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Blackstone 36" Griddle

BuffettFan

BuffettFan

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I'm considering buying a Blackstone 36" griddle.
I love cooking on a flat top, but currently only have a couple of electric griddles that aren't nearly large enough or hot enough. I bought them when we were still boating, living at the boat club most weekends and a week or two at a time through the summer, so they served their purpose as well as possible but I think it may be time to upgrade the backyard cooking arsenal.

Some of the questions I've come up with are:
Should I consider any other brands?
Once seasoned, what is the expected maintenance? i.e. Re-seasoning intervals.
Other than a hard cover, what are the must have accessories?
Once seasoned, left covered outside, will it rust?
Are there any other concerns or considerations I should make?

Thanks All!
Terry
 
BuffettFan said:
Should I consider any other brands?
Click to expand...

I don't know.

BuffettFan said:
Once seasoned, what is the expected maintenance? i.e. Re-seasoning intervals.
Click to expand...

I bought and seasoned in March 2018 and I have not reseasoned yet. I do apply oil before I cook anything that's not fatty (such as pancakes). For burgers I use 80-20 and I don't oil the surface.

BuffettFan said:
Other than a hard cover, what are the must have accessories?
Click to expand...

Something to scrape the surface after cooking. There are accessory kits you can get, but for me, two stiff spatulas to cook with and a scraping device.

BuffettFan said:
Once seasoned, left covered outside, will it rust?
Click to expand...

Mine has not.

BuffettFan said:
Are there any other concerns or considerations I should make?
Click to expand...

Yeah- enjoy the heck out of it!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Earlier this summer I was in the flat top market. I did the typical Internet search. Ended up buying a Camp Chef. Honestly, I think there both pretty good. I want CC due to perceived grease drain/mgmt issues and adjustable legs. You’ll enjoy either - a flat top is super handy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
The new rear grease drain on BS has eliminated drain issues. It works very well. I was worried it would be harder to clean, with rear drain, but I really like it. I bought the BS accessory kit with mine. Comes with a couple of spatulas, 2 squeeze bottles, and a scrapper. Only thing you really have to have, other than the cover, is a squeeze bottle, and some long handled spatulas. The thing gets hot, and you want to keep your hands as far away from the surface as possible. I actually use my spatulas to scrape. You want spatulas with rounded corners, so you aren't scratching your seasoning.
 
Thanks for all of the info guys!
Bill, I did a quick speed read of that thread over lunch, Very helpful, thank you!
Tom, thank you for the direct answers, again Very Helpful!
I did a bit more internet research as well and I have to admit, now I'm stumped between the Camp Chef and the Blackstone. Each has features that I prefer over the other.
One thing I saw in the thread was someone was using the just the cooktop from one on his existing gas grill. That may be an option for me as well, and pretty low cost at that, as I could build it myself. Something else to think about.
Would still love to hear some more opinions.
Thanks All!
 
- You can consider other brands, camp chef is probably the closest
- Once seasoned, only need to reseason is if you mess it up. I've had mine 3 years and just re-seasoned it for the first time after some spots wore off and rusted a tad. I clean mine and do a real thin coat of oil after each use but am notoriously bad about the cover. I also cook smashburgers with no oil to help them stick and form a great crust, so that's a bit rough on the seasoning.
- Rust should not be a concern if you maintain it well, like I said I'm bad at using the cover and have just now had some rust after a few years
- As for other concerns, the thing is pretty susceptible to wind. Ideally it'll be in a spot without a big cross breeze as it can cause it to not get as much heat.

At the end of the day, I love my blackstone. I use it multiple times a week for things like smashburgers, street cart chicken, fajitas, habachi cooking, breakfast food, etc. It's probably my favorite cooking device.
 
I have the Camp Chef 600 and I have been extremely happy with it. Two of the features I liked over the Blackstone were the individual igniters and the fact that it is a gas grill. as well as a griddle. I have pulled the top off and used the grill part many times and it is a nice added feature.
 
One alternative to the hard cover. I inverted a large stainless steel mixing on top of the griddle and then put the Blackstone soft cover on it. Water now runs off vs pooling as it did without the bowl. I've had it for a few years without any rusting problems or re-seasoning with that solution.

Now, ability to keep the mouse/chipmunk poop off it is a different topic :mmph:
 
Dweverett said:
One alternative to the hard cover. I inverted a large stainless steel mixing on top of the griddle and then put the Blackstone soft cover on it. Water now runs off vs pooling as it did without the bowl. I've had it for a few years without any rusting problems or re-seasoning with that solution.

Now, ability to keep the mouse/chipmunk poop off it is a different topic :mmph:
Click to expand...

