OT Griddle Cooktop and food allergies

Surveyor_Egg

With all the Blackstone posts, I was wondering if anyone who has a griddle cooktop have any experience with keeping the top clear of food allergies.  One of my kids is allergic to 7 of the top 8 allergens (peanut, treenut, egg, milk, soy, sesame and wheat).  I keep my gasser and my large egg clear of all these, all the time.  In looking at the griddles, some of what I want to cook on it will be food that he can't eat or we will be heading to an ER within 15-20 minutes.  I was mostly wondering about once it has been seasoned, can you get it clean enough to get rid of all those foods or will I need to scrub it back to the steel and then re-season.  I'm almost thinking about getting two of them to keep one "clean" for his food (one big one and one medium size).  I like the camp chef model but haven't made any decisions about that.

Dan

blasting

Hi Dan.  That sounds like a pain to think about all the time, but it's what we do for our kids.

  Below is my routine with the blackstone.  I don't know how clean would be clean enough for your child.  It's hard for me to believe anything harmful could remain, but I don't know anything about such severe alergies.  Do you have to use separate cookware in the kitchen?

After cooking on the blackstone and while it's still warm, I scrub it with a stainless steel curly cleaner, then wipe with paper towel, then oil and re wipe to leave a thin layer of oil on the surface.  Prior to it's next use it obviously gets heated up again to 200-400 degrees. 

DoubleEgger

As someone with a severe shellfish allergy, I’d recommend getting two just to be safe. 

SmokeyPitt

I don't know much about allergies and what can cause them,  but I think the oils from some food will be left behind.  Completely stripping the seasoning is a PITA process and not one you want to have to do. It sounds like getting one of the 17 inch sizes to be on the safe side might not be a bad idea. Just another thought is you can use a skillet on the griddle and keep his food out of contact.

Eggcelsior

DoubleEgger said:

As someone with a severe shellfish allergy, I’d recommend getting two just to be safe. 

This. Allergens are typically denatured by heat(they're proteins) but "maybe" would not be good enough for me with an antigen response that lands them in the ED with 15-20 minutes.

Surveyor_Egg

I might think about using the skillet idea (Thanks Smokey) but in reverse.  If I keep the allergens off the steel surface then I keep that part "clean" without having to strip it.  He handles some cross contact ok, we are careful with major contamination but some minor he handles ok such as toaster oven.  His gluten free waffles get cooked on the same grate that regular bread goes on.  The wheat allergy is going away and that is why that part works.  If I am cooking eggs though, they are kept with separate everything. Clean pan, dedicated utensils kept on separate sides of the stove.  I usually try to cook the safe foods first and then any allergens last for everyone else.  

The one main thing I want to cook on it is bacon and that's his favorite food.  Thanks for the feedback all, this site is great.  Much appreciated.

caliking

+1 for getting a second “clean” griddle. 

Legume

Not worth the chance or worry. Peace of mind could won’t cost you much here, especially when her reactions are swift and severe.

CtTOPGUN

 Grill mats are another idea that may work, but two cookers are always better than one! I am going to buy some of the "copper" mats to see if I can cook whiter eggs on them compared to my seasoned Blackstone.