Rabbi Gabriel Botnick responds to another current question

This summer, we plan to attend a few barbecues at friends’ homes where we know that they will be grilling non-kosher meat. Is it OK to bring our own kosher or vegetarian food to be cooked on the same barbecue?

Sincerely, Curious Carnivore

This is a great question — one that comes up often at this time of year, and in more situations than we might expect, so allow me to address your points before turning to the bigger picture.

The Talmud (Pesachim 76b) and the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 108) both explore whether or not it is permissible to eat kosher meat that’s been roasted in the same oven as non-kosher meat. The worry is that the fat of the prohibited food might spread out and come into contact with the permitted food, or that the kosher meat could absorb the aroma of the forbidden food. Indeed there are many rabbis who hold that such a situation would render the kosher meat impermissible to eat; however, there are some rabbis who say that, while one should strive to avoid such a scenario, if the deed was already done then the kosher meat is still acceptable to eat. There are even some rabbis who say that, under certain conditions, there should be no issue at all, even if the foods were cooked this way on purpose.

But the rabbis were writing centuries ago and the realities of their worlds were different to ours today. So how does all this apply to your specific question?

Grilling on a barbecue is rather different to roasting in an oven. Juices released by foods on a barbecue don’t spread out – they drip directly onto the flames below the grate, where they turn into smoke and steam and rise back up. If a barbecue lid is closed, then forbidden fumes could very well come into contact with your food and render it impermissible, but if the lid is left open, or if there is no lid, then this is no longer a concern.

Grilling kosher and non-kosher foods at the same time, on separate parts of the grate, with the lid open, could indeed be considered OK, but you would still have to be careful not to use the same spatula or tongs with the two foods, as that would directly transfer the juices and flavours between them. If you were to grill kosher food after the non-kosher food, you would also need to be careful not to have it come into contact with any residue left behind by the prohibited food.

Orthodox authorities say the best approach is to double wrap your own food in aluminium foil for the entire time it’s on the barbecue. But you could also use a heavy-duty foil and make a sort of small tray to place on top of the grate. Probably the best approach would be to bring your own wire mesh grill topper and barbecue utensils. It might feel like a faff, but that would be the simplest and most straightforward approach.

However, all this having been said, you could still rely on the most lenient rabbinic rulings that say you don’t need to overcomplicate the matter. This is, after all, the main reasoning behind sticking to vegetarian food at non-kosher restaurants. And if you’re comfortable doing that, then there’s no reason to make things awkward for your hosts when they’ve invited you round for what’s meant to be a fun summer gathering. Similarly, you can rely on this approach if you happen to find yourself on summer holiday in a place where the cuisine is not the most conducive to keeping kosher.

Now, beyond the practicalities, there’s a broader – and, I believe, more important – point to address: aren’t these apparently trivial details of Jewish law just an exercise in nit-picking? Why should we even
concern ourselves with them? For me, it’s all about being mindful. Our sages often say the main thing
that distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom is our advanced cognitive ability. When an
animal finds itself feeling hungry, it simply turns to the nearest food source and digs in – without much (or any) thought given to its fitness for consumption. But when humans are hungry, we don’t eat just anything – we make sure it’s not poisonous, stale, or otherwise bad for us. Jewish law then comes
in and encourages us to think even more: sure, you could eat it, but should you? Our tradition asks us
to pause even longer before we sate our appetite, so that we have time to think deeply – spiritually.

And that regular practice of pausing in order to be mindful is the key. It’s what helps us become more fully human. It’s what strengthens our resistance to even more of life’s temptations. I know that if I’m able to resist the urge to eat any old sausage placed before me and consider how best to cook up a kosher hot dog instead, then I certainly am able to avoid giving in to more difficult and destructive temptations in other aspects of life.

So kudos to you for asking your question, as it tells me you’re already on the path towards that deeper mindfulness with which we’re called to engage. I hope my answer helps you find the approach that works best for you. But no matter what you decide, you’re already in a great place.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Botnick