What is a griddle and why should it be at the top of your outdoor cooking supplies wish list? Read on if you’re in the beginning stages of researching outdoor griddles for home use and you want to learn about the Blackstone griddle or other flat top grill brands!
You may be wondering why you should dole out about $300-$700 to buy a griddle… especially if you already own a regular charcoal or gas grill. And my wife wondered the same thing… it was hard to convince her to ease up on the purse strings for yet another outdoor cooking apparatus, especially after I had just bought my Weber Summit Charcoal Grill for the hefty price of $1,700 about 8 months before.
But cooking on a flat top grill is a completely different experience than cooking on a regular grill. While the traditional grill is preferred for your basic steaks, grilled chicken, or smoked barbecue meats, the outdoor griddle can cook pretty much anything else. I would even go as far as to say that if you can cook it in a skillet on your stovetop, you can cook it on your flat top grill.
I’ve been cooking on outdoor griddles for about 3 years now, and I’ve used my Blackstone, Camp Chef, and Pit Boss griddles to cook everything from the best onion burgers you’ve ever had in your life to Japanese steakhouse hibachi at home to a full Sunday supper pork chop dinner with all the fixin’s.
Read on for more details on “What is an outdoor griddle?” and see what all of the hype is about:
What is a Griddle or Flat Top Grill?
A flat top grill, sometimes called an outdoor griddle or a gas griddle, is exactly what it sounds like… a large flat cooking surface typically powered by propane or gas that’s used to cook a wide variety of foods. Think of an outdoor gas griddle as an electric countertop griddle on steroids.
If you’ve ever been to a Japanese steakhouse or the Waffle House, you’ve seen a commercial grade flat top grill. And in recent decades, outdoor cooking manufacturers have brought that experience to individual consumers in the form of smaller outdoor griddles made specifically for home use.
Since the cooking surface on a flat top grill is just one solid sheet of metal instead of grates like a traditional grill, you can cook pretty much anything on a flat top. Try cooking scrambled eggs, bacon, or hibachi fried rice on your kettle charcoal grill.
Major Griddle Brands
If you’re in the market for the best outdoor griddle, you’ve probably heard of the three major flat top grill brands – Blackstone, Camp Chef, and Pit Boss. Here’s a brief run-down of each brand:
Blackstone Griddles
Blackstone is king in terms of popularity and name recognition… probably because they claim to be the “inventors” of the residential flat top grill. They started to produce their classic 36″ Blackstone Griddle in 2008 to accomplish their vision of being able to “cook EVERYTHING outside”, and since then the Blackstone outdoor griddle and accessories product lines have continued to grow.
Here are the sizes of Blackstone griddles currently available for purchase. Most of these size options are available in different models including tabletop grills (without the legs) and hooded grills (with grill hoods built in):
- 17″ – This mini version would be perfect for camping trips with a small family or to take tailgating because its small size makes it so easy to pack up and move.
- 22″
- 28″
- 30″
- 36″ – Perfect size for a larger family or for entertaining.
Blackstone also offers some combo units with other cooking equipment like an air fryer, deep fryer, or side burner attached.
And as far as accessories go, Blackstone seems to have the edge over its major competitor, Camp Chef. I even bought a Blackstone grill cover to go on my Camp Chef flat top grill because I preferred it over the Camp Chef options.
And speaking of Camp Chef…
Camp Chef Flat Top Grills
Camp Chef is another more widely known maker of flat top grills, and while the Camp Chef outdoor burner stoves for camping are one of their more popular product lines, their flat top grills are some serious pieces of cooking equipment also.
You can read more about the differences between the four burner Camp Chef and Blackstone flat top grills (and why I ultimately chose to buy the Camp Chef FTG600 for my very first one) in my full Camp Chef review here.
The Camp Chef flat top grill product line isn’t near as extensive as Blackstone, but they do offer a wide variety of size options including:
- 14″
- 16″
- 31.5″
- 45.5″
Pit Boss Griddles
Pit Boss is another popular maker of outdoor griddles, and they recently created a completely new, ceramic coated griddle surface, proving that the flat top grill craze is growing and griddles are worthy of some R&D budget.
