Wondering which outdoor griddle to buy? In this Weber Slate griddle review, we’ll discuss some of the most notable features of the new Weber griddle, and I’ll give you my personal opinions on this new flat top grill, including what I like and don’t like about this new outdoor griddle.
Every Spring when the major griddle manufacturers announce their new flat top grill products, I get a frenzy of questions about “What outdoor griddle is best?“ and “What griddle do you recommend?”.
I’ve gained a reputation of being completely honest when I review grills and griddles on my griddle cooking YouTube channel, to the point that my subscribers actually reach out to the major grill companies asking for them to send me their new griddles.
My viewers actually wait to make their purchasing decisions until I give my opinions about a new griddle.
Definitely not saying this to boast, but just to let you know that you have to read your online reviews with a grain of salt. So many of the reviews that you see are done by influencers that actually have a contract with certain brands, or they’re paid per video from those brands.
But not me.
Yes, I do get most of the griddles and grills that I review for free (including the new Weber Slate griddle). But that definitely doesn’t influence my opinion or review. Hint – For a look at my favorite griddles, you can check out my YouTube channel to see what units I actually cook on the most.
So let’s get in to the newest griddle to grace my back deck – the Weber Slate 30″ griddle.
The 30″ Weber Slate Griddle – How it Measures Up
Before we go into the features and look at my pros and cons of the new Weber Slate, let’s look at the specifications and measurements. Here are some quick stats about the 30″ Weber Slate griddle:
| Griddle Cooking Area | 540 square inches |
| Width (including side shelves) | 70.80″ |
| Height (to top of griddle with lid open) | 50.20″ |
| Height (to top of cooking surface) | about 35.25″ |
| Overall set up dimensions (with lid open) | 50.20” H x 70.80” W x 26.40” D |
| Overall weight | 140.34 pounds |
| Total output | 36,000 BTUs |
| Warranty | 5 years, excluding rust and normal wear/tear |
And here are some of the most notable features of the new Weber Slate griddle:
- Rust-resistant cooking surface – This is one of the features that intrigued me the most of this new outdoor griddle, because rusting is a common problem for griddle users.
- Extra large grease tray – If you’ve ever cooked a pound of bacon and a pound of sausage on a griddle, you know how important this feature is!
- Swivel locking caster wheels – Great if you move your griddle around on your back deck like I do.
- Compatible with the WeberWorks accessory line – More about that down below… I personally LOVE the line of accessories, and I often use them with my other griddle brands also!
- Pre-seasoned right out of the box – Some of the newer griddle models from various brands come seasoned from the manufacturer. However, in my experience, I still find it best to season the griddle with a few coats of high-heat cooking oil before use. (This is true for ALL of the pre-seasoned griddles that I have used.)
Watch my Weber Slate Review on YouTube
More of a visual learner? You can watch me go through the features and give my first impressions of the griddle in this Weber Slate review on YouTube:
What I Like about the Weber Slate Griddle
As with any piece of cooking equipment, there are some things that I like about the new Weber Slate griddle and things that I don’t like. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that just because I find a particular feature to be a positive, you might view it as a negative. The best outdoor griddle for you may be different than me because of your cooking environment and skill level, how many people you’re cooking for, etc.
Let’s start with the pro’s:
Easy to Access, Sturdy Front Grease Tray
As a former US Navy cook and restaurant chef, I am a big fan of having the grease trap in the front of a griddle because that’s what I’m used to with the commercial-grade equipment that I have cooked on.
Opinions on the preferred grease trap location vary from user to user… After all, the most popular griddle brand, Blackstone, has a rear grease trap location. But for me, I find it much easier to pull the grease towards me rather than using the bench scraper to push it away from me to the back.
