Gluten and your barbecue grill

[Raquel2021]

Hi,

I read somewhere not sure if on this forum that if you cooked your grill for one hour at 600 Celsius degrees you could actually eliminate any gluten that was on it but burning it. We did that 2 summers ago after my diagnosis.  I however still notice bbq  food gives me a bit of trouble.  Can some let me know if burning the gluten as described above is safe? If not, what do you do with your grill? I cannot afford to buy a new one. 

Second question.  Is it safe to reuse a slow cooker if you cooked gluten food in it before or should I buy a new one? I have not used mine in 3 years because I was scared.  Thanks

[Scott Adams]

It's understandable that you're concerned about gluten contamination, especially after being diagnosed with celiac disease. While high temperatures can help break down some proteins, including gluten, it's important to note that it may not completely eliminate the risk of cross-contamination, particularly on porous surfaces like grills or slow cookers.

For your grill, thoroughly cleaning it after each use and using separate utensils or aluminum foil for gluten-free foods can help minimize the risk of cross-contamination. If you're still experiencing issues with BBQ food, it might be worth exploring other potential sources of gluten contamination in your cooking process or ingredients.

Regarding your slow cooker, if it hasn't been used in three years and you're unsure about its cleanliness, it might be safest to replace it to avoid any potential risks. Alternatively, you could try thoroughly cleaning it according to the manufacturer's instructions and running a cleaning cycle with vinegar or a solution of water and baking soda before using it again for gluten-free cooking.

Ultimately, it's important to prioritize your health and safety, so if you have any doubts or concerns about potential gluten contamination, it may be best to err on the side of caution and invest in new kitchen equipment.

[Raquel2021]

  On 3/14/2024 at 12:53 AM, Scott Adams said:

It's understandable that you're concerned about gluten contamination, especially after being diagnosed with celiac disease. While high temperatures can help break down some proteins, including gluten, it's important to note that it may not completely eliminate the risk of cross-contamination, particularly on porous surfaces like grills or slow cookers.

For your grill, thoroughly cleaning it after each use and using separate utensils or aluminum foil for gluten-free foods can help minimize the risk of cross-contamination. If you're still experiencing issues with BBQ food, it might be worth exploring other potential sources of gluten contamination in your cooking process or ingredients.

Regarding your slow cooker, if it hasn't been used in three years and you're unsure about its cleanliness, it might be safest to replace it to avoid any potential risks. Alternatively, you could try thoroughly cleaning it according to the manufacturer's instructions and running a cleaning cycle with vinegar or a solution of water and baking soda before using it again for gluten-free cooking.

Ultimately, it's important to prioritize your health and safety, so if you have any doubts or concerns about potential gluten contamination, it may be best to err on the side of caution and invest in new kitchen equipment.

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Thanks Scott. Always so helpful.  My household is pretty much gluten free except for some snacks but anything I put on the grill is gluten free. It would be the same meat I cook on my stove so that's how I know it might be the grill.  I did cleaned it pretty good back them. Took everything apart and cleaned it and had the grill on at 600 or 700 degrees for an hour. I just wonder what other people did, did you go and buy a brand new BBQ when you went on the gluten free diet? Thanks again. I will buy a new slow cooker as those as cheap.

 

 

[Scott Adams]

I just did a very thorough clean on all of my cooking equipment, dishes, utensils, etc., but everyone has different sensitivity levels. I live in a mixed house gluten vs. gluten-free, but we've managed to keep things safe for us who are gluten-free.

[Beverage]

Food, sauces, etc. can get really cooked onto the inside of grills and on grates, which have lots of places to hide.

On my gas grill, i scrubed inside with balled up aluminum foil, sponges, and stiff toothbrush to get off all black cooked on stuff. I might have used a small amount of EASY OFF oven cleaner (EASY OFF is the one recommended by the grilling gurus) in corners where gunk can accumulate. To replace the grates on it would have been pretty expensive, so I removed them from the grill and used oven cleaner on them, picking out any cooked on stuff at the places bars cross. I got down to shiny stainless, absolutely no black anywhere, like new.

On my vintage weber kettle I've had since I was 19, I used oven cleaner on the inside of the kettle to get all cooked on stuff off, had to repeat several times, went through 2 cans of oven cleaner. Since this one is not gas or electric, easy to hose everything off. I just got new grates for it since those are pretty inexpensive.

It's awesome to use these now, really clean.