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Poly Cutting Board BGE Table Top

Hello all...  I'm currently deployed but have used some of my down-time to start brainstorming my XL BGE table design for when I return next month.  Right now my XL is sitting in a nest.  I was thinking about a simple table design with the egg on one side and about an equal size counter on the other.  The idea I have is to get a custom cut HDPE cutting board (maybe even in green) for the entire top of the table (with a circular cut-out for the egg).  I think I'd use a slightly larger air gap than recommended for a wood top.  According to the manufacturer, it can handle 185F (in a dishwasher).  This would give me a food-safe NSF top, easy to clean, and no worries about dulling my knives on it.  Plus, it would be a great surface for rolling out pizzas.  Has anyone else done this?  What are your thoughts?

Comments

  • Toxarch
    Toxarch Posts: 1,900
    Outside tables get dirty. I love the table I built for my BGE but I wouldn't roll dough straight on it. It's under a covered porch and it doesn't take long to get a layer of dirt on it. If it were inside, then I'd be fine with it. Also my table is a yellow pine color. The grease splatter from cooks are all around the egg cutout, even after cleaning. Might stand out a lot more on a white cutting board table top.
    Aledo, Texas
    Large BGE
    KJ Jr.

    Exodus 12:9 KJV
    Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited December 2015
    Welcome. Thank you for your service. Former USN. 
    I don't "roll" my dough on pizza dough.  Other doughs yes. And I use my table prep (NSF) area for everything. I always sanitize the surface first of course.  That said I don't have experience with the material you listed other than as a cutting board. Having said that I don't see why you couldn't. Dough work is easier on a smooth surface. That material tends to get grainy/gritty from my experience in comm kitchens (due to knife work). 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • slovelad
    slovelad Posts: 1,742
    I would use wood or some other material for the side the egg is on. I know it's going to be expensive for a cutout that big for cutting board, so you don't wnat to risk it. The egg putts off way more than 180 degrees on the outside, and I would be willing to guess it would melt the board.

    same reason people shy away from using recycled plastic decking for the tops.

    but then again... If you do it... And it holds up... You will have opened up a whole new table idea
  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,722
    edited December 2015
    Those cutting boards are a gritty surface and will stay dirty. Outside you really want a solid surface. The dirt that will collect anywhere you have drug your knife. I really don't recommend this. I have a fish cleaning station outside with that material and it's a PITA to keep clean. Dough would stick like a mother, so no pizza for sure. 


     I have granite in my outdoor kitchen and I have to go through a pretty rigorous cleaning regiman anytime I plan to roll dough outside. It's NASTY and I use it every single week. This is covered. 

    Plus, anytime you do accidently set a hot platesetter or grid on your countertop... you want something that won't melt.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
  • There is a company here in Atlanta, Granite Solutions, that does countertop resurfacing with thin slabs of granite that simply cover your existing countertops, giving the look of solid granite, at a much lower price.  Why not do something like that?

    FYI - I am no way affiliated with this company, but have been eyeballing them for this exact same reason!!!

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Why not keep your Egg in the nest and build the table (roll around). The table would be easy to cover (if you wanted) and could be moved anywhere as to need on patio. 
    I much prefer not having my Eggs tied into a table. 

    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • I would suggest notching out an area where you could insert a cutting board when needed. That way you don't put undo wear and tear on the surface of the board and you can remove it to more easily clean it. Also, instead of having a board custom cut why not go to Restaurant Depot or some other restaurant supply house and see what the largest stock size they have is and use that for your cut out measurement.  Less expensive that way and easy to replace when the cutting board gets too beat up. I believe the last one I bought was 20"x24", maybe larger. Hell, you could also get a piece of wooden cutting board in the same size for rolling dough on. Basically an interchangeable system for whatever your working on for that particular cook.
    LBGE 2015 - Atlanta
  • And thanks for your service!
    LBGE 2015 - Atlanta
  • Tspud1
    Tspud1 Posts: 1,486
    edited December 2015
    There is a company here in Atlanta, Granite Solutions, that does countertop resurfacing with thin slabs of granite that simply cover your existing countertops, giving the look of solid granite, at a much lower price.  Why not do something like that?

    FYI - I am no way affiliated with this company, but have been eyeballing them for this exact same reason!!!

    Something like this
  • @Tspud1 - EXACTLY!!!!  That's my vision for one of my table ideas!  Maybe one day down the road I can get one of your tables, but having that ability to skin the top to match what you have inside in the kitchen would be cool!

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

  • Thanks everyone for the great feedback... Points well taken. The issue with keeping it clean is something I wasn't tracking... the restaurant depot "biggest board you can find" idea is probably what I'll go with... May even see about swapping one out with a wooden one. My goal was a solid surface without any nooks and crannies for stuff to fall into. Granite/Quartz is pretty pricey, but would be the nicer alternative. More to follow if I follow through with my idea...
  • Welcome, thanks for your service. 

    Im with @mickey on this. I hate my table. It's nasty, the wood stains, etc,etc... 
    Im headed toward a nest with side table. 
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    @Tspud1 Great Tim. Now that you showed one of your table's this thread is doomed for buffalo status. :tongue: :lol: 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I don't understand why everyone is so freaked out by a cutting surface that's outside. It's a cutting board if it's inside, outside, in a cave, in space...wherever.

    I guess I'm suppose to say thanks for your service to be polite when I talk to military people I don't know?  I don't understand that...and we're about as military as it gets (not me but our families).  Anyway, any etiquette advise in this area would be appreciated.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • I think that people are more concerned over the surface getting knicked up by using it as a cutting board and then all the little bugs out there getting entrenched in the surface.  And most of those are pretty hard to keep clean once they get in that shape.

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    If the surface gets a bit nicked up it can be restored by sanding it.  My point is why does it matter where the cutting board is?  You can wipe it down, sterilize it just the same with some vinegar or whatever, hell, even hose it down (it's outside, right?).  So the question is: would someone regret having a cutting board top outside?  "I really regret I did that".  At the worst, they would stop using it.  At best, they have that option.  What would cavemen do?  (ask Fred for that answer). 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,722
    If the surface gets a bit nicked up it can be restored by sanding it.  My point is why does it matter where the cutting board is?  You can wipe it down, sterilize it just the same with some vinegar or whatever, hell, even hose it down (it's outside, right?).  So the question is: would someone regret having a cutting board top outside?  "I really regret I did that".  At the worst, they would stop using it.  At best, they have that option.  What would cavemen do?  (ask Fred for that answer). 
    I don't regret having my cutting board outside at my fish cleaning station. I would however regret spending hundreds on a custom entire table built out of it next to a hot surface where I can't easily sterilize it and then finding out I can't roll pizza on it as soon as I use it as a cutting board.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I can see that.  Star board is pretty cheap though.  Yeah, for dough you want a smooth surface.  Granite or marble is the best.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    I like having a landing zone next to the grill. It needs to be able to handle hot items.  A board that melts at lower temps is not what I would want.  
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.