To cook a perfect meal on the grill, it is vital to have the right tools at your disposal. You can buy the best veggies or cuts of meat and have the best grill, but if you don’t have a spatula to flip those hot meats and veggies, all will be lost in vain.
It is essential to have a good spatula to move around and flip the grilled food, but what would be a good spatula to use on a grill?
Can you use plastic spatula on grill? We cannot use a plastic spatula on a grill as the plastic would melt due to the burning heat inside the grill. Once the spatula touches the iron bars inside the grill, it will start to melt.
There are many alternatives to using a plastic spatula while grilling food. Along with the spatula, you need a few other essentials too.
What Can You Use A Plastic Spatula For?
You can use a plastic spatula while cooking food in a pot, especially if you like cooking in non-stick pans. You can also use it while making soups and sauces. However, you cannot use it on a grill since it is highly that the plastic spatula will get melted.
When your plastic spatula melts, it will spoil the food you are grilling and the grill. It will be a difficult task to rid the grill of all the melted plastic.
How Can You Remove Melted Plastic From The Grill?
When using a plastic spatula on the grill, the high temperature will melt the plastic and stick to the iron bars. This will also spoil the food that is being cooked on the grill.
The best way to get rid of the melted plastic stuck on the grill is to burn that part again and scrap it off using a metal tool. Burning it more helps liquefy the plastic on the grill, making it easier to clean.
If it helps you feel more hygienic, you can remove the grill after scraping off the melted plastic and give it a good wash to remove any trace of it.
Should You Worry If Melted Plastic Gets Mixed With The Coals?
Using good-quality coal is essential to cooking up a good grilled meal. The smokiness from the burning coal adds an aromatic flavor to the food. However, if you use a plastic spatula on the grill, it might melt and fall on the hot coal.
The plastic will then mix with the coal and give out a potent smell, the aroma of which can get mixed with the food. This will affect the appeal of the food and might also alter the taste.
If this happens, it is advisable not to indulge in the food as it may upset your stomach.
What Are The Alternatives For A Plastic Spatula?
There are a couple of spatulas made from other materials that can be used on a grill. Plastic spatulas are not ideal for grills as they will melt once they touch the burning grill bars.
Choosing your spatula can be pretty confusing, as it also depends on whether you are having a late cook-out or just a simple grilling session for a single meal.
Here are a couple of alternatives that you can choose from apart from the plastic spatulas.
- Stainless Steel Spatulas
The most common spatula for all kinds of cooking is the stainless-steel spatula. It will not affect the food, nor will it melt.
Most of these stainless steel spatulas have a slim edge that effortlessly flips cuts of meat and veggies. Using a steel spatula will help you pick up your food without disintegrating it.
However, it would help if you remembered to purchase a spatula that is a good conductor of heat. If you buy a whole steel spatula, it will get heated and burn your hands when you grab it.
The best option is to buy spatulas with handles covered with silicone, rubber, plastic, or wood. The silicone handles are soft and comfortable, whereas those with plastic handles cost less.
Rubber handles have a good grip and are cushy, and wooden handles are easy to hold and conduct zero heat.
- Wooden Spatulas
Wooden spatulas are also a great option if you don’t want to use plastic or steel spatulas. Wood is a good conductor of heat, so it will not melt or heat the handle.
If you are grilling food at very high temperatures, it is good to use wooden spatulas as even steel spatulas heat up fast at high temperatures. When steel spatulas heat up, your palm will get burnt if they do not have handles made of other materials.
So, it is not surprising to see wooden spatulas suitable for grilling sessions. However, it is advisable not to keep the wooden spatula on top of the grill for an extended period as it might catch fire if the coal burns with high heat.
What Are The Tools Required For Grilling?
Grilling good food takes good ingredients and using proper timings to flip and switch sides. However, to make your grill session a success, you must have a few necessary tools to assist your grilling skills.
Let us look at some of the few tools that are required for grilling.
- Grilling Spatula: Get a metal or a wooden grilling spatula to help you flip your meats and veggies and move the cooked food to the plates.
- Tongs: Tongs are very efficient in picking up veggies and seafood like lobsters, crabs, etc., from the grill.
- Skewers: Skewers are a must when you want to grill smaller cuts of meat, sausages, etc. It is more convenient to skewer and grill them.
- Coal: Coal is the main essence of grilling. If you have good-quality coal, your road to making great food is half done.
Final Verdict
You cannot use plastic spatulas on a grill as they will melt due to the high temperature of the grill. There is a chance that the melted plastic will get mixed with the food, which is unhealthy and dangerous.
To avoid such a disaster, one can use a stainless steel spatula with rubber, silicone, wooden, or plastic handles. A wooden spatula is another alternative as wood is a great conductor of heat.