Equipment Expert’s Top Pick for Grill Brushes



Equipment expert Adam Ried and host Bridget Lancaster discuss grill brushes.

Buy our winning grill brush:

ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

If you like us, follow us:

source

Similar Posts

48 Comments

  1. I’ve got the Great Scrape, the only way y’all didn’t burn the wood down after 400 strokes was if you were intentionally attempting not to, or you were at like 50°. I burnt the pattern into mine in minutes. This is miraculously misleading.

  2. Wood brush will not clean very well but if you pass it after using a wire brush you are quite certain to have removed any loose wire that could have been left. You don't want one of these litte monsters lodged in your colon.
    And I agree with the Weber brush. I have one since a couple of years and it's very efficient. Tiny wires are firmly attached to the instrument and don't threaten to detach at any moment. I still inspect it every time I use it.
    Other metal brushes have them inserted in the shaft. With time and with rust they tend to escape. Don't keep them more than a year or two.

  3. Palmyra brushes come with shorter bristles too. By choosing that specific brush with longer bristles, you completely removed this type of brush from the comparison. But nylon or metal brushes with longers bristles would have created the same problematic result. This was just a poor example of what palmyra can actually do.. or not do!? I'm still wondering if palmyra brushes with proper small bristles or with the circular patterns, are any good. I'm a bit disappointed that you only had the one, with a completely different design than any other brushes.

  4. I have a small gas grill, I use a small scraper brush combo. I mostly have been using the scraper notches to get all of the gunk off of the grill grate.

    I'll keep your recommendation in mind if I ever get a big-boy grill.

  5. "if your worried about bristles"

    Everyone should be worried about metal bristles being in their food. There aren't just "reports" of people having them stuck in their throats it happens and I've unfortunately seen it happen.

  6. I’ve been using the Weber brush for as long as they have been making them. I have tried other offerings and nothing that I have tried works nearly as well. I have never had any problem with metal bristles in my food. I believe that those who do are probably using a cheap brush, using it after it’s worn out, using it on a cold grate (which causes you to bear down too hard, making dislodging bristles more likely) or not using it before and after every use, causing buildup on the grates, making it more likely for bristles to become lodged in the buildup. Also, I use a paper towel which is dampened with oil to wipe down my grates, before and after each use, which also helps prevent rust from becoming an issue. As usual, poor maintenance habits bring on most problems, causing most mishaps.

  7. I have one just like winner but came from the dollar store for $2 I have wore out 3 of them never had and issue and they work fantastic never thought about the bristles coming off and never had a issue but now ill look for that

  8. "Grilling Season"…I don't understand people who only use their grill for a season. Mine gets used year round.

    That stated I take issue with their casual dismissal of the nylon bristles. Those aren't for regular grills. Those are for grills (Typically pellet smokers) that have ceramic coated grates that metal bristles tend to damage. Cleaning those grates cold isn't a problem. As for those rare times you do need to hot clean, the Kona is what you need. I truly appreciate what ATK does with these reviews, but as someone who uses multiple types of grills and smokers nearly daily and have done so for decades, you guys missed the boat on this one. The weber is fine for general grill cleaning, but honestly it bends and twists and is a general hassle. It is the best of the worst so to speak in that really just about all grill brushes of this type are just awful.

  9. I’ve been using the Weber one for at least 7 years. Never a single loose bristle. I do recommend buying the long handled one as the short one does not work well when the grill is hot. (which again is the best time to clean the grill). Too short due to heat and hard to reach far side of grill. The long handle does begin to bend under pressure, but only when the brush is nearing its end of life because you start pushing harder to clean when the brush isn’t as good.

  10. I'm surprised that people actually end up eating bits of metal from the brushes. Does no one here clean the grill when it's hot and then on another day when you want to have a BBQ wash the grill with soap and water? Who cooks their food on a dirty surface. The brush is just to get the food and grease loose.

  11. The best grill brush is a WELDING BRUSH. The bristles are very thick and securely stapled in place, so there is minimal risk of them coming out and getting stuck on the grill to be later ingested. You can get stainless welding brushes for cleaning stainless grates and brass grill brushes for cleaning cast iron grates. I do not EVER trust any of the shown scrapers that have those very fine bristles that INEVITABLY come off onto the grates! VERY dangerous!

  12. I'm happy it was mentioned that bristles that were left behind on some grills got into the food and caused health issues and almost death for several people. I purchased the wooden one after hearing about this, but my husband, who does all the grilling, refuses to use it, he doesn't like it. Guess it's time for me to try one of the others mentioned here.

  13. I can't believe you missed the abrasive composite bristle brushes. They work like wire without rusty wires coming off. Your test should have left the brushes outside for a humid summer season and then see if the bristles shed. Your results would likely be different.

  14. Grill brushes are going through trying to get banned in the UK because of how dangerous the bristles can be when swallowed. They're tiny and difficult to see and can stick to whatever you're cooking. If you do a Google search there are lots of other ways of getting your grill clean without using one of these metal brushes. 😉

  15. Hey guys, I don't know any other way to get a hold of you to ask this question: I realize those big roaster ovens (the electric ones for roasting turkeys, chili, etc) aren't all the rage these days but I would love if you did a review of them. I still like and use them and need to get a new one. Would love to know which are the best these days.

  16. I have one with wire bristle and after warming up the grill a bit I scrub the bars. Then I use a kitchen paper towel soaked in avocado oil to clean the bars and get any, if any wires broke off. The last two years I’m doing it this way haven’t found a thing

Leave a Reply