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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)

#301

Post by ihsw2 »

jandrese wrote: post #245
ihsw2 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I don't want my meat to be covered in the ashes, the burnt food particles add bad flavors, ash-covered food looks unappealing, burning off hanging chunks of fat causes excess smoke, and ash-covered food is more difficult to visually measure doneness. Pre-oiling your metal grates should be done to prevent sticking and burning off excess food particles should be done to prevent build-up.

Does pre-oiling actually work? My experience with trying it once is that the oil burned off immediately and did nothing that I could discern.

It's pretty much exactly like seasoning a cast iron pan -- get the grill grates screaming hot, switch off the heat, sop up a paper towel in your high-heat oil of choice (eg: canola oil) but not dripping, and wipe your grill grates.

This is generally only possible with a cleaned grill and it would be prudent to clean your grill after it's heated up and before you apply oil.

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

#302

Post by M_J_P »

gdubs wrote: post #247
AStellersSeaCow wrote: post #219

When this news first came out, I tried practically all the alternatives. My personal experiences: Wadded up aluminum foil: really does not work well. It gets loose grime off, but anything at all burnt on will take very vigorous scrubbing and possibly result in shredded foil everywhere. Also feels like a huge waste of foil. Wooden scraper: works ok, since it's not flexible doesn't get between the slats well, need to p…

I'm a huge fan of the Pumie Scouring Stick [1]. It works on a bunch of different surfaces, and I've used it to clean things that seemed baked-on beyond repair (like my ceramic pizza stone). 1: https://www.amazon.com/Pumie-Scouring-Stick-HDW-12T-4PK/dp/B...

FYI - seen at 99-cent stores for much less than Amazon....

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

#303

Post by karlkatzke »

AStellersSeaCow wrote: post #254
MrLeap wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to pump up the jams, try a scotch-brite wheel on an angle grinder. Done in seconds, don't wear clothes you like.

I'd been looking for other uses for my angle grinder, and this is way better than the other ideas I had.

Diamond turbo blade = recover old used brick with the mortar still attached, very little if any chipping.

Source: currently working on an older home with very unique (peach/salmon) brick, need to recover and reuse all I can find.

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

#304

Post by kristianp »

AStellersSeaCow wrote: post #219

When this news first came out, I tried practically all the alternatives. My personal experiences: Wadded up aluminum foil: really does not work well. It gets loose grime off, but anything at all burnt on will take very vigorous scrubbing and possibly result in shredded foil everywhere. Also feels like a huge waste of foil. Wooden scraper: works ok, since it's not flexible doesn't get between the slats well, need to p…

I have used a steel brush from a hardware store that has inch-long bristles. These bristles are a lot longer and thicker than the little ones in the video of the article. A lot harder to miss visually and if you had one in your food I think you'd notice it on the first (painful) bite. However I think the 5 minutes of heating after cooking is finished would be a better option.

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

#305

Post by karlkatzke »

odonnellryan wrote: post #225
lostlogin wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there is a non mechanical way of cleaning it and instead a chemical reaction like oven cleaner. Ideally it would be something that wasn’t seemingly related to a chemical weapon but maybe that’s what it takes.

Fire, man. Just let the fire clean it. Never saw the point of wire brushes unless you're leaving food on the grill when you're done with it.

I think a lot of people don’t let their grill get hot enough. I know I have problems with cleaning my smoker racks (and my wife won’t let me run them through the dish washer) so I have to throw them on my charcoal grill when I’m heating it up.

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

#306

Post by karlkatzke »

rpenm wrote: post #300
acchow wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haven't tried, but I bet vinegar would wipe it down pretty well.

Wiping with vinegar will cause rust. You want to go the other way - alkalis will convert grease into soluble compounds without damaging the steel.

So say something like a solution of baking soda and water?

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

#307

Post by bacon_waffle »

Wow, such a surprisingly severe consequence for (mis)using an innocuous tool as a wire brush!

Incidentally, our household switched away from brushes a few years ago; we stumbled on a very quick and effective solution after dad got in to reloading. A few of the shorter 2.75" shells loaded with rock salt from the 12ga work wonders on the grill.

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

#308

Post by [deleted] »

jandrese wrote: post #245
ihsw2 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I don't want my meat to be covered in the ashes, the burnt food particles add bad flavors, ash-covered food looks unappealing, burning off hanging chunks of fat causes excess smoke, and ash-covered food is more difficult to visually measure doneness. Pre-oiling your metal grates should be done to prevent sticking and burning off excess food particles should be done to prevent build-up.

Does pre-oiling actually work? My experience with trying it once is that the oil burned off immediately and did nothing that I could discern.

[deleted]

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

#309

Post by intrasight »

luckydude wrote: post #116
intrasight wrote: post #100

I went to buy a BBQ brush last year and all they had were metal bristle brushes. I was surprised given all the bad publicity about this. Needless to say, I didn't buy a brush that day. Any recommendations for a good non-metal brush?

Just a chunk of wood works quite well. If you want to get fancy you can use a file to round out some grooves but that will happen naturally. https://www.amazon.com/Scraper-Natural-Barbecue-Non-bristles...

You reminded me that last year I used a brick and a piece of wood - combination did take off some crud. Also tried some of that chemical spray - which didn't seem to do a thin.

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

#310

Post by rpenm »

lr4444lr wrote: post #36
grandpoobah wrote: post #26

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.

Low pH cleaners are fine. Higher pH such as dishwasher detergent will strip the seasoning.
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