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Stainless vs silicone BBQ tongs: steel grate or pan

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are choosing the part that touches the food, and the basket has mixed two jobs. A stainless head belongs on an open barbecue grate. A soft tip belongs on a non-stick pan, where steel would scratch the coating and where the heat is a hob, not a bed of coals. The two long steel roles are on [best barbecue tongs](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tongs/sub/barbecue-tongs-best). The rows themselves are the [barbecue tongs comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tongs). Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings captured on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing the part that touches the food, and the basket has mixed two jobs. A stainless head belongs on an open barbecue grate.

Our top picks

Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)

Best overall

Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)
7.6/10about £11.26
View offer
DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)

Best value

DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)
7.4/10about £7.99
View offer
ZHIYE ZHIYE (four 9 in)

Rank 3

ZHIYE ZHIYE (four 9 in)
4.5/10about £11.01
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Steel heads on the grate
  2. 2.Soft tips and their ceilings
  3. 3.When the title says silicone and the reviews say plastic
  4. 4.Handles are a separate choice

Steel heads on the grate

The long pairs in this set are steel: Weber 6317 at about 40 cm and £11.26, the DAILY KISN 17 inch pair at £7.99, and the HE-SANQI 17 inch title at £8.99. Hotec and Extodry are also stainless at the tips, with silicone or oak on the handle. A silicone strip on the grip does not make the tong a silicone-tip tong. Length, and how you move charcoal, is on charcoal BBQ tongs length. Zwilling's UK notes put 18/10 steel on the high-heat side and silicone on the coated-pan side. A bullet that says 430 stainless is a grade the seller named. It is not the same claim as 18/10, and it is not a certificate.

Soft tips and their ceilings

Zwilling lists Staub silicone tongs at 31 cm for about 220°C, at £14.95, and says they are not oven safe. Other silicone tongs on that site state about 230°C, at about 27–31 cm. The ZHIYE listing copies that kind of number: four 9 inch tongs, 28 cm, about 230°C, a warning to avoid high temperatures, and a dishwasher field of no, at £11.01. If the tips were soft silicone, they would still be a pan and salad tong.
Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)

Testsieger

Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)
7.6/10about £11.26
View offer

When the title says silicone and the reviews say plastic

ZHIYE is the worked example, because the title and the UK reviews disagree. Some buyers use the colours to keep raw food off a cooked utensil, which is a fair kitchen habit. The star line is 4.3 from 2,302 reviews, so this is not one unhappy order. If you press the tip and it feels like a hard bead rather than a soft sleeve, you have the thing the reviews describe. The dishwasher field says no. Photos compress the difference between a soft sleeve and a hard moulded end.

Handles are a separate choice

Weber 6317 and Hotec put silicone on the grip and stainless steel on the end that holds the food. DAILY KISN uses anti-slip strips. Those strips slow heat if the tong brushes the grate. They do not change how the steel tips treat a coated pan. Extodry's two tongs, 9 inch and 12 inch at £9.97, have oak grips that reviews like when the metal is hot, and a dishwasher field the reviews dispute. A steel pair around 40 cm stays with the grate. A short soft-tip pair stays with the pans, after you have checked that the tip is actually soft.

Common questions

Which head for a charcoal grate?
A stainless steel head. The long tongs in this comparison are steel for that reason. Soft tips with a 220–230°C kitchen rating are the wrong tool to rest over coals. Keep the steel tong on a side tray between turns so the handle does not heat through. If you only own a silicone or plastic pair, use it in the kitchen.
Which head for a non-stick pan?
A soft tip, used under the temperature the maker states. Zwilling's Staub silicone tongs are the clear UK example: 31 cm, about 220°C, not oven safe, £14.95. Steel heads in this barbecue set will mark a coating. A hard plastic tip will not give you the soft face you wanted.
Will silicone melt on the barbecue?
It can fail if you leave it on the grate, because the silicone ceilings on the UK maker pages used here are about 220–230°C for kitchen tongs, not a coal-bed rating. This comparison did not melt a pair in a lab. Keep those tongs off the fire. A seller who prefers steel because silicone can shed is stating a preference, not a measured melt point for every brand.
What temperature is a real silicone rating?
Use a maker figure that names the model. Staub's 31 cm silicone tongs are about 220°C. Some other Zwilling-group silicone tongs state about 230°C. ZHIYE's bullet says about 230°C and also says to avoid high temperatures. DAILY KISN's above 315°C and Extodry's 900°C are seller lines about the steel they are promoting. Do not merge those numbers into one scale.
Why do reviews say the tips are plastic?
On the ZHIYE file, UK reviewers say the tips are hard plastic, press-fitted, and poor at gripping, while the title says silicone. The sample is 4.3 from 2,302 reviews, with locks that jam and at least one falls apart title. That is a product mismatch, not proof that every silicone tong is plastic. If the tip is rigid, use it for salad and serving.
Does steel scratch a grill pan?
Yes if the pan is coated or non-stick. That is why a steel barbecue tong and a soft pan tong are different tools. A bare cast-iron pan is a different surface. When the pan is coated, leave the Weber or DAILY KISN pair outside.
Is a wood handle the same choice as a silicone tip?
No. Extodry's oak grips are handles on stainless heads. They change how the tool feels when it is hot, and they change how you wash it. They do not soften the end that touches a non-stick pan. A silicone strip on Weber or Hotec is the same kind of decision: comfort at the hand, steel at the food. Silicone tips remain outside the plastics list in Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, and they remain food-contact articles under Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004.

Related pages

Barbecue tongs buying guide

Barbecue tongs

Best barbecue tongs UK: Weber 6317 or the £7.99 pair

Charcoal BBQ tongs length: about 40 cm on a kettle

How to use BBQ tongs: turn once, then wash the raw pair

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used with the amazon.co.uk listing figures in the display file. Page date 21 October 2026.

  1. FSA: BBQ food safety (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. FSA: common BBQ blunders (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. NHS: burns and scalds (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: fire safety outdoors (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Weber UK: tongs 6317 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Joseph Joseph UK: essential BBQ tools (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Food Standards Scotland: cleaning (retrieved 21 October 2026)