425637 Sat Jul 28 11:11:49 -0700 2007 19 41 Cookware 0 2791859 Any recommendations for good basting brushes that hold a lot of sauce or oil? I have a silicone brush that cleans up very well, but doesn't seem to hold much. I'd appreciate any experiences positive or negative with particular brands or designs. Sat Jul 28 11:11:49 -0700 2007 77061 bear 1 2792409 In the vein of "you didn't hear this from me" I will admit to buying the cheapest natural bristle paint brushes that I can find at hardware/big box stores. Usually they're two or three for a dollar instead of the wildly-pricey "gourmet store" pricing (and I figure they're the same thing). One that is 2" wide does a terrific job of holding BBQ sauce, especially when used in tandem with a Tablespoon. After use, I rinse and run them through the dishwasher; discard after a couple of trips. There are probably eighteen gazillion reasons why I'll die a long, slow painful death following this el cheapo practice, but so far, so good. Sat Jul 28 16:36:48 -0700 2007 2791859 15743 Sherri 2 2792431 Sherri, I agree 100%. I got this tip more years ago than I care to admit, from a top chef...he actually gave me my first brush...it's the only way to go!! Sat Jul 28 16:49:09 -0700 2007 2792409 112506 beccaboo 2 2793310 Yep - I've been doing the same thing for years. (I read the tip in one of my gazillion baking books.) Because they're so cheap, I buy a lot of them in different sizes and I label the handles according to their intended purpose - whether for things like BBQ sauce or brushing melted butter onto baked goods. And they work great! Sun Jul 29 07:31:29 -0700 2007 2792409 63569 flourgirl 2 2796551 You may "die a long, slow painful death following this el cheapo practice," God Forbid, but it won't be because of your el cheapo basting brushes. Mon Jul 30 11:02:18 -0700 2007 2792409 10743 yayadave 1 2793290 No personal experience with this, but I've seen ads for it and the claim is that unlike more traditional silicone basting brushes, this one is supposed to hold more sauce. Anyone tried it? http://www.cookswares.com/individual.asp?n=5991 Sun Jul 29 07:11:44 -0700 2007 2791859 11407 JoanN 2 2793311 Most silicone brushes let the liquid just fall right off. The only one with a workable design is Oxo's. Hidden behind the bristles are these thin flaps with holes in them, which hold the liquid in until you dab the meat or pastry, etc. These perforated strips work similarly to those plastic wands you find in a kid's bubbles canister. I highly recommend it. It's the first non-natural-bristle basting brush I've been happy with, and you don't find stray hairs in your food. http://www.amazon.com/Grips-Silicone-Basting-Pastry-Brush/dp/B000HD7FJ4 Sun Jul 29 07:32:41 -0700 2007 2793290 45745 wittlejosh 3 2797680 Ditto! Everything wittlejosh said! Mon Jul 30 15:43:56 -0700 2007 2793311 12813 Katie Nell 3 2797792 mrs jfood boaught jfood a silicone brush that had little globes at the end to hold the suace. jfood has been pleased with it so far and as others have stated likes the idea of dishwasher cleaning to sterilize. Mon Jul 30 16:14:05 -0700 2007 2793311 11290 jfood 3 2797892 I just got the Oxo and just used it. Love it! Holds the sauce great, and I was globbing it on. And love the easy cleanup. Mon Jul 30 16:41:46 -0700 2007 2793311 13957 slacker 4 2798960 Awesome! I had a hard time finding one with the fuzzy ends, but the Oxo should be easy to get. Tue Jul 31 04:51:50 -0700 2007 2797892 77061 bear 1 2793680 Thanks for all the replies. The oxo looks promising, since I like the idea of sterilizing in the dishwasher. What I'll do is pick up the oxo, and also some of the 2" brushes at the hardware store and give them both a go. Thanks again. Sun Jul 29 10:59:59 -0700 2007 2791859 77061 bear 2 2793967 BTW, I should have mentioned that I own silicone brushes too - it's true that most of them don't hold sauce too well, but in a cooking situation, at least they don't burn and melt like bristle brushes do. The newer versions of silicone brushes seem to have more and finer bristles - looks like they would work much better than the older versions. Sun Jul 29 13:19:33 -0700 2007 2793680 63569 flourgirl 3 2793977 You also don't find yourself picking brush bristels out of your food. I'll stick with silicone Sun Jul 29 13:23:04 -0700 2007 2793967 10285 Candy 4 2794059 I haven't had this problem with the bristle brushes I get from the hardware store. If these brushes were dropping bristles all the time, I think they would be pretty hard to sell to people to paint with. Sun Jul 29 13:50:15 -0700 2007 2793977 63569 flourgirl 5 2794206 You use them enough and it is bristles all over your food. When silcone come out. out went the bristle brushes. Sun Jul 29 15:00:06 -0700 2007 2794059 10285 Candy 6 2795737 That's why it's great to buy them so cheap - if that happens to mine I'll just toss them. But that said, I'm definitely going to add one of the newer silicone brushes to my collection. Mon Jul 30 07:52:27 -0700 2007 2794206 63569 flourgirl 3 2794069 The silicone brushes with more and finer bristles are especially good for pastry work. They not only hold more than the original Sili-type brushes, but they're more delicate than either the original silicone or the natural bristle brushes and don't tear or distort the shape of delicate doughs. Sun Jul 29 13:56:04 -0700 2007 2793967 11407 JoanN 4 2794185 Yes, I thought these looked interesting - I'm going to have to try one. Thanks! Sun Jul 29 14:48:37 -0700 2007 2794069 63569 flourgirl 1 2795698 I have two silicone brushes. One looks like a pastry brush. It's OK as a pastry brush...not superb, but it's fine for brushing butter, oil or egg on a bread or in a bundt pan. I don't do a lot of pastry so while I should probably get a better one, it's not a big deal. The other was specifically a barbecue basting brush. It has a long handle and thick bristles with a ball at the end of each one. The balls are supposed to allow it to hold more liquid, and it does seem to work quite well with any type of liquid I've used it with. I used to have a bristle paintbrush, but I felt like it got funky very quickly. Mon Jul 30 07:40:48 -0700 2007 2791859 69452 jzerocsk