Flat top griddles

WildmanWilson

I've been thinking of getting one but do you guys think they are really useful? Seems pretty limited to what people make on them. Do you use them as much as your Egg? 

jdMyers

Two opinions.  Add a flat top to your gas grill.  You will use it more often.  I have one for my egg as well. Hardly use it.  I have had numerous flat tops.  Single burner or small units don't have enuff BTU when the wind is high or its colder.  20 min on a scrambled egg.  Larger units need more space.  You may use it often at first then like everything nice to own don't use it much. Going to a flat top for my gas grill.  Use it more as it's an accessory.  Hope that helps

fishlessman

i can have smash burgers cooked in less than 5 minutes including heatup time, grabbing the burger, rolls, some condiments and cheese. its quicker than i can get someone to slice a tomato. its pretty much a saturday ritual after a day on the water. mines a bs 17, the griddle is too thin and warps at the highest temp, upsize and the griddle is thicker.  mines only used during the warmer months

lkapigian

While they don’t get used frequently, I would not be without my black stones 24 and  36 , probably use the 24 most, highly recommend 

WildmanWilson

I was thinking about a 36 inch to make sure I had the space needed.

lkapigian

 WildmanWilson said:

I was thinking about a 36 inch to make sure I had the space needed.

Plenty of resale on the 36 but don’t discount the 24 and it’s portable ( easily )

Photo Egg

With a little bit of creativity you can cook many things on a griddle.
But only you know if it’s worth it to you.
Is there something specific you want to cook on a griddle or something you think will come out better if you have one? If not, it will probably just sit in your garage of storage shed.

HeavyG

Hard to say if one would get much use out of a griddle. Really depends on what you think you would or might want to cook on one. However, you can cook a lot more types of stuff on one than many people think. Basically they're just a really big open skillet so whatever you might cook in a really big skillet.

I've got a 22" Blackstone which is the perfect size for me as 99% of the time I'm just cooking for me and my wife. If I really needed more room I'd be more inclined to just buy another 22"-er rather than get a 36".
Very windy days can be a bit problematic but you can buy  wind guards for all the different sizes of Blackstones and they can make a big difference in keeping the heat.

 

I do mostly smashburgers, cheese steaks, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, tortillas, occasionally fried rice (use the wok most of the time for that). Saute a lot of mushrooms. I rarely cook bacon on mine but I do have a cast iron bacon press that I use to make panini's. Keep butter melted in a small pot placed in one corner. 

Plenty of cookbooks and youtube videos to fill your mind with plenty of options of stuff to cook on one. In Japan a griddle is known as a teppan and there's a whole slew of teppanyaki stuff one can make/explore. 

What's making you think you might want one at the moment?

pgprescott

There are several new options to the Blackstones. Camp chef, new Webers, new Traeger, and loco. All are as good or better than the BS. That said, unless you’re getting a high end griddle there is diminishing return. That round EVO is supposed to be the bomb but has a tag to match. Ozzie bought one that looks more like a restaurant model?

Elijah

I have a camp chef stove that I can add the flat top to. It's a good combo and opens up both options. It's the only flattop I've had so I can't compare to a stand alone unit. There is a cold strip down the middle between the burners, but it's easy to move stuff around and I rarely use the whole thing. 

Ragingirishman2

I got my BS earlier this year from Walmart on sale. I've used several times a week the first few months and continue to still use it regularly. We love it for chicken, burgers, breakfasts, cheesesteak, etc. I still need to do a fried rice but I think its a very versatile cooker. I think its great for me to get a hot, fast, and delicious meal cooked in 30 min or less. I don't have to tell the family that we'll eat in about 8hrs. We still use our egg often and the BS was a great addition to my cooking arsenal.

Tspud1

I make some after market items for the griddles and I think Camp Chef is better made than the others. Most of the companies make several sizes. Might be able to find some used ones on Facebook marketplace

paqman

I got mine highly discounted from walmart at the end of the season a couple of years ago.  It wasn’t a planned purchase, the price was just too good to pass.  It now gets used pretty much every other day.

It is great for breakfast, pancakes, eggs/bacon, grillled cheese sandwiches.

It makes awesome fajitas, smashed burgers, fried rice.

It initially takes a bit of work but once you have a good seasoning built up it is pretty easy to maintain.  It is definitely not rust proof so I got the hard cover + the polyester cover.  I really think you need both covers because water leaks in the handles screw holes on the hard cover and water would pool on the polyester cover and it would sit on the oily cooking surface.

Mark_B_Good

I just installed a flat top grill to my Napolean Prestige Pro 665. Takes up about 35% of the bottom grill. I'm going to use it to reverse sear steaks, also acts as an indirect heat shield if I need that on a rotisserie cook.

