I used two extra-wide Blackstone spatulas to smash the burgers until I heard that satisfying sizzle. When the burgers were done, I topped them with cheese and toasted some buns on the other side. I built the burgers right on the flattop; I felt like a professional line cook for a moment. As someone who loves cooking outside but finds the grill a bit intimidating, I was especially excited about a new product like the Blackstone and decided to test it out for myself. Apply a few drops of oil and lemon juice to the surface, and use sandpaper to lightly wipe off whatever rust you can. If rust has started to develop on your grill’s surface, don’t fret.
Infrared grills reach high temperatures and are excellent for searing meats to seal in flavor — “but overcooking and drying out of proteins can be an issue,” Chernoff notes. But if you haven’t shopped for a new barbecue grill in a while, you may be surprised at the many options. You’ll still find plenty of gas-powered grills, but even they have improved. You can now find grills that use technology to ensure every inch of the grill is heated to the same temperature, eliminating the need to move food around to make sure everything cooks evenly.
Like the model above, this griddle has a rear grease management system, a battery-powered push start button, and a storage shelf for supplies. Instead of two side tables, it only has one, but that’s all you need for a plate and a spatula. To bring to tailgates and other on-the-go cookouts, remove the griddle top and the tank, collapse the legs, then put it all into your vehicle. It also has two wheels for easy transport from place to place.
Cold rolled steel is not only a durable material but it has superior heat conductivity and retention, unlike stainless steel. Sal Vaglica is a gear tester and food writer with nearly 15 years of experience working with and covering outdoor cooking equipment. For
this story, he interviewed experts who have written books specifically about griddling, including George Motz and Paul Sidoriak. Based on what they think is important to look for in a grill, mixed with his own experience, he developed this list of griddles.
I wanted to see how well the Blackstone did at cooking multiple foods at once, so I loaded up the flat top with pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon. Make cleaning your flat top grill or griddle a habit and you’ll get the most out of your cooking area. As it is, the models available provide two good choices which are cold-rolled steel and ceramic-coated griddle surfaces. Both these surfaces are a great choice, and with the right care and maintenance, they will outlive you. Some models come with a cover and a hood which is a metal lid but these two models don’t.
The lure of the outdoor experience is always calling so a griddle that you can just fold up and pack into the back of the truck is an appealing choice. While this may not be an issue when you are cooking for large groups, you may not want to fire up the entire griddle to make a family dinner. Camp Chef flat-top grill may have the upper hand as far as heat distribution is concerned. The griddle has a heat plate attached beneath it that absorbs heat retaining it and consequently spreading it across the griddle above it evenly.
The Blackstone 22” Tabletop Griddle is here to improve how you cook outside. Whether it’s to the tailgate, campsite, or park, this portable griddle is perfect for on the go. It quickly heats up with a total of 24,000 BTUs through two “H” style burners that provide even heat distribution for optimal cooking across the whole griddle. The griddles in this review are designed to work with standard liquid propane tanks, but a conversion kit can allow you to hook them up to a natural gas line. Electric griddles are a popular option for indoor use, but they can’t compete with the size of a medium gas griddle. As outdoor enthusiasts & founders of Blackstone we dreamed of a quality outdoor griddle that could cook for large groups or families.
In this instance, Blackstone has an instructional video on how to properly remove rust to ensure your griddle is safe to cook on. A built in griddle is designed to be placed into an outdoor kitchen. You don’t have to worry about rust… And it will last a long time. This model features four independently controlled burners with up to 60,000 BTUs of heat output.
For obvious reasons, they can severely damage a lot of different types of cookware, and your griddle is no different. It might be tempting to use them when you’re dealing with burned-on food but stick to simple washcloths. I would place Camp Chef right up there alongside Blackstone. Blackstone vs Camp Chef is a fair tussle since these two brands make the best outdoor griddles and can go head-to-head in terms of quality and performance.