How to Survive Summer BBQs and Cookouts Gluten-Free

Summer cookouts are supposed to be fun: sunshine, burgers, family, and friends. But if you’re gluten-free, they can get stressful fast. 

Suddenly you’re wondering whether the burger buns touched the grill, if the tongs are safe, whether someone stuck gluten-covered hands in the chip bag, or if that marinade is actually gluten-free. And if you’ve ever gotten sick from one of these situations, you know exactly why it matters. 

In this episode, we’re talking about how to survive summer BBQs and cookouts gluten-free, what I personally watch for, what we do when we don’t fully trust the setup, and how to enjoy the fun without spending the whole day stressed about food. By the end, you’ll have a practical game plan so you can relax and enjoy the cookout with confidence. 

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Transcript

Quick Disclaimer And The Problem

0:00

Quick reminder before we get started on this episode. This podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn't medical advice. Summer cookouts are supposed to be fun, sunshine, burgers, family, and friends, but if you're gluten-free, that can get stressful really fast. Suddenly you're wondering, did those burger buns touch the grill? Are those tongs safe? Did someone stick gluten hands in the chip bag? Is that marinade actually gluten-free? And if you've ever gotten sick from one of these situations, you know exactly why this matters. In this episode, we're talking about how to survive summer barbecues and cookouts gluten-free, what I personally watch out for, and what we do when we don't fully trust the setup and how to enjoy without spending the whole day stressed about food. Let's dive in.

Why Cookouts Feel So Risky

0:49

Welcome to the Gluten Free Engineer Podcast. I'm your host, Kiri Saunders. In 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, a moment that changed everything. But I was determined not to let it hold me back. With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle, breaking down recipes, safety tips, travel hacks, and everything in between to rebuild a life I love. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or simply choose to live gluten-free, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle, make it fun, and prove that you don't have to miss out on anything. Welcome back to the show. Today we're talking about how to survive summer barbecues and cookouts gluten-free. So, why can summer cookouts seem so stressful? They combine several things that can be risky for those with celiac gluten intolerances or allergies. They combine casual food handling, shared surfaces, lots of hands in general, well-meaning people, hidden ingredients, and relaxed food safety, which can create some potential gluten issues, whether you're getting it directly or through cost contamination. Cookouts are one of those places where people mean well, but gluten can sneak in fast. So, how do I deal with a gluten cookout or that's you know, I need to be gluten-free at? What I first do is I control what I can. I can't control everyone's awareness, I can't control shared handling, who touched what, but I can control what I bring, what I ask, and how my food is prepared most of the time. I focus less on perfection, more on practical risk reduction, and also enjoying myself. So we want to like work on framing this and being prepared so that you can enjoy yourself.

Biggest Danger Zones At Barbecues

2:43

So let's talk about then what are the biggest gluten danger zones so that we're aware of this. First off, burger buns could touch everything, it could be on the grill, buns touching prep surfaces, crumbs could be everywhere. We could also have shared tongs where tongs go on the buns and then on the meat, and then maybe back to the buns and then the meat again. Um, we want to be careful of grilled surfaces. I have gotten sick from old grills that had a bunch of gluten on it, or at other people's grills that had gluten on it. Gluten will reside on grates, and it's not something that's easily burnt off. Cross contact, especially whenever there's fresh buns that have been on there recently, can be a problem. One of the things you can do here is have an aluminum foil barrier or something that is gluten-free. That's like maybe a mesh um basket or something to use to cook your gluten-free burgers in. We've done this at um marching band, whenever they would have cookouts, we would, you know, create a barrier for our children so that they can eat the cookout just like the rest of the kids. And then marinades and spice rubs can have hidden gluten in it. This is so sometimes frustrating and annoying, but it can happen. So we need to be aware of what might be or what might not be put on our protein. So hidden risks include soy sauce, it could have malt ingredients, could have wicked wheat thickeners in the marinades or spice rubs. So just make sure you ask for your um item to be plain as far as marinades go, or you're gonna want to look at the ingredients in whatever the marinade it is that they're using. And then I've also gotten sick, as I mentioned on the podcast and other episodes, with chips, a bag of chips that were gluten-free, and somebody had touched gluten buns and then stuck their hands in the chips and left a few crumbs. And of course, I get one of those crumbs or so. And it's it's just something you don't really think about, but it's really easy to do because most people stick their hand in the bag to get the chips out rather than grabbing the bag and kind of shaking some chips

