Articles

By Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinic Coordinator

Q. I just purchased a grill. Anything I need to know?

A. In most cases, the grill’s grates are made of metal (e.g., stainless steel, cast iron, chrome, steel), and, on occasion, they will be made from porcelain enamel (which is glass fused to steel).  In those cases, the grates require tevillah in a mikvah, and a bracha is recited, since they come in direct contact with the food and are made of a material which requires tevillah.  If the (metal) grates are coated with Teflon, or another material which does not require tevillah, then perform tevillah without a bracha.  [If the grill was previously used by someone who does not keep kosher, it must be kashered before tevillah.  The procedure for kashering a grill is beyond the scope of this article.]

Grill boards are slabs of wood that you place on the grates, and then the food is placed on the grill board (instead of directly on the grate).  In many cases, the grill boards are just simple wood without any additives, which, nonetheless, add flavor to the food, based on the source of the wood (e.g., hickory); in that case, there is no need for hashgachah on the grill board.  Similar advice applies to charcoal: most charcoal is made simply from wood and does not contain additives which are kosher-sensitive.  However, there are exceptions to this rule, and it is worth paying attention to the details and description given on the package.

It is well-known that if a utensil was used for (hot) meat, it cannot be used for dairy, and vice versa, because absorbed ta’am/taste from the meat will become mixed into the dairy.  That means that if you use the grill for hamburgers, you cannot then use the same barbecue for corn smeared with butter.  That halacha does not apply to utensils used for meat and fish, and, therefore, you can grill tuna steaks today and hot dogs tomorrow using the same grates, utensils, etc.  However, that is only true regarding absorbed ta’am but does not apply if there is any residue of meat (or fish) on the utensil.  Accordingly, after you broil fish, you will have to scrub all parts of the grill to make sure no pieces of fish remain before you grill meat, and the same cleaning will be needed between meat and fish preparation.

In this context it is worth noting that Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovies, a type of fish, and, at first glance, that means that it cannot be used on meat.  In certain brands, so few anchovies are used that they are batel b’shishim, and, according to many Poskim, that means that the sauce can be used with meat.  Hashgachos who take that position will mark the sauce as being “pareve” and will only mark the sauce as “fish” when the amount of anchovies is so great that it is not batel b’shishim and all agree that it cannot be used on meat.

This article first appeared in the Let’s Talk Kashrus column, Yated Ne’eman, May 9, 2025.