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How a country boy improvises when he is too cheap to buy a Blackstone.

epcotisbest
epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
in EggHead Forum
I keep seeing all these Blackstone cooks and reading about the lucky folks who got the clearance price on the 28 inch. I searched about a 100 mile radius of home and never could find one on clearance so this weekend I improvised.
Got a Lodge platter, seasoned it well, pulled out the old Weber Spirit that has not been used in at least two years, cleaned up the Weber, ran the inner parts through the dishwasher (upsetting the wife at the same time), scrubbed and re-seasoned the cast iron grates on the Weber then today made this blackened steak.
In planning on getting a BS, I ordered the Zenware griddle tools and already had them there.
The steak is a big sirloin my wife picked up on sale yesterday. Coated it with blackening seasoning and butter, got the Lodge platter really hot and tossed it on. About three minutes per side, then took off the steak and put on the veggies right in the drippings in the platter.
This was good, and fun too. Now that they have come out with the 22 inch BS, I might just break down and get it, but for now, I am gonna try using the Lodge platter some more.






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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176



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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176



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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176

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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    Good ol' 'merican ingenuity! 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    Back yard genius. The Lodge LDP3 also works on the gasser for a small "flat top" cook. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    That's all a Blackstone is. A gasser with a flattop. Go to a steel yard or scrap metal dealer and pick up a piece of 1/4" A36 steel plate and place it over your gasser cooking grate. Voilà...Blackstone!

    If I only had a gasser. =) I have to make do with charcoal...


    I don't bother though. I think I've only used this setup once. I'd definitely do it if I had a gasser!

    Nice looking steak!! I like the blackening idea.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    IDK, veggies, grease, would be everywhere but on the griddle, sauteing on a slab of A36.  The side walls, trough, and trap are really nice at keeping things under control.  I used my Baking Steel as a griddle once, quickly moving on to a better tool, BS.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Focker said:
    IDK, veggies, grease, would be everywhere but on the griddle, sauteing on a slab of A36.  The side walls, trough, and trap are really nice at keeping things under control.  I used my Baking Steel as a griddle once, quickly moving on to a better tool, BS.
    You're probably right. I just did burgers once. Worked fine, but I guess if you were doing a lot, it could get sloppy. Still, at $1/lb for steel here, I'd try it if I had a gasser. Then again, I've had my 17" Blackstone since December and haven't even lit 'er up yet!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    Skiddymarker said:
    Back yard genius. The Lodge LDP3 also works on the gasser for a small "flat top" cook. 
    I looked at the LDP3, but with just a tiny lip around the edge, I knew I would be slinging stuff everywhere. The platter has a higher sidewall and if the stupid thing did not have rounded sides, I could fit two on the Weber for a really nice BS substitute.
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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    Carolina Q said:
    Focker said:
    IDK, veggies, grease, would be everywhere but on the griddle, sauteing on a slab of A36.  The side walls, trough, and trap are really nice at keeping things under control.  I used my Baking Steel as a griddle once, quickly moving on to a better tool, BS.
    You're probably right. I just did burgers once. Worked fine, but I guess if you were doing a lot, it could get sloppy. Still, at $1/lb for steel here, I'd try it if I had a gasser. Then again, I've had my 17" Blackstone since December and haven't even lit 'er up yet!
    You have had a 17 since December and not even tried it? Man, I would be all over that, just out of curiosity if nothing else. That is why I did my little improvised things...just needed to know if griddle cooking is as fun as people on here make it look, and it is fun. Next up for me, smash burgers, then maybe eggs and pancakes.
    Then, maybe the BS 22 except we are trying the Dave Ramsey thing and working on paying down some debt, so it is hard to justify spending when we are trying to save and reduce debt. If I have the debt snowball thing worked out, we should be out from under several debts including house, car and a couple pieces of evil plastic in about three years. Then, with no debt, everything will probably taste better!
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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    Carolina Q said:
    That's all a Blackstone is. A gasser with a flattop. Go to a steel yard or scrap metal dealer and pick up a piece of 1/4" A36 steel plate and place it over your gasser cooking grate. Voilà...Blackstone!

    If I only had a gasser. =) I have to make do with charcoal...


    I don't bother though. I think I've only used this setup once. I'd definitely do it if I had a gasser!

    Nice looking steak!! I like the blackening idea.
    I think that is pretty clever. Since I parked the gasser and went with the ceramic, I just no longer used it except for storage. I have a friend who works in stainless steel and he might consider making a SS griddle to better fit the Weber, if the material costs are not too high. We will see. Using the Weber makes me feel a little better about trying to make do instead of spending when we are trying to save. Bought the little Lodge platter at a Lodge outlet for $19 in their seconds section. It is small for a griddle, but as the above photos show, I can make do for now.
    The blackened steak was really good. Great flavor.
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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    THEBuckeye said:
    Good ol' 'merican ingenuity! 
    Thank you for the kind words.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    @epcotisbestThat steel cost me about $12 from a steel yard that has a "Bargain Barn" where they sell cutoffs and other surplus for $1/lb. I bought it with the intention of cutting it to 14" diameter to fit my egg. Discovered it fit the Weber perfectly and realized it also fit nicely in my oven. Never did cut it. =)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    edited March 2017
    Carolina Q said:
    @epcotisbestThat steel cost me about $12 from a steel yard that has a "Bargain Barn" where they sell cutoffs and other surplus for $1/lb. I bought it with the intention of cutting it to 14" diameter to fit my egg. Discovered it fit the Weber perfectly and realized it also fit nicely in my oven. Never did cut it. =)
    I like finding bargains like that. Does seem to fit the Weber just fine.
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  • epcotisbest
    epcotisbest Posts: 2,176
    So my wife is out of town on a business trip and I had the leftover blackened steak with onions, peppers and mushrooms for dinner tonight. It was even better tonight than fresh off the griddle.
    I don't know if it was because all the spices had time to really sink into the steak and veggies or what, but this was so good reheated. I am tempted to do it again and just put it all up and wait until  the next day. Now I know that would be silly, to make something specifically with leftover in mind, but I have done silly things before.
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    Yes Sir that's right!!! :plus_one:
    Blackstone :tongue:
    https://youtu.be/3cQNkIrg-Tk
    https://youtu.be/JXAgv665J14
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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