It Might Be Time to Toss That Wire Grill Brush

Whether you’re a professional or home chef, having the best grilling tools is key to making the tastiest (and safest) cuisine. That said, you want to ensure you’re properly cleaning your grill in between uses and doing so without contaminating your cooking device or your food. While wire grill brushes do a solid job of cleaning grill grates, they can lead to damage if not used carefully.

Ahead, pitmasters, grilling experts, and chefs explain what wire grill brushes are and whether or not they are safe to use. They also share alternatives to wire grill brushes you can use to effectively clean grill grates.

What Are Wire Grill Brushes

Wire grill brushes are exactly what the name suggests–brushes that contain wire bristles. “Wire grill brushes are tools designed to clean grill grates by scraping off food residue and carbon buildup,” explains Mark Greenfield, director of culinary operations at Executive Table Group in Vancouver, British Columbia. “Most have a handle and a brush head composed of stiff, metallic bristles, typically stainless steel or brass.” Some people use wire grill brushes because they can often quickly remove the byproducts remaining after a grill session.

Are Wire Grill Brushes Safe to Use?

Although wire brushes can be safe to use, they are not in most cases. “The biggest issue is bristle shedding,” says Erica Blaire Roby, a pitmaster and owner of Blue Smoke Blaire’s Competition BBQ Team in Houston, Texas. “If a wire bristle detaches and ends up on the grill, it can find its way into food, and then into someone’s throat or digestive tract.” According to MU Health Care, if one of these grill brush wires is ingested, it has the potential to negatively impact and or cause harm to the tonsils, mouth, neck, and/or throat.

Greenfield adds that although it’s not very probable that this will happen if you’re careful, the consequences that can occur if it does may cause a medical emergency.

“I recently discovered a small wire from my grill brush in a steak I had grilled, and it has caused me to move away from wire grill brushes going forward,” adds Paul Jimenez, a grilling expert and content creator (@bigpaulonthegrill).

With this in mind, it is important to proceed with caution if you plan on using or continue to use wire grill brushes to decrease the likelihood of injury.

Alternatives to Wire Grill Brushes

The potential of losing bristles is reason enough to reconsider using them. “In a busy restaurant environment or at home, it’s easy to miss a tiny piece of metal hiding between grates,” says Greenfield. “Furthermore, wire brushes tend to degrade quickly under high heat and frequent use, leading to more opportunities for bristle loss.”

Luckily, there are solid grill-cleaning alternatives to wire grill brushes you can use to clean grills to remove buildup from the grates, with grill bricks or pumice stones being one of the most popular substitutes. “Pumice conforms to the grill shape and wears down with use with no bristles to break off,” says Greenfield. “You do want to ensure you wipe down afterwards to avoid getting any grit left behind on the grates.”

Wooden grill scrapers are another alternative to wire grill brushes and are popular for their longevity and the fact that they are bristle-free. “These naturally form grooves that match your grill over time,” says Greenfield. “They’re completely bristle-free, safe, and surprisingly effective once worn in.”

Nylon grill brushes can be used to clean grill grates without bristles, which makes them a more appealing (and safer) option. Jimenez notes that while these grill brushes help prevent scratches (especially on porcelain), they should only be used on cool grills.

About the Experts

• Paul Jimenez is a grilling expert and content creator (@bigpaulonthegrill). With more than 10 years of grilling experience, he has acquired vital grilling skills and knowledge (including that about grill brushes).
• Mark Greenfield is the director of culinary operations at Executive Table Group in Vancouver, British Columbia. As an overseeing chef of the Executive Hotels & Resorts, he remains informed about grilling tools and the appropriate safety measures that need to be taken to keep the best tools in the kitchen. Before his current role, he served as a chef for more than 10 years.
• Erica Blaire Roby is a pitmaster and owner of Blue Smoke Blaire’s Competition BBQ Team in Houston, Texas. Throughout her more than six-year career as a pitmaster, she won Season 2 of Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl” and has taught BBQ classes throughout Texas.

Sources

• Medicine.Missouri.edu: MU Doctor Reminds Wire BBQ Grill Brushes Can Cause Injuries

The post It Might Be Time to Toss That Wire Grill Brush appeared first on Family Handyman.

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