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If you’ve ever tried to work over a hot grill using a standard pair of oven mitts instead of the best grilling gloves, you know that it doesn’t go very well. There are a lot of grilling-related tasks that are difficult, if not impossible, without the full use of your fingers: adjusting hot grill grates, moving cooked proteins from grill to cutting board and trying to slice them, and pulling metal grill baskets off the fire, to name a few. The surefire solution for this is a pair of the best grilling gloves you can get.
A good pair of grill gloves should give you the ability to operate around a searing-hot grate as if you are some lesser character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose one and only power is touching hot metal. But that is a power you shouldn’t dismiss. Being able to comfortably handle a grill’s heat makes the whole process smoother and choosing to forgo protective gear is downright dangerous.
Our top pick is Weber’s pair of Premium Gloves. They offer a slick, safe choice for grillers that feel as comfortable as a pair of mid-weight winter gloves. Skip down to read our full review of the Weber gloves.
For more on how we tested the grill gloves and which ones left our hands feeling scorched, scroll further down.Table of contents:
Best for Barbecue: Grill Armor Gloves Waterproof Oven Gloves An outer layer of food-grade neoprene makes Grill Armor’s gloves not only heat resistant but also stain resistant and highly waterproof.
Do I need grill gloves? I already have a pair of oven gloves
We actually included a pair of Ove Gloves in our testing to see how they compare to gloves designed specifically as grilling tools and there are two reasons to own both. The first reason is that glove-style oven mitts like the Ove Glove tend to lack the long cuffs good grilling gloves have. That means that if you use them over a hot grill or open fire there is a real possibility of singeing some arm hair. The Weber gloves that came out on top in our testing, for example, had cuffs that came well up the forearm.
The other reason is cleanliness. Outdoor cooking is a messy business, especially if you’re using charcoal or wood, and we think you’ll be happier if you aren’t using the same gloves to take bread out of the oven that you’re getting covered in charcoal when moving chimney starters around. Using the same pair of gloves in the kitchen and at the grill will require a frequent and intense cleaning regimen.
Best Grilling Gloves Overall: Weber Premium Gloves
If you’ve read our other grilling reviews this is the point where you go “Weber again? Really?” Yes, really. Like a number of the Weber grills that we’ve ranked highly in the past, these gloves are not particularly flashy, though they do have a cool black-on-black “could be used in a bank robbery” thing going for them. According to Weber, it really is just the thickness of the cotton that provides most of the protection from the heat. Of all the gloves we tested, they felt the most natural—the most like an extension of our hands. They feature a fairly long cuff that reached far enough up our arms to be effective, but not so long as to make it hard to move our hands. It was easy to grip hot grill grates, move chimneys of charcoal, and hold delicate, falling-off-the-bone ribs steady for slicing without crushing them.
They didn’t come out at the very top of our high-heat-resilience test, but they were pretty close, especially considering how much dexterity they offered. We subjected them to heat much higher than the 482°F Weber lists as their heat resistance. They protected our hands both while adding wood to a smoldering fire and while gripping a heavy cast-iron pan. Still, repeated long-term exposure to the kinds of 600°F (or over) heat we used will probably wear down the silicone nonslip grips.What we didn’t like about the Weber Premium gloves
Some commenters on Weber’s site complained that the gloves were too big. Our testers didn’t have particularly large hands and didn’t find an issue with the L/XL size, but we could see issues for someone with much smaller hands. And even though Weber lists dimensions for a S/M size, they currently don’t seem to offer them for purchase. Also, these are hand-wash only, so keep them away from the washing machine.
Sizes: S/M (unavailable at the time of writing), L/XLMaterial: Cotton with silicone gripsMachine washable: No
BBQ Gloves – Best Heat Resistant BBQ Gloves
FAQ
Should you wear gloves when grilling?
Can I use welding gloves for grilling?
What are the Best Grill gloves?
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. When it comes to fabric gloves, the best out there is Grill Armor. Made with aramid fibers, the gloves can withstand heat levels as high as 932ºF. This is way hotter than any normal grill or smoker can ever get.
Do you need a grill gloves?
So if your hand comes in contact with the grid or hot grill you will not be terribly burned. In addition to that, if you have an open fire, a pair of gloves will be indispensable for dealing with hot charcoal or adjusting logs. Finally, BBQ or grill gloves can be used to handle meat straight off the grill, even professionals use these gloves.
Are grill gloves heat resistant?
Continuing on with our list, we have the extreme heat resistant grill gloves by Grill Heat Aid. As the name suggests, these gloves can withstand a maximum temperature of 932 F while still allowing you to move with dexterity and ease while wearing them.
Can you use leather gloves on a grill?
Leather can do its best by handling the hottest parts of your grill, moving hot tools and pans, or even shoving flaming logs into fire pits. Leather gloves are very thick and insulate the hands well. However, they are not the best option when handling hot food since they are not as dexterous to use.