Pit Boss offers both the traditional rolled steel griddles plus the ceramic coated non-stick griddles like the Pit Boss Ultimate Griddle pictured above. Here are some of the griddle models you can get from Pit Boss:
- 2, 3, and 4 burner Lift-Off Ultimate Griddles – With the ceramic coated surface and a handy lift-off feature that makes it easy to take your griddle on the go.
- portable electric tabletop 1 and 2 burner models
- standard 4 and 5 burner griddles – More of the traditional steel surface.
Other Griddle Manufacturers
There are also smaller, store-specific brands that you can buy. For instance, I know that Sam’s Club sells their own Member’s Mark flat top grill and I recently found a lesser-known brand at Academy Sports also. If you’re looking to save a little bit of money, these “off brand” grills are a solid option also.
Besides the “big three” manufacturers (Blackstone, Camp Chef, and Pit Boss), here are just a few more brands that you may want to consider:
- Member’s Mark – Sold exclusively at Sam’s Club
- Even Embers
- LoCo
- Royal Gourmet
- Cuisinart
- Evo – Has a round griddle top
- Char-griller
Why are Griddles So Popular?
If you need some talking points on the benefits of the flat top grill to help sell your wife, I got you…
Here are some of the Pros of owning a flat top grill or outdoor gas griddle:
Cook a Large Amount of Food at Once
If you have a large family or you often entertain friends for cookouts or tailgates, then this is a major benefit. A four burner flat top grill measures about 36″ wide, depending on the brand that you choose to purchase, and it can cook a whole mess of pancakes, burgers, hibachi chicken, or whatever else you like all at once.
Like when I made the awesome Arroz con Pollo inspired dish of Mexican chicken and rice, and I was able to make the fried rice and a ton of fajita vegetables at once:
Easy to Use
A flat top grill is pretty user-friendly. After you’ve done the initial seasoning, it’s pretty much like cooking on an indoor stove. Just turn on the knobs, wait for the griddle to heat up a bit, and start cooking your meal.
If you get a traditional rolled steel griddle, you really don’t have to worry about messing up the surface, because you can just add layers of seasoning, similar to what you would do for a cast iron skillet. And clean up is fairly easy also, as long as you “clean as you go” and follow a few basic griddle cleaning steps.
Keeps Your Kitchen Clean and Less Dishes
This is a major benefit of the flat top grill… especially if your wife is usually on clean up duty like mine is.
Instead of using 4 pots and pans to cook a main course and side dishes inside on your stove, you can cook everything on the flat top grill and cut down on the number of dirty dishes. When I recently made a huge Southern style pork chop dinner on my Camp Chef flat top grill with all of the fixin’s the clean up was a breeze.
Much More Versatile than a Regular Grill
With a large flat cooking surface, a griddle is much more versatile than any other piece of outdoor cooking equipment. Which means that you’ll probably use it more than your charcoal grill or smoker also. In fact, so many new griddle owners that I speak with joke that there should be a 12 step program for poor, abandoned grills and smokers that feel neglected once a new griddle moves on to the back porch.
And even Blackstone confirms it!
According to a study, “92% of Blackstone customers use their griddle more than once a month” compared to 58% for gas and pellet grills.
You can use your outdoor flat top grill to cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner… You can cook a seared ribeye steak or your wife’s favorite scrambled eggs. Try making chocolate chip muffin mix pancakes on your charcoal grill. Actually don’t. Bad idea.
How Do You Use a Griddle?
As I mentioned above, outdoor griddles are relatively easy to use and clean, adding to their awesomeness! I’ve got an entire post dedicated to how to use an outdoor griddle here: Cooking on a Flat Top Grill – Griddle Tips and Techniques
And after you’re done with that, you can check out one of the most important parts of flat top grill cooking – temperature control: Griddle Cooking Temperature – 7 Things You Need to Know
But in a nutshell, this is how to use a griddle:
- Season the griddle – If you have a traditional rolled steel griddle (like most Blackstone griddles and other makers), you’ll need to season it before you begin cooking on it for the first time.
