lifted from below. The side grip gives you control over proteins that sit above the grates, not flush against them–and that grip is what lets you quarter-turn a kebab or reposition a bone-in chicken thigh without losing contact with the heat.
The Locking Tongs from Current® are built with scalloped edges that hold food securely without crushing it, a locking mechanism for compact storage, and lightweight stainless steel construction that keeps them easy to handle through a long cook.
When Should I Use Tongs vs. a Spatula When Grilling?
The general rule: if the food lies flat, use a spatula. If the food has height and structure, use tongs. But the real answer is more specific than that, and it comes down to what the protein needs from you at the moment of the flip.
Smash-Style Burgers — Spatula
Smash burgers demand a spatula, and the reason is the technique itself. You press a loose ball of ground beef directly onto a screaming-hot surface and walk away while the crust builds. When it is time to flip, you need a tool that gets completely under the patty in one flat motion — no hesitation, no grip from the edge. Tongs would grab the side, pull the crust away from the beef, and undo four minutes of work in one move.
The Model G2 Electric Grill makes this cook more reliable because the black anodized aluminum grates hold the target temperature consistently, without the heat spikes and drops that gas can cause. Set the zone, press the patty, leave it alone. When it releases cleanly from the grates, it is ready. Then the spatula goes in flat, and the flip is one motion.
For the full build, try the Mushroom Swiss Smashburgers recipe.
Kebabs and Skewers — Tongs
Skewered proteins are the clearest argument for tongs. They sit above the grate surface entirely, so there is nothing for a spatula to slide under. Tongs grip the skewer directly and let you rotate the protein in controlled quarter turns, building even browning on every side without any guesswork. It is the kind of precision that makes the difference between a kebab that is charred on one side and pale on the other, and one that is consistently seared all the way around.
The Sirloin Kebabs with Umami Glaze recipe shows the technique in full.
Whole Fish or Bone-In Proteins — Tongs
A whole fish or a bone-in piece like a skin-on chicken thigh has the mass and structure that tongs are built for. You grip the body of the fish near the cavity, or hold a bone-in piece at the bone itself, and rotate with control. Tongs give you the precision to reposition a larger protein without dragging it across the grates or disturbing the skin before it has crisped.
The one rule with whole fish: if the skin is still sticking to the grates, the fish is not ready to flip. Do not force it. The skin releases naturally when the cook is where it needs to be. Tongs give you the control to wait for that moment without losing your grip on the cook.
Delicate Fillets — Spatula
Thin fillets like salmon, halibut, any white fish with a flaky structure cannot take the side pressure that tongs apply. Even a gentle grip will compress the flesh and break the fillet before it leaves the grates. A wide spatula slid underneath supports the full surface and lifts the whole fillet in one piece. There is no substitute here.
The even surface temperature on the Model G2 Electric Grill helps fish cook through without hot spots, which means the flesh releases cleanly from the grates when it is ready rather than tearing.
Does Flipping Technique Affect How a Burger Cooks on an Electric Grill?
Yes, and more than most people expect. Flipping technique on any grill affects crust development, moisture retention, and the final texture of the patty, and two mistakes account for most of the damage.
Flipping too early is the most common one. When the patty has not had time to develop a crust, it has not released from the surface yet, and forcing the flip tears the crust away from the beef. The second mistake is flipping multiple times. Every flip drops the surface temperature of the patty and interrupts the Maillard reaction, the browning process that builds flavor and texture. Both mistakes come from the same impulse: moving the food before it is ready. Flip once. Trust the process.
The Model G2 Electric Grill removes some of the uncertainty here because there is no open flame cooking and no flare-ups to manage. The grates hold the target temperature consistently, so the crust develops on a reliable timeline. When the patty releases cleanly on its own, that is the signal. The Current® Spatula for Grill & Griddle goes in flat, gets under the full patty in one motion, and the flip is done.
Common Mistakes That the Wrong Tool Causes
Most grilling tool mistakes are not random. They follow a pattern. Using tongs on a smash burger pulls the developing crust away from the beef, which is the exact thing the smash technique is trying to build. Using a spatula on a kebab leaves no flat surface to get under, so the flip is incomplete and one side of the skewer ends up overcooked while the other stays raw. Applying tong pressure to a thin fillet compresses the flesh and breaks the fillet apart before it makes it off the grates. And sliding a spatula under a bone-in piece disturbs the skin before it has crisped, leaving it soft and stuck rather than releasing cleanly.
The wrong tool does not just make the cook harder, it actively works against the technique. The right tool gets out of the way and lets the food do what it is supposed to do.
Which Grill Accessories Should I Consider for My Outdoor Grilling Setup?
A spatula and a pair of tongs are the two tools that cover everything. They are not interchangeable, but together they handle the full range of what the grill can cook — from smash burgers to skewers to whole fish. Start with those two and build from there.
The Current® Spatula for Grill & Griddle and the Locking Tongs are both designed to work with the Model G2 Electric Grill, built to the same standard, matched to the way the grates are engineered. The right accessories extend what the grill can do. The wrong ones fight it.
How to Choose the Best Tool
When the food is flat against the grates–smash burgers, fillets, anything that builds a crust on a hot surface–reach for the spatula. When the food has structure and needs rotation–kebabs, skewers, bone-in cuts, whole fish–reach for the tongs. The decision happens before the food hits the grates, and it shapes everything that comes after.