CtTOPGUN

 I have a Blackstone 36" I use all the time. Perfect complement for the Large Egg. I love it so much I bought a 24" Royal Gourmet portable tabletop one for tailgating and such. Certainly not an egg replacement. But a very nice tool. 

kl8ton

HeavyG said:

I do mostly smashburgers, cheese steaks, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, tortillas, occasionally fried rice (use the wok most of the time for that). Saute a lot of mushrooms. I rarely cook bacon on mine but I do have a cast iron bacon press that I use to make panini's. Keep butter melted in a small pot placed in one corner. 

Langner91

I love this place.  Based upon the replies, I predict @WildmanWilson will have a griddle before July 4th and the forum will remain undefeated when it comes to spending others' money!

Ladeback69

Long time no post here.  I got a 36" Griddle from Sam's last year and my favorite thing to cook so far are fajitas.  They seem to taste better on the griddle then cooking them inside in a pan.  I is nice that I can have the meat cooking on one side while cooking the veggies on the other. I haven't used in a little while but is there when I need it. Planning on cooking on it this weekend and over the holiday. I had a Little Griddle for my XL, but it isn't as easy to use and have to deal with the flames coming up around it.  The nice thing about a 4 burner flat top you can have different temp zones to cook things.

GoldenQ

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

Tspud1

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

the griddle plate may be too far from burners on gas grill to work very well

Photo Egg

Tspud1 said:

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

the griddle plate may be too far from burners on gas grill to work very well

Any descent gas grill, remove the V bars, should give much better results in windy conditions over the Blackstone.

pgprescott

Photo Egg said:

Tspud1 said:

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

the griddle plate may be too far from burners on gas grill to work very well

Any descent gas grill, remove the V bars, should give much better results in windy conditions over the Blackstone.

Yes, cuz BS sucks. 😜
shots fired! 😳

MaskedMarvel

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

My blackstone group always raves  about these things from the dollar store for wind 

Mark_B_Good

Tspud1 said:

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

the griddle plate may be too far from burners on gas grill to work very well

You actually just gave me an idea ... I should remove flavorizer bars under the griddle, no?

pgprescott

Most professional griddle folks claim people get the surface way too hot. Many items especially breakfast stuff is best at 375 and lower. They rarely get the surface above 500 and do the vast majority of cooking under 400. 

I’m no griddle guru that’s for sure but I’ve done a little research. That’s what I’ve found from looking around. Knock on BS griddles is that even on low they get way too hot. Some of the newer brand options do better at lower temps and even surface temps. 

2 cents prolly not worth a penny though. 😁

Ozzie_Isaac

Have had 3 different griddles, 2 blackstones and 1 Le Griddle.  I love them.  If I had to choose a grill or a griddle, the griddle would probably win.

I recommend changing out the regulator for a higher BTU unit like the Bayou Classic 10psi unit.  This woke my griddles up!  Windy days are no problem.  Snow and ice, no problem.  Rain and hurricane, no problem.  Only issue is prodigious amounts of propane I use.

https://a.co/d/1bITizU

Tspud1

MaskedMarvel said:

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

My blackstone group always raves  about these things from the dollar store for wind 

Hinged wind screen for Blackstone

MaskedMarvel

Tspud1 said:

MaskedMarvel said:

GoldenQ said:

I have an XL and a 36 Blackstone nd gas grill.  The Blackstone is hard to cook on with any wind even though I have the wind guards. If I had a very good large Gas grill I would prefer a large griddle plate to use on it or get the lodge 17 inch skillet to use.   However, I do like the griddle when not windy.

My blackstone group always raves  about these things from the dollar store for wind 

Hinged wind screen for Blackstone

Nice. Very nice. 

I think the dollar store idea was more geared toward the hack-style Blackstoner. ;p

WildmanWilson

I have joined a couple of Facebook groups and still researching the brand to get. Yeah, I'm one of those that over researches everything...but all the comments have been helpful. Thanks.

Legume

WildmanWilson said:

I have joined a couple of Facebook groups and still researching the brand to get. Yeah, I'm one of those that over researches everything...but all the comments have been helpful. Thanks.

Same.  I always think it's good to do your own research.

ksmyrl

WildmanWilson said:

I have joined a couple of Facebook groups and still researching the brand to get. Yeah, I'm one of those that over researches everything...but all the comments have been helpful. Thanks.

Paralysis from Analysis? I suffer from that too. It's why I have a BGE. Why I own almost everything I own. Embrace the Analysis...with reasonable Paralysis is my motto. 

I don't have a griddle but it's on my list and I've been paying attention to this thread. I did have duck tacos prepared on one on July 3rd. They were amazing. Thanks OP and everyone.