For three seasons on FX’s The Bear, actor and comedian Joel McHale portrayed an abusive chef so realistically, it was triggering to real-life kitchen workers. But aside from one short stint working at a Seattle deli under a manager with an incredibly short fuse (“This guy was a screamer—and he was fired,” McHale says), the kitchen has been a place of joy for McHale.

“If I’m home, I’m the cook,” says McHale, who also hosts the Fox cooking competition series Crime Scene Kitchen and is a spokesperson for Seattle’s Best Coffee. “I am very good at cooking meat.” In fact, he tells me he has plans immediately following our interview to roast a couple chickens for guests he has joining him for dinner.

Last year, in what McHale calls “one of [his] finest cooking moments,” he got to show off his steak-searing skills as a guest on restauranteur and chef (and friend) David Chang’s Netflix show, Dinner Time Live. “I was not expecting you, on live TV, to actually cook a beautiful steak,” Chang said on the show. “And I’m wrong.”

Below, McHale shares some of the tools and gear he uses to master the grill as well as the pantry items he always keeps stocked.

A monster smoker

McHale takes his meat smoking seriously—and that means using some pretty serious tools. “I have a Pitts and Spitts, a brand out of Texas, which is as tough as a Sherman tank,” he says. “I can smoke a pork tenderloin like nobody’s business, and a few months ago I made a Chateaubriand.”

Other favorite recipes in McHale’s rotation: “For Thanksgiving, I smoked a bunch of tri-tips. Two nights ago, I made [this dish where] I take a whole chicken breast with the skin and part of the bone, then season them up a little bit, sear the outsides off, and then I put them into a tomato and Iberico ham sauce.”

Instructions from an all-star

For burgers, McHale says he uses Gordon Ramsay’s burger blend method—a 70/20/10 ratio, with 70% chuck steak, 20% short rib, and 10% fat, as Ramsay explained on Masterchef.

Good, old-fashioned tongs

“I had a whole argument with David Chang about tongs,” says McHale. “He thinks tongs are amateur hour.” But McHale has no shame in using the tool—”I’ll send [Chang] photos of tongs resting on the side of a dish,” he says—especially in a pinch.

“When I cooked the steak for Dinner Time Live, [using the tongs] had to be done because I only had, like, 25 minutes,” McHale says. To get a beautiful, golden crust on the steak, “I salted the hell out of it and put it in oil. Then I put weight on top of the meat to spread it out, and flipped it.” McHale finished his dish by frying eggs in the beef fat left in the pan for steak and eggs.

Ghee and Wagyu beef tallow

For cooking fat, McHale likes to use Wagyu beef tallow or ghee. “Using ghee makes you look like a cook,” he says.

A caffeine fix

“I grew up in Seattle, where I worked at a coffee cart for years and drank tons of coffee,” says McHale. “I continue to—I probably had eight cups so far this morning, which is about average.”

While Seattle’s Best beans take McHale on a trip down memory lane, he’s also recently been enjoying one of the brand’s new launches. “For the summer, Seattle’s Best released all these limited edition Coffee Roast Mallows” in collaboration with XO Marshmallow, says McHale. “All the marshmallow flavors are inspired by the different blends of their coffee”—which, it turns out, is exactly where McHale likes to put them. (Why should hot cocoa get all the fun?)

A supply of ramen

Much like a munchie-fueled college student, McHale always has a stash of instant ramen on hand—although his go-to brand is a little more gourmet than Cup Noodles. “Chang’s Momofuku ramen is amazing,” says McHale, who snacks on them at night instead of dessert. “They’re in my closet right now. Well, the pantry, not my closet—they’re not just in there with my winter gear.”

Find more grilling and smoking must-haves

Everyone’s favorite restaurant drama—I mean, comedy (lol what?)—FX’s The Bear is back for its fourth season this week, with all 10 episodes dropping on Hulu June 25. While the show has a reputation for being, let’s say, emotionally erratic, one thing remains constant: Carmy and team’s excellent taste in cooking tools.

While watching season three, we couldn’t help but notice that chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), and their mentors and staff put some Bon Appétit favorites to work in the kitchen. Hey! The Bear crew—they’re just like us! At least when it comes to reaching for All-Clad cookware, Vitamix blenders, and the trusty Benriner mandoline.

Gear up for the new season by scrolling through the star cookware cameos of episodes past.

All-Clad cookware

The Bear comes with a full suite of All-Clad cookware, and we’re not surprised: All-Clad has long been a favorite of the Bon Appétit test kitchen for its incredibly well-made stainless-steel pots and pans, which consistently earn top marks in our product reviews.

The tri-ply construction of All-Clad’s stainless-steel products helps them heat evenly and retain that heat. It also makes them supremely durable: In the words of food director Chris Morocco, an All-Clad skillet “is unkillable.”

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Mauviel cookware

In the first episode of season three, we see many shots of Carmy working alongside legendary chef Daniel Boulud at his namesake New York City restaurant, Daniel. It’s hard to miss the bona fide army of shiny copper pans lining the kitchen, and closeup shots reveal that those pans are from French cookware company Mauviel.

One of the oldest and most famous cookware manufacturers in the world, Mauviel is known for its copper pots and pans (which make frequent appearances on our gift guides). They’re a favorite among pro chefs and Bon Appétit staffers because they respond to changes in heat so quickly. Copper is an ideal vessel for the type of precision cooking restaurants require—things like maintaining oil temperature when frying wafer thin strips of potato or ensuring a demi-glace doesn’t get scorched at the edges.

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Benriner mandoline

Benriner is the gold standard for mandolines among professional chefs of all kinds—including Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic—so it makes sense that we see both Carmy and Boulud make use of the tools in their respective kitchens. The Benriner has a razor-sharp blade that can slice just about anything as thin as your heart desires, and we love its simple, slim, and lightweight design, which makes it easy to stow and intuitive to use.

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Vitamix 5200

We think Vitamix is the king of blenders, and Carmy seems to agree. While it’s hard to tell exactly which model is featured in the show, our money’s on the Vitamix 5200. This happens to our current “best blender” winner as well as food director Chris Morocco’s top pick for its ideal blend of simplicity, intuitiveness, and power. For sauces with restaurant-level silky smoothness like the bright green purée Carmy whizzes up in season three, episode one, a Vitamix is the best tool for the job.

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Dyson vacuum

The cordless vacuum charging on the wall next to Carmy’s office is unmistakably a Dyson V8 Absolute, which senior writer Emily Farris found to be an excellent performer when testing vacuum cleaners. The newer V12 might have more features, but Carmy’s choice has a simple but effective design that looks right at home in the clean-cut, minimalist interior of The Bear.

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Jono Pandolfi ceramicware

Have you fallen in love with the gorgeous ceramic dinnerware that every dish at The Bear seems to come out on? Those are from the New Jersey–based studio of Jono Pandolfi, whose company supplies dishes to many of the hippest high-end restaurants and hotels around the country.