One notable improvement over the original 28″ Weber griddle is the construction of the actual grease tray. The grease tray is about 2.5″ deep, and the metal used seems to be thicker than the first generation Weber griddle. *In my review of the original Weber griddle, I was concerned about how shallow the tray was and how the metal may heat up from the hot grease, especially given that the design almost forces you to use your second hand to steady the tray from underneath as you’re pulling it out.
Also, unlike the first model, the grease tray feels sturdier when you pull it out. The grease tray on the original Weber 28″ griddle tended to tilt downward when you took it out, and if the shallow tray was full of grease, it could have spilt out over the top if you weren’t careful.
The Weber Works Accessories System
I’ll be honest, I love the new Weber Works accessories so much that I have actually started using them with my other griddles as well.
My NUMBER ONE favorite accessory is the Grill Caddy. It perfectly fits multiple large bottles of seasonings, along with two squirt bottles, my griddle thermometer, and more. It also includes a carrying handle that pushes down so that you can use the included cover to protect your items when not in use.
The WeberWorks accessory system is designed to be a “mix and match” of sorts so that you can customize your side shelf with your favorite gadgets. The Weber Slate fits your choice of the following accessories that can be purchased separately:
- Caddy with tray lid
- Cutting board
- Condiment holder
- Bottle holder
- Outdoor storage bin
Here’s how the caddy and tray lid look when used together in the side shelf:
The tray lid is lightweight and very easy to wash, so it’s the perfect resting spot for your greasy spatulas or scraper.
*You can see more of my favorite must-have griddle accessories here!
Included Storage Bins
Some of the Weber Slate griddle models include two large plastic storage bins that slide into the bottom shelf. These bins (pictured below) have lids that feature hinged sections, making it easy to reach in and grab seasonings, spatulas, or whatever else you may wish to store there.
The bins slide out for easy access, much like a drawer would. Then, simply raise the hinged flap to access your tools inside like this:
Living in the South, we get a TON of pollen in the summer, so I especially love these bins because they keep my griddle accessories clean when not in use. And, because they don’t hang all the way to the bottom shelf, you can still store flatter items like cutting boards or sheet trays on the shelf underneath.
Overall, this is a great design in my opinion, and I use the storage bins much more than I use the plain shelves on my other flat top grills.
Sturdy and Solid Build Quality
As a life-long Weber fan, I know that I can depend on Weber Grills for their quality. I’ve owned a variety of Weber Grills products over the last few decades including two different Weber Genesis gas grills, a Weber Summit charcoal grill, a basic Weber kettle grill, and of course the Weber 28″ griddle. I have been happy with all of my Weber products, and the same is true of this Weber Slate griddle.
The unit as a whole feels sturdy, and all of the moving parts work effortlessly. The hinged lid lifts easily, the side shelf lowers nicely, and the wheels glide smoothly when you’re moving the griddle around on the back deck.
None of the individual pieces feel flimsy and the griddle as a whole feels well-built.
Pre-Seasoned, Rust Resistant Griddle Top
Over the last few years, many of the griddle brands including Traeger, Camp Chef, and Weber have started offering griddle tops that are pre-seasoned. That means that a layer (or a few layers) of seasoning are applied in the factory, so the griddles come ready to cook on right out of the box.
However, I still recommend that you season your new griddle before cooking on it. Can you just throw some eggs and bacon down on your pre-seasoned griddle top? Sure. But in my experience, any factory-seasoned griddle top performs much better with a few coats of seasoning that you apply yourself before you start cooking. *This is true with ALL of the “pre-seasoned” griddle brands that I have used, not just Weber.
That being said, I am a BIG fan of griddles that come pre-seasoned, because I feel like it gives you a jump start on getting your surface ready to go. Also, from my experience, the griddles that come pre-seasoned seem to have a more durable seasoning layer that isn’t as prone to rust over time.
And speaking of rust, the Weber Slate boasts a “rust resistant” griddle surface. Since I’ve only had this Weber griddle for about two months so far, I can’t speak to how well that feature will work, but I’m excited to see how the griddle top holds up during the winter months when it isn’t used as frequently – especially given that rust is one of the biggest problems that griddle owners face.