- Turn the griddle on
- Cook your meal
- Clean the flat top grill surface – Usually just involves scraping/cleaning the surface with a bench scraper and some paper towels, and applying a thin coat of oil afterwards.
Obviously, that’s an extreme simplification, but you can watch me cook 100’s of recipes on a bunch of different griddles on my YouTube channel for loads of instruction!
What Griddle Accessories do I Need?
If you decide to purchase an outdoor griddle, there are a few accessories that you’ll need to get as well. But don’t be distracted by shiny-object syndrome… Just because an accessory is available to purchase, doesn’t mean that you actually need it.
In fact, I used my griddle about 3 times a week for a full year before I even invested in a burger press. A few good spatulas will take you far!
Here are the bare bones, must-have griddle accessories that I recommend:
- 2 spatulas
- 2 squirt bottles – one for oil and one for water
- a melting dome – My favorite dome comes with a wire cooling rack also, or a regular cooling rack from your kitchen will work just fine.
- a bench scraper – Sometimes called a “scraper” is a must-have for cleaning your griddle.
- a griddle cover – To protect your new toy from the outdoor elements.
- an instant read probe thermometer – Not just for flat top grilling, every kitchen needs a good instant read thermometer to check the internal temp of foods like chicken or steak.
You can see all of my product recommendations here: 6 Must-Have Griddle Accessories
What Can You Cook on a Griddle?
What can’t you cook on a griddle or flat top grill is the better question!
In fact, pretty much anything that you cook in a skillet on your stovetop can also be prepared on an outdoor griddle. I’ve even made Seafood Alfredo with a homemade sauce right on the griddle. That’s because the griddle performs very similarly to a large flat-bottomed skillet.
Here are some popular foods to cook on a griddle, some of which are driving factors in people deciding to jump on the griddle bandwagon:
- Smash burgers – Probably one of the foods that most griddle beginners cook within the first week of setting up their new flat top grill… and YES, they are totally worth the hype!
- Philly cheese steaks
- Other griddle sandwiches, like Reubens, BLTs, or even grilled cheese
- Japanese steakhouse style dinners like hibachi chicken and fried rice
- Mexican fajitas
- Stir fry dishes
- Eggs and omelettes
- Pancakes and French toast – A popular griddle breakfast food to make, because you can make a large amount at one time, unlike cooking them in small batches inside on an electric countertop griddle.
Griddle Recipe Ideas
Need specific griddle recipes that you can make on your new flat top grill? I’ve got a TON of recipes for you to use! All of my griddle recipe posts include recipe cards that you can print out and add to a recipe binder, so when you want to use your griddle and you need some ideas of what to cook, you can reference it.
Here are some of my favorite griddle recipes to get you going:
Smashed Breakfast Potato Skins – Yes, you can use your burger press to smash potato skins on the griddle and top them with scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese… These are fantastic!
Easy Biscuit Tacos – Who says you can’t make canned biscuits on the griddle? I’ve done it many times! These biscuit tacos involve rolling out canned biscuit dough into a tortilla shape. So easy and so delicious!
Easy Pizza Quesadillas with a Parmesan Herb Crust – Quesadillas are another popular food to cook on the griddle, because you can make more than one at a time and the tortillas will heat evenly. This pizza version is awesome!
Grilled Stuffed Steak Burrito – Yup, even round foods (like a burrito) can be cooked on the griddle… Just rotate this yummy grilled steak burrito so that all of the sides toast evenly.
Egg Roll in a Bowl – Not every griddle recipe has to be carb heavy! This healthy egg roll in a bowl recipe is loaded with vegetables, and it’s one of my wife’s favorite low carb meals to make on the Blackstone griddle!
That’s just a few griddle recipes to get you going! Be sure to browse around this site for even more ideas of what to cook on a griddle!
I hope that I’ve answered all of your questions about what is a griddle and why you might want one. Cooking on a griddle or flat top grill really is fun and easy, and one of the things that I love most is that it brings my family together. Our daughters love watching me cook dinner on the griddle (probably 3-4 nights a week), and it’s a great way to spend some quality time together as a family.
Less dishes in the kitchen, more versatility, easy to use, and endless recipe options? What’s not to love about owning an outdoor griddle?!
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