Practical Strategies That Actually Work

4:55

out. Okay, so then how do I deal with these risks that we just talked about? So, what I'll do is I might eat the food provided if I feel the setup is safe and if I trust that person. It kind of goes back to some other episodes where I talk about going over to other people's houses and eating. If you're pretty, you know, comfortable and confident with the you know head of the household who's helping, you know, prepare all the food, then I will talk to them ahead of time if I need to. They may already know me well enough, but I don't need to anymore. But the more we approach this conversation with our friends and family, the easier it gets over the long run. And I know it can be very awkward if you're new and if you haven't done this much. So I asked them, you know, if there are any marinades on the meats. I asked them if there are any spice rubs. I might ask them to look at the ingredients if the answer is yes, so I can double check. Um, it's just something I always do. Now, what you can also do is you can bring your own protein, your safe, your own safe side dish, and any backup food if you want. Um, so I actually many times will bring some of those things with me just to make sure we have something safe to eat, unless I fully trust the person that we're going over to to eat. Now, if on the grill, I would recommend asking for that foil barrier. If you're like cooking hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, something like that. Ask for a foil barrier for your protein. Um, we want to have that fresh cooking surface so that we aren't worried about cross-contamination from any previous grills. Um, sometimes people think that you really can't get cross-contamination from previous cooks on a grill, but it actually can happen. And I've had it happen several times to me before we figured out what was going on. I mean, think about it. The sauces have gluten in it, and it's real easy for the sauces to stick to the grates. Um, buns and things like that, that might be a little bit more likely to burn off since it's um flaky, you know, item, you know, the bun's flaky, and so that might be more likely to burn off. But I feel like it's really the sauces and the marinades that can really stick and stay on those grates more. So obviously that's my opinion. And in theory, I've never scientifically tested that, but either way, you can get uh cross-contaminated on the grates. So I asked for a foil barrier or some sort of barrier to the grates. And then sometimes I bring a safe dish that actually fills me up, whether that's one of my casseroles, whether it's a salad with protein that I brought on. I'll do that if I'm not don't feel confident in eating in that place. And the reason being is that we need to, you know, realize that when we have these barbecue cookouts, short, before we have food issues, it seems like we're all there for the food. But really what we're actually there for, if you really think about it, is for the company, for the friendships, for the family. So once you, you know, pull that out of your brain that, you know, hey, the food is a nice thing here, but what I really want to focus on is enjoying the time with my friends and family. And when we take focus away from that food, you can then better accept that I'm gonna do these certain things to help me be safe and so that I can get nourishment in me. And then I'm just gonna enjoy my friends and family and not worry about the food part, you know, not worry about that being the center of attention because really truly in these barbecue cookouts, the center of attention should be our family and friends. And the food is just what gathers us. So let's focus on the family and friends. And it's gonna make you a much happier person, I feel like, because then you're focusing on something you can control, your friends and family and enjoying them rather than you know, some of the food things you can't control and you just simply can't eat them. And that's okay.

Kids, Scripts, And Who To Trust

8:49

Now, what can make this a little bit trickier? Kids can actually make this trickier, whether they're your own or somebody else's. So kids sometimes make me really nervous in places where we are eating um, you know, as a shared group with mixed people, because they just, you know, by nature go and grab food or stick their hands in this or stick their hands in that, or maybe dip the spoon from here to there. And so then they just put a gluten-free spoon into the gluten stuff and back again. So it can be something to keep an eye on is the little children. I love them dearly. I have three of my own, but they can cause that cross-contamination to happen. And then if you have your own kids who are celiac or gluten intolerant, you've got to watch them and make sure that they know how to eat safely and give them those strategies that helps them grow into adults who can, you know, be self-aware and can help themselves be careful and to be safe. And then if you have kids that are, you know, celiac or gluten-free, you can give them some words to use, some example phrases I could use as I brought my own food. I need to ask first. These are all normal things that the children can do and they they should be able to do once you, you know, teach them and inform them how to do this. And the most adults will respect that. You know, we have uh friends who have kids with peanut allergies, and you know, I will offer them food and I'll offer them to read all my label ingredients, and I will tell them if you don't feel comfortable, I will not be offended if they if you don't feel like your children can eat the food that I cook. Even though I know that I'm very, very careful because I'm very careful with gluten. I also respect the fact that they may not want to risk somebody else cooking for their child. So give your kids words to use with adults that are very simple and very easy to remember. I'll read those again. I brought my own. I need to ask first. You know, those are four to five word phrases, really easy to remember. And then some phrases for us adults. So, what do I say with, you know, trying not to make it too weird? So let's say for the grill concern, I will say, would you mind if we put foil down for ours? We just have to be careful about cross contact. Just as simple as that. Or the chips. I'm gonna grab some before everyone digs in. I have totally done that. I have absolutely no problem going first in line just to keep us safe. And I would, you know, advocate for anybody else's food issues to go first in line too. And then in general, you could also just say, we brought some food just to make it easier. It's warm, it's easy, it's not apologetic. We brought some food just to make it easier. I've done that too. I've said that before. So, what about people to trust? How do you know who to trust? Some people you can trust cooking for you and some people you can't. And trust is earned through understanding, not necessarily whether they're super nice or whether they're trustworthy in other areas, but it's through understanding. It's usually because they're very curious. They want to understand what's going on. So the people I trust the most to cook for me are those who have asked me those deep questions, not just surface level questions about celiac and about needing to be gluten-free. Because good intentions don't automatically equal safe food. So pay attention to how somebody else asks you those deep questions about keeping you safe, and that will help you build that trust relationship and see whether they can, you know, actually cook for you or not, if you feel like they're actually listening and understanding and absorbing all the procedures we need to do to be sure that we

Mindset Shift, Recap, And Closing

12:24

are safe. So, to wrap this up, this is all about grounding our emotions. We don't want to be paranoid, we want to have a safe environment. And a little planning ahead makes summer way more fun. So, as a quick recap, we want to watch grill surfaces, avoid shared tongs, check marinades or spices, beware of shared chips, bring your own real food, teach kids simple rules, and trust carefully. At the end of the day, summer barbecues and cookouts can absolutely be enjoyable gluten-free. You do not need to avoid the fun. You just need a few practical strategies so you're not relying on luck and so that you can enjoy yourself because you know you're going to be safe. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Gluten Free Engineer. If you found value in this story, please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free journey. For more tips, recipes, resources, and even links to my YouTube channel, head on over to theglutenfreeengineer.com. It's your one-stop hub to make gluten-free living simple, fun, and full of flavor. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode. And we will see you next week. The Gluten Free Engineer Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten free lifestyle. This podcast does not provide medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for medical questions, concerns, or advice specific to your health.