Longer Warranty
The Weber griddle comes with a 5 year warranty for most of the parts, cook box, and cooktop. Here are the warranty specifics for the Weber Slate griddle, taken from their website:
- 5 years – Cookbox: no rust through/burn through (2 years paint excluding fading or discoloration)
- 5 years – Hard cover assembly: no rust through/burn through (2 years paint excluding fading or discoloration)
- 5 years – Stainless steel burner tubes: no rust through/burn through
- 5 years – Carbon Steel Cooktop (excluding rust)
- 5 years – All remaining parts (excluding normal wear and tear)
This 5 year warranty is definitely one of the longest in the business. For instance, Camp Chef and Blackstone both offer 1 year warranties on their griddle products.
What I Don’t Like about the Weber Slate
The Weber has some amazing and innovative features, but as with most cooking appliances, there are also some things that I don’t particularly like. And a Weber Slate griddle review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the negatives. Here are my personal “cons” of the Weber Slate:
Temperature Variance Over the Burners vs. In Between the Burners
After cooking hash browns and our favorite griddle pancakes on the new Weber Slate, I immediately noticed that there seems to be a fairly substantial griddle temperature difference of about 30-50°F based on whether your food is directly over the burner tubes or in the space between the burners.
The area of the griddle that is directly above the burners runs about 30-50°F hotter than the space between the burners. This temperature difference over the burners is much more noticeable than some of my other flat top grills.
This heating pattern seemed to be echoed in my infamous griddle bread test also:
Does that mean that the Weber Slate is a bad griddle? Absolutely not. It’s just helpful to know about these hotter zones so that you can adjust your cooks accordingly. With most griddle foods like stir fries or cheesesteaks, the temperature variance won’t matter.
But if you’re cooking eggs or pancakes that need to be cooked at a lower temperature, then you may want to cook them off the hot spots. Or, if you’re searing steaks, then take advantage of those higher temperatures and grill your meat in that area.
For more details on griddle cooking temperatures, be sure to head over here to grab this free printable griddle temperature chart:
Digital Temperature Display Can Be Misleading
I was very excited about the digital temperature display on the front of the griddle, because so many flat top grill beginners are intimidated by getting the griddle temperatures just right.
And as a newbie to the Weber Slate griddle, I expected that the digital temperature read out would be a good indicator of the griddle surface temps over the entire top. If the temperature display reads 266°F, then you would probably expect the majority of the griddle surface to be that temperature.
However, when I tested the surface temperatures on the flat top grill with my infrared thermometer, there seemed to be quite a bit of difference in the temperature of the digital display versus my temp gun, with some spots being as much as 60-70°F hotter.
So the temperature display feature can be a bit misleading. It’s important to remember that the temperature read-out is just a guide, and that temperature displayed is probably the temp of the area in between the burners. Or at least that’s how it is in my experience.
Overall, this doesn’t bother me though, and I tend to not even look at the temperature display.
Weber Slate Griddle Review – Final Thoughts
Overall, the Weber Slate is a solid contender in the griddle market. With an innovative accessories line, a rust resistant griddle top, and the solid build quality that you would expect from Weber Grills, the Slate griddle is easily one of the top flat top grills available.
Though the temperatures of the griddle surface aren’t completely even in my experience, the griddle top has still performed well in my tests, and there’s no reason why you can’t make some fantastic food on this flat top grill with a little practice and learning your temperature zones.
Hope this Weber Slate griddle review has been helpful to you. And be sure to check out my other griddle reviews for some other quality options:
Hi, we just built the 30 inch griddle and the griddle itself is not flush and the bottom right hand doesn’t sit properly. if the a defect or is there something we can do. thank you
I am very interested in this grill but also interested in the Halo griddle! Would you ever do a review on that one! Thanks in advance!