Good barbecue spatulas are like an extension of your arm. They’re long enough to reach every part of the grill without risk of burning your hands, but they’re short enough to be easy to use. You want them to be flexible and thin enough to get underneath food, but rigid enough so it can pick up heavier food. And, perhaps most important factor, the handle. It should be comfortable to use and so it is your go-to grilling accessory.
We took a look at all the brands of barbecue spatulas on Amazon. After choosing the top five spatulas, we put them to the test, rating each one on important categories. We looked at Handle Length, Durability, Design, and Cleanup. Once each was ranked and rated, we came up with an Overall Score that brought all of the factors together. This allowed us to pick our Pitmaster’s Choice number one in the Barbecue Spatulas category.
Depending on how much information you want, you can either see the quick review below or click on each brand for a more in-depth analysis. Once you have chosen which spatula is a good fit for your grill, all you have to do is click on the Amazon button to purchase it!
Barbecue Spatulas Review Scores
Brand | Handle Length | Durability | Design | Cleanup | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cave Tools | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 |
Brinkmann | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Char-Broil | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Weber | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 |
OXO | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Cave Tools Grill Spatula with Bottle Opener
The Cave Tools BBQ spatula with built in bottle opener is made from super heavy duty stainless steel, which is 20% thicker than the average steel used for BBQ tools. This means it won’t bend or break when flipping even the largest pieces of meat. This grill spatula is about 17” long, depending on whether you count the hanging loop. I could tell it was good quality as soon as I felt the weight, this isn’t some flimsy piece of kitchenware. It also has a a serrated edge for cutting, which I found worked very well and isn’t just a gimmick. I can also confirm the bottle opener works as it should, and actually looks pretty cool after a little practice.
This item comes with access to some online recipes and tutorials if you are just starting out, and the usual stainless steel-clad, lifetime, money back satisfaction guarantee you’ll find with Cave Tools products. So, beginner or old hand, this is the grilling turner your looking for.
Brinkmann BBQ Spatula
This barbecue turner is obviously a budget model, you can tell that as soon as you use it. The design is simple, probably stamped from a single sheet of steel and then shaped. The hardwood handles seem almost an afterthought, and don’t actually cover all the metal. It works well enough as a grilling spatula of course, it has a shaped tip for slipping under your burgers, and a long handle to keep your hands away from the flames. But it’s no good for much else, particularly heavier pieces of meat.
Whether you put this grill spatula in the dishwasher is really up to you. Neither the manufacturer nor myself would recommend it, as wood and hot water don’t mix, but I know people who do wash this sort of item and get away with it. Otherwise it can be washed with warm, soapy water and dried thoroughly.
Overall, if you only flip a few burgers once in a while this BBQ turner is fine. If you want more features and a better design for your spatula you’d be better off looking at other products.
Char-Broil Aspire Grilling Spatula
It feels ok in the hand, and is fairly sturdy, if not the heaviest on the market. The handle isn’t the best shape, but it doesn’t slip even if your hands are greasy. The metal part of the BBQ spatula goes a good distant up the inside of the handle, so there’s little chance of it separating with use. The words “bent wire” come to mind when looking at the hanging loop. And of course it does what it’s designed to do, which is flip burgers. It can be a bit tricky to turn larger items, and getting under anything that’s even a little stuck will result in ripped food.
Overall, I found this spatula a bit outdated, a bit like holding on to one of those huge CRT TVs. There’s nothing wrong with it as such, it functions as a grill turner, but the modern ones are just so much better. There’s so much choice out there now, and for less money, there are very few reasons at all to buy one of these.
Original Weber Spatula
Personally, I’ve never had an issue with using a normal Weber turner on most grills, so I’m not convinced the extra bend in the handle has any use, although it might be an advantage when using particularly deep grills. The best feature of this barbecue spatula is the design of the head, which tapers to a thin edge, rather than being shaped only at the tip. This makes sliding the spatula under food very easy, even if it’s got stuck. It’s also long and quite wide, which makes confident handling of larger burgers and steaks quick and easy.
Another issue is the after BBQ clean up. Weber themselves don’t recommend putting their items in the dishwasher, but say they should be washed by hand. I know some people do put then on the top shelf of the dishwasher, but if the manufacturer doesn’t say it’s safe, then I wouldn’t do it.
OXO Grill Turner
This BBQ turner feels solid but isn’t too heavy, and the soft grip of the Good Grips range works as advertised. It’s comfortable in the hand, doesn’t slip when greasy or wet, and always stays cool even if you have it in the grill for a while. It’s large enough and sturdy enough to handle larger burgers and steaks. The serrated edge is pretty sharp, and works as it should, and is useful for checking the meat is cooked inside, etc. The Good Grips products range has actually won a design award from the Arthritis Foundation, that’s how good some people think it is.
This Product Is Ranked as the #1 Pitmaster’s Choice In The Barbecue Spatulas Category
