It's Time to Throw out That Bristle BBQ Brush

#AskCoreySax

According to the CBC, “Canadian surgeons are urging people to throw out wire-bristled barbecue brushes, because none of them have figured out a surefire way of removing the wires when they get stuck in people’s throats.” Sharp wires on these brushes can cling onto food and barbecue grills, possibly causing damage to throats and epiglottis if swallowed.

Whenever you’re looking to clean your BBQ, there are a lot of options out there to work with. You don’t have to rely on just bristles for your BBQ cleaning needs, as there are a lot of natural and man-made solutions to choose from. People have talked about the dangers of cleaning bristles for quite a while now, there are horrific tales of people swallowing pieces of the bristle and having it get stuck in their throat. It’s definitely a process you’d want to avoid, as removing a sharp and pointy piece of metal from your throat isn’t exactly fun. Not only that, but after you’ve swallowed them, the very small size that they sport is going to make it even harder to find. It’s such a problem, that surgeons are even recommending that you completely avoid using cleaning bristles altogether.

Today, we’re going to take a look at some alternatives to cleaning bristles. Some of them are going to be of the natural variety, whereas others are just going to seem downright silly. Don’t worry though, they’re all legitimate solutions to your cleaning bristle issues! If you want to make sure that your BBQ process is safe and seamless, you’ll want to look into the many bristle brush alternatives that we have available.

Using an Onion – No, seriously! You can use an onion to clean up your BBQ. It doesn’t clean nearly as well as brush does, but it still does a relatively great job; and you need not worry about accidentally swallowing one of those tiny pieces of metal. Not only that, but it also helps add a little bit of onion flavor to your BBQ dishes! Simply chop the onion in half and move it around your grill with the tongs (or whatever else you may be using). There are other vegetables and such that can be used, such as a potato or even a yam; it’s all a matter of preference, I suppose!

Tinfoil – Tinfoil is actually a decent solution as well. When you crumple up tin foil and move it around the grill, it gives you a sense of gratitude – you’ll be bale to see the gunk coming off with every single stroke. When you’re at a BBQ, odds are, you’ll always have access to tin foil and tongs of some sort. That’s why is so common to see this practice put into place.

Going Bristleless – There are cleaning brushes out there that don’t incorporate any sort of bristle, which is something you can look out for. As opposed to bristles, the brush itself is just composed of steel which is coiled incredibly tightly. Professional chefs swear by crumpled tinfoil, but only if a bristleless brush isn’t around; it’s just the best way to get your BBQ as clean as possible.

Why Has It Become a Problem?