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Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

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Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say products that are only safe if used properly are unsafe products. Being safe is a perfectly good strategy for an individual, but it's asking for trouble on a societal level.

So do you think Home Depot should close down? They sell hammers.

I'd think so if all their hammers had heads that went flying off if you used them at a slightly wrong angle.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#72
post #51

Why do you clean a grill? Let the carbon build up. It's seasoning and food doesn't stick to it. Just preheat the grill to burn off any remains from the prior use. If there's really heavy buildup, use a straight edge scraper like a paint scraper or heavy spatula. Cleaning a grill down to shiny bare metal is a sure way to have all your food stick to it every time.

I don't know about you, but after grilling I usually have hanging chunks of fat on the grill. Not exactly appetizing if that's been around for months.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#73

So what are some alternatives?

They sell bristle-less brushes that essentially have interlocking metal loops. They're much safer but they aren't quite as effective. There are also wooden cleaners and funny-looking cleaners that resemble a cross between a sponge and a pumice stone you can use.

Really, if you go to the grill aisle of Home Depot (or whatever similar store) you'll see plenty of choices.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say products that are only safe if used properly are unsafe products. Being safe is a perfectly good strategy for an individual, but it's asking for trouble on a societal level.

So do you think Home Depot should close down? They sell hammers.

No, that's a (mostly) fair point. I'd distinguish between objects whose dangers are obvious and those whose aren't.

The danger of hammers is obvious. You know to treat them safely, and so there's comparatively little trouble. The possibility of having an untreatable needle stuck in your throat unless you use your tools in the right order is rather less so.

I didn't say anything about banning unsafe objects, however. I think there's a case to be made for it if they're easily replaceable, but that's not the point I put forward.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#75

Steel wool is safer, no doubt, but this shouldn't really be anything more than a freak occurrence if you clean a grill properly. The wire brush is just the first step to remove the coarse stuff. Soap, water, and some kind of fine abrasive pad or scrubbing cleaner should remove these barbs. I guess at some restaurants, they're more concerned about speed and don't take the care...

You can buy coarse steel scrubbies. Just use those with a long pair of tongs and they work great.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah soap isn't really an option if you have a real barbeque with a well seasoned cast iron grill.

I've read that's a common myth, that a little soapy water for a few minutes is going to do nothing to a polymerized fat coating that was seared into the pitted surface of cast iron under high heat, but even if you were concerned about it, a brief re-seasoning afterward would be more than enough to restore any stripping.

I use warm soapy water to clean my cast iron pan and I haven't noticed the seasoning being affected.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#77
post #38

So what are some alternatives?

1/2 an onion, potato, or lemon works. You can also take some tinfoil and wrap it around the end of your grill tongs to scrape the grates.

I love using onion as I've found that it (subtly) helps season the food cooked on the grill.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#79
I got freaked out when I learned about this a while back.

It seems wire brushes for grill cleaning come in various levels of quality, and it’s the lower-quality ones that tend to have this issue. The problem is that you can’t truly know the quality of your brush until you use it. (And either find bristles in your good or not.)

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