Flat top buildup while cooking problem

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IA pigsNcrops

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Jan 6, 2019
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I help out at the local legion pancake breakfasts. We use a blackstone to cook the sausage links, which has cooked hundreds of pounds of sausage links over the past few years. It is well seasoned, and cleaned and oiled well after using. The problem we are running into is, the cooking surface will buildup with residue as we are cooking. We have to scrape the flat top in between each batch we cook. I asked someone about it, and they think it is the extra sugar in the cure/seasoning mix that in coming out of the sausages while cooking and then burning/ carmelizing on the cooktop. Does anyone have any ideas to resolve this or a trick that may help? Thanks
 
I steam and re-oil mine before cooking on it .
Get it hot and hit it with some water . Move that around and cook it off , then oil it and start cooking over medium heat .
You'll most likely have to steam and scrap if doing a lot of volume .
 
I steam and re-oil mine before cooking on it .
Get it hot and hit it with some water . Move that around and cook it off , then oil it and start cooking over medium heat .
You'll most likely have to steam and scrap if doing a lot of volume .
We do that, but we fill the entire griddle with sausages, and after that batch it has to be done again, every time. Looking at suggestions on how to prevent it.
 
We do that, but we fill the entire griddle with sausages, and after that batch it has to be done again, every time. Looking at suggestions on how to prevent it.
Sugar in breakfast sausage is one of my pet peeves.
My suggestion is to try and find sausage without sugar or make your own even if it means patties instead of links.
 
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It's the sugar. Chopsaw has it spot on. After a batch, turn it up get it pretty hot, hit it with a water squirter bottle. Steam and close the lid for a minute. I use a lot of paper towels. Steam will help with cleaning lid. Just use a paper towel to soak up extra water. I have a scraper. scrape the surface usually towel to wipe the black crud off. Maybe do it again. Dry it completely and apply oil. I just push all the gunk into the grease cup. I use an aluminum foil pan in the cup and throw it away when done.
Never any soap. For hard stuff I use salt and a chain mesh scrubber.

RG
 
Sugar or dextrose in sausage helps it brown up
I get the same build up doing beef burger that does not have any added sugar , but the natural sugars are the blame . Just nature of the beast .
 
A flat scraper cleaning it off after each batch is about the only thing that'll do it. Awhile back watched a guy in diner doing breakfast on a big griddle, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, sausage ... that's how he did it. His timing was awesome! Definitely wasn't new to the game

Ryan
 
I used to work as a burger flipper as a university student. Yes, that stuff builds up (imagine how many burgers I flipped EVERY nite).

As said above. But instead of a spatula I used a large (ie wide) putty knife. Helped keep it cleaner than just a flipper. GIve it a good scrape with the putty knife after each batch and clean up was a breeze at the end of the shift.

At any one time I had 40 burgers cooking at the same time so that flipper was used both sides (flip one left and next in line got flipped right). My wrist got a real workout.
 
Use a wet terrycloth bar towel between loads.
Fold the towel into 4ths, get it good and wet, then use long tongs while wiping down the griddle. Ever greasy spoon diner I have ever eaten in has a wet towel sitting right next to the griddle. The cook uses it every few minutes, when things start building on the griddle or grill.
 
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