Griddle Cooking Surfaces

[Lleaff]

Originally Posted by propchef

Stick with the simplest design, in this case, the Blackstone (but I'm not a fan). ANY coating, ceramic or not, will come off, chip, crack, or flake. It's inevitable.

Thanks for the advice. You seem to be one of the few dissenting opinions on the Blackstones. Would you mind elaborating?

[Dutch Star Don]

I can't give you any pros and cons between the two surfaces, but I would recommend the 22" Blackstone for camping. I bought one for both my sons-in-law for their RV's. The 22" gives you TWO burners, so you can cook two different things at different temps if that is important to you.

[propchef]

Originally Posted by Lleaff

Thanks for the advice. You seem to be one of the few dissenting opinions on the Blackstones. Would you mind elaborating?

Sorry, it's just that I come from a different perspective and I don't want to come off negative on the Blackstone. MANY folks like it and it's reasonably well made. I think of the choices available, it's probably the best. Just not for me.

Cooking, teaching, researching, and purchasing food and food service equipment has been my life. I've cooked on every surface imaginable in some rather non-traditional locales (shipboard). My wife is also a chef and we literally have a garage full of cooking gear from a lifetime of cooking. We're trying to pare it down before I retire next year. Yea, good luck.

Gas, in general, doesn't produce good heat, and you'll top out on most grills at about 425-450. Pellet heat sources do better, hardwood better still. Give that grill a ceramic coating and now we're cooking with real heat and good radiation. Think BGE.

Rather than a Blackstone, I have two choices: an electric griddle with a non-stick surface for pancakes and arepas, or a cast iron of the same size that works great over a flame or fire. If I carry only my cast iron, it stores easily and works with any heat source. And no moving parts. :-)

YMMV.

[scenic route]

Early in 2010, we bought a Weber 100/1000 w/20 lb. propane bottle and adapter hose. Still have it - heavily built with cast iron grate. Weber says it puts out 8500 btu...don't know how hot that is in 'F', but I've 'crisped' up a few items on it.

I've wanted to do more boondocking, so I bought a griddle to cook breakfasts outside. The griddle covers half of the grate so that should be more than enough coverage to fry items for the two of us.

The Weber 100/1000 didn't come with a temp. gauge like it's big brothers do, so I drilled a 3/8" hole in the same place the others are in and installed one.

With these two upgrades, I think this little grill will be pretty universal.

This grill will not damage a plastic tablecloth covering the CG picnic table.

[Lleaff]

Thanks everyone for the perspectives. I decided to buy a Blackstone 22". The notion of the simple metal top's resilience makes a lot of sense to me. Plus I can get them locally at Walmart.


I've got a 2019 Rockwood mini lite 2509 and it seems to fit like a glove below the dinette exterior bench.

[Funengineer]

I know you’ve made your decision but…
We have used a Weber Q1000 for about 10 years. It’s is like new and it’s been sufficient for our grilling needs. Bought a 22” Blackstone because everyone said it was great for a griddle cooking eggs, stir fried etc. I know a lot of people love their griddles no mater who it’s manufactured by but In our case we decided to sell the Blackstone, keep the Weber and here’s why.

Much heavier and takes up a lot of real estate compared to the Weber. We always took both.
We found that you need a lot of oil or fat to cook on the Blackstone which we try to avoid
We discovered that we actually used the Weber more than the Blackstone
The Weber is easier for us to clean than the Blackstone, doesn’t rust and doesn’t require repeated seasoning

We carry a 12” cast iron fry pan that can be used on the inside cooktop or on the Weber if we want a stir fried or similar meal.

Different strokes for different folks. [emoji4]

[NITEHAWK]

We have the small Weber gas grill with the standard grate, but wanted an alternative griddle plate.
Bought a Lodge cast iron combo plate. Flat smooth surface on one side and ribbed surface on the opposite side.
I sat down and contemplated how to put the standard grate and the Lodge combo plate in the Weber for storage in our coach.
I ended up cutting the Weber bottom where the Lodge combo set on its four corners, preventing the lid from closing.
Used my 4-1/2" grinder and cut the clearance.
Now everything stores in the Weber. The lid closes, and the protective Weber cover fits normally.
When I go to use the Weber I just set aside the griddle or grate I am not using at the moment.
Works great and doesn't take up any more storage than the original Weber grill.

[astrnmrtom]

One thing to note about the Blackstone or any griddle is the temperature lag. There's thermal mass to the grill plate, so you have to get used to the fact they take more time to heat up, and cool down than a regular BBQ. It's easy to overshoot your temperature if you aren't paying attention. There's also a lot of turning of the food involved with the solid plate because it heats by contact. Each type has it's strengths and weaknesses. It depends on your cooking style.

What I like about the grill over a regular BBQ is the grill/griddle doesn't drip onto the burners. Clean-up is easier. If I lift the cooking plate off the frame, the underneath is clean. There's still splattering, and parts of the outside and the inside of the lid gets greasy, but the internals don't.

[Barneyb]

Just purchased a Blackstone 22” table top griddle, can’t wait to use it

[Alpine36]

We purchased a Blackstone Tailgater last year. It check all the boxes for us as a griddle, BBQ grill and crab cooker all in one.
The downside, it's big, heavy and almost too cumbersome to load in the basement easily. And yes, the griddle takes a while to preheat and master.
It does fit nice in the back of the Jeep though, and is very nice to have for larger gatherings like our annual family crabbing adventures.
If we don't bring the Jeep it stays home and we simply bring the ol trusty Weber Q. As others have stated a cast iron griddle works fine on the Weber and stovetop also.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by pinesman

I use a Lodge cast iron griddle on a Campchef propane stove. Probably not as good as a Blackstone but i have used this for years before i had ever heard of a Blackstone

IMO cast iron can't be beat for outdoor cooking.

[arcaguy]

Being the cheapskate that I am I purchased a rectangular cast iron 2 sided griddle from I think it was Big Lots for about $12 or so, maybe a little more. I sanded the "smooth" side smoother with a sander and then seasoned it. Works like a champ on a 60 year old Coleman 2 burner stove converted to propane. I'm sure it would work just as well inside but I haven't tried it. To each their own.

[Wayne M]

36 inch Members Mark 5 burner at the S&B.
22 Inch Blackstone Adventurer for the MH. The Adventure comes with hood, stand and 20 lbs propane tank hose. The base and stand are not heavy. The griddle with hood is but I can handle it at my octogenarian age.

My fears with a ceramic top is that if anything were to drop, scrape, etc., you can't fix it. With the rolled steel you can wire brush it down and re-season it many times. I've hd the 22" for over a year and each time I clean it I finish by wiping it down with cooking oil. It has not lost its seasoning.

I do cook steaks on it and the maillard effect of a griddle is much better than a grill. You can even do a meatloaf on a griddle. A whole pork butt, no, not unless you cut it up for a stir fry. Shrimp? Never lose one through the cracks. Fried rice, no problem.

My Weber Q1200 is sitting in the shed. I wrapped the components in aluminum foil in case a hundred years from now some one wants to bring it out of retirement.

Cheapest 22" BS Adventurer I could find was at Walmart.

[paul65k]

I'll leave one last thought here on surfaces............ I have NEVER seen a professional griddle in a restaurant that had a ceramic surface..... just sayin'