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- There's nothing like food cooked up al fresco and served hot off the grill. But only a thoroughly cleaned grill can properly cook smoky, savory meats and veggies that diners will devour.
- The Kona 360° Grill Brush is our top choice because its triple coil design allows it to scour large swathes of the grill with each pass, cleaning the surface on top and bottom.
In my household, the grilling season never ends. I've cooked Christmas roasts in 18-degree temperatures and flipped burgers and dogs on 100-degree days. I've huddled under an umbrella to flame broil fillets during springtime downpours and grilled up sandwiches while braving autumn gusts. I also, at times, cook outside in perfectly pleasant weather, mind you.
Whether you are a year-round barbecue enthusiast or a seasonal grill master, you have to clean your grill each and every time you use it if you want your foods to taste their best and to be reliably safe to eat. That's right, grill cleaning is about more than preparing a crisp, handsome cook surface that easily releases foods during flips and serving, it's a food safety issue. That's why we've rounded up the best grill brushes and cleaning tools you can buy.
The black residue that builds up on the cooking surface of your grill contains carcinogens that can have serious health risk implications if transferred to your food. Consumption of carcinogens can even contribute to the growth of cancer, so scraping all that black stuff off before you cook is a must. The bits of food left over after a previous grilling session can also be an issue beyond the aesthetic and sensory. Bacteria can develop on foodstuffs left to molder o the grill, so scrape those bars and grates clean after each grilling session. And again before the next cookout, just for good measure.
Properly cleaning your grill also helps preserve the hardware by preventing corrosion and rust, which present still more health risks, of course. And finally, food tastes better and is easier to handle when it is prepared on a clean grill. Unless you like the idea of last week's burger grease blending with this week's chicken breast, or bits of last month's shrimp kebabs seasoning this afternoon's veggie patties, you need to clean the grill.
When you use any of the fine grill cleaning tools on our list, you'll have that grill top as clean as new in no time, ready to prepare safe, tasty eats of all kinds. As for choosing which grill-cleaning tool is right for you, think about the type of grill, the types of foods you prepare, and the amount of elbow grease you want to exert. Which, for the record, will be required at least to some degree. You won't find any electric grill brushes on this list. I've used three different models of motor-powered grill brush over the years, and I've found each less than half as effective as a good old hand-held, human-powered scouring tool.
You can also check out our guides to the best charcoal for grilling and the best charcoal grills.
Here are the best grill brushes you can buy in 2019:
- Best grill brush overall: Kona 360° Grill Brush
- Best grill brush and scraper for stubborn residue: BBQ-Aid Grill Brush and Scraper
- Best low-cost grill brush: Room Essentials Tough Brush
- Best cleaning tool for charcoal grills: Charcoal Companion Safe Scrape Non-Bristle Cleaning Tool
- Best grill cleaning brick: KegWorks Grill Cleaning Brick
Updated on 04/23/2019 by Les Shu: Updated prices, links, and formatting. Added related grilling guides.
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