The best grill brush we tested
Best grill brush: Kona BBQ Grill Brush
Whether you’re whipping up cheeseburgers or slow-cooking ribs basted in barbecue sauce, grilling on your charcoal grill can get messy. Cleaning your grill after each use is key to ensuring your grill is well maintained and that you’re eliminating any potentially harmful leftover burned bits from your last cookout.
If you’re wondering how to clean a grill quickly and easily, then the most important thing to know is that using a grill brush is the best way to go. But not all grill brushes are created equal: Some come with replaceable head attachments for different-sized grill grates while others use steam cleaning to get the job done.
Because using a wire brush to clean a grill could be hazardous due to bristles breaking off, we rounded up 6 top-rated non-wire grill brushes, testing them to find the one that cleans best. After testing, we named the Kona BBQ Grill Brush our top pick because it was the most effective and safest way to clean our grills.
The Kona BBQ Grill Brush features a large, durable stainless steel brush head that effectively and safely cleaned our hot grill using steam cleaning. The large surface area of its brush head made for faster cleaning, and it didn’t leave behind any bristles on our grill grates either. Be sure to use code, CNNDEAL2024, to score 20% off now through September 9th.
Best grill brush: Kona BBQ Grill Brush
The Kona BBQ Grill Brush features a strong stainless steel brush head that, according to the manufacturer, works best when first dipped in water and then used on a hot grill. This proved true in our testing as we first dipped the brush in water and then watched as steam rose as we cleaned the hot grill surface; the wet brush melted away any leftover food or gunk on the grill.
The solid brush head also meant that no bristles, wire bits, food or any residue from the tool was left behind on our grill. The surface area of the brush head is fairly large so it didn’t take long to clean our grill surface. It also features a longer handle than most brushes we tested, so we could clean our grill while it was still hot. In our testing, we found this to be hands down the most effective brush to clean our grills.
How we tested
After scouring online user reviews and product specs, we chose six top-rated non-wire grill brushes to test. Next, we spent several weeks grilling up our favorite foods.
- Testing surfaces: We used several different types of grills in our testing: a three-burner Weber Spirit Gas Grill, which features a flat, cast-iron grate; and traditional charcoal kettle grills, which feature either stainless steel grates or porcelain-coated wire grates.
- Grilling process: We first grilled dozens of burgers and chicken leg quarters. After that, we decided the grills just weren’t messy enough. So, for our final test, we slathered racks of ribs with barbecue sauce and let them do their thing on our grills.
- Brush performance: We then cleaned the grills with each brush several times to see how effectively they cleaned the different types of cooking grates. Each brush had a unique way of cleaning the grill. One brush required dipping it in water first to create steam on a hot grill while others required we wipe down the grill after cleaning it due to the residue they left behind.
Other grill brushes we tested
We found the Char-Broil Safer Nylon Bristle Grill Brush cleaned our grill well, but because of the material of the bristles, it can only be used on a cooled grill surface. The brush features lab-tested, extra-long red nylon bristles, which work well when cleaning. But they held on to gunk from our grill when we were finished. To ensure we weren’t making a mess on any surfaces once we were finished, and to avoid gunky buildup, this grill brush required thorough cleaning after each use.
The Cuisinart BBQ Wood Grill Scraper is a solid piece of beechwood that we rubbed along our grill to try to clean it. It should have, in theory, molded itself to fit into the exact grooves of our grill grate. However, while testing this several times over a few weeks, we barely made a dent in the wood. The scraper is noticeably larger than the other grill brushes we tested, and the gunk from our grill stuck to the bottom of the paddle. All in all, we found this contender to be the least effective cleaning tool we tested on our grills.
The EarthStone Grill Cleaning Block we tested didn’t come with a handle, which meant we needed to hold it in our hands while cleaning our grill. It could be used on both warm and cold grill surfaces, but since our hand was very close to the cooking grate, we would not advise using this on your grill until it’s cooled down. The stone cleaned well and removed gunk but left a white residue on the grill surface and our hand. The company says its stone is made from “recycled material” that is nontoxic and chemical-free. You can purchase an Earthstone cleaning block with a handle, which we’d highly recommend.
The Better Grillin’ Scrubbin’ Stone is a cleaning block that can be used to clean either warm or cold grills, which is nice to have for those who don’t immediately clean after cooking. The brand says its brush is made of recycled, heated glass, and that the stone is non-toxic and chemical-free. The one we tested came with a handle, which is a nice upgrade from the Earthstone Grill Cleaning Block above. However, this stone requires the extra step of wiping off residue on the grill after cleaning it. But if you’re comfortable doing that, this is an effective tool to clean your grill.