Poly Cutting Board BGE Table Top

NavyMatty

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?

Toxarch

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.

NPHuskerFL

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). 

slovelad

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

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.

DaveRichardson

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!!!

Mickey

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. 

MelSharples

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.

MelSharples

And thanks for your service!

Tspud1

DaveRichardson said:

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

DaveRichardson

@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!

NavyMatty

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...

theyolksonyou

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

@Tspud1 Great Tim. Now that you showed one of your table's this thread is doomed for buffalo status.   

nolaegghead

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.

DaveRichardson

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.

nolaegghead

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). 

Thatgrimguy

nolaegghead said:

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.

nolaegghead

I can see that.  Star board is pretty cheap though.  Yeah, for dough you want a smooth surface.  Granite or marble is the best.

jtcBoynton

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.