We put four basting pots (which promise to make basting food on the grill easier) to the test.
Published July 1, 2013.
Basting food while grilling can be messy; a pot that holds the sauce promises to make it easier. We tried out four, all sold in sets with silicone basting brushes and priced from $11.15 to $21.95, by holding the pots while slathering barbecue sauce on chicken and olive oil on vegetables. Two pots were made of cast iron and two of stainless steel. The material proved critical: Cast iron can sit right on the grill grates, whereas stainless steel models are not heatproof. A pot that can rest on the grate is closer to the food and heats the sauce so that it can be served tableside, while a stainless steel pot is no better than a bowl if you can’t set it on the grates. One cast-iron pot had a sharp, short handle that was painful to hold. Our winner had a comfy handle, a stable shape that won’t tip, and handy pouring spouts. While its brush was slightly shorter than we liked, it slathered sauce evenly and cleaned up quickly. (Plus, our favorite longer grill basting brush, from Elizabeth Karmel’s Grill Friends, also fit the pot just fine.)
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