I do this when I cover it. I use a little plastic bucket from my kids sandbox.
 
I have the 36" Blackstone and really love it. Here are some easy steam pans to put together...
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3357863&postcount=41

My homemade smoosher...
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3385197&postcount=9

I wipe the griddle down after each use, and treat it like cast iron. I have the hard cover and it really keeps the thing clean and dry between cooks.

Here's more info...
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212462&highlight=blackstone

Good luck with what ever you go with Terry. Griddles are mighty handy to have. :grin:
 
Great links, Jeanie, Thank you!

I did some more youtube research last night and found some hopefully non-biased side by side comparisons.
Both were smaller, supposedly non-sponsored channels. One was MoJo's Cooking or something like that, the others, I honestly don't recall the names of.
One feature that I thought gave BS the edge was the higher BTU rating, 60K vs 48K. The MoJo channel mentioned that their BS had warped somewhat causing the grease to pool in areas on the cooktop, while the CC had not. Both tops were made of 7 gauge (.187") steel, so the variables are the amount of heat and the construction of the top. The BS has angle iron stiffeners while the CC has a diffuser plate to distribute the heat more evenly.
On one hand, the diffuser would be nice when you are using the entire surface, but I wonder if it would make it harder to have different heat zones.
So, 2 new questions that have popped up are has anyone else experienced warping on their BS and have any CC owners noticed an issue of trying to control different temps on the cooktop, cooking vs warming?
Normally, I don't do near this much research before buying something, but I know my wife is going to have a fit when this thing shows up, so I want to make sure I get the best one to make it worth it. I may have to sleep on the thing for a couple of nights! :icon_smile_tongue:
At least until I cook her breakfast on it. :grin:

Thanks All!
Terry
 
BuffettFan said:
has anyone else experienced warping on their BS
Click to expand...

[Raises Hand] Yup.... mine warped or was warped from the factory. I'm not really sure which since I didn't check it before seasoning and cooking. Could I have warped it during seasoning??? - Perhaps as I likely used way too much heat along with cold water cleaning/steaming.... do not do that. Was it warped from the factory??? - Perhaps but the bottom line is this,,,,,,,,,,,,

Blackstone customer service sent me a new griddle top for free and no shipping. You can NOT beat that kind of customer service. That alone would put me in the Blackstone camp if I was in your shoes.
 
I don't like people enough to require something so large. I have 2 of these cast iron griddles. One for the gasser and one for over the fire pit. They work well for what I need.

30307809537_01ecb8670b_z_d.jpg


I also have 2 of these. They are about 50% bigger that the cast iron griddles. They are cast aluminum with a non-stick coating. Again 1 for the gasser and 1 for the firepit. Works well.

31001400415_dd6dc5705b_z_d.jpg
 
I have a couple of the cast iron ones also, BBQ_Bacon.
I bought mine at Harbor Freight, of all places, years ago. They do a great job for searing a couple of burgers, some bacon for the burgers, etc.

I've got this vision in my head of an outdoor kitchen, but not the granite and stainless type you see in the magazines. Beautiful, yes, but not my style. I'm more the cast iron, open fire type. I've got a very nice Jenn Air gas grill that is seldom used, along with my (3) 22.5" Weber kettles and (2) ECB smokers. Seems the flat top is the logical next step.
 
Once you have a BS, you'll wonder why you took so long to get one. I was where you are a few months ago, looking at different brands, sizes, etc. Really getting bogged down in the process. My wife & son really surprised me with a BS 36 for Father's Day. Have done a lot of cooking on it since. No warping. Mine has the front drain & yes, grease dripping down the leg was an issue. A small bolt dropped in the hole fixed it. I did send a request to BS for they "key" they have as a solution for the problem a few days ago. We'll see how it works.
I cooked about 80 cheap, frozen burger patties for a church supper last week on my BS. Seasoned them up with Heath Ryles Beef & Everday Rubs. Everyone raved about them. I do a lot of stir-fry, fried rice & Mexican in addition to burgers, dogs, etc. It also makes the fluffiest pancakes I ever ate.
I had to reseason once, but that was my fault. Didn't clean it good after a cook & found some rust spots a few days later. Cleaning is not hard. I normally turn it off when I finish cooking & go eat. After eating, I fire it back up & scrape it good while it heats. Once hot, squirt a little water & wipe down with a towel. I have a box of tshirt rags I bought at an industrial supply place. After wiping it dry, I turn heat off & squirt a small line of oil across the surface. I wipe in down with a clean towel so it leaves a very light coat of oil on the surface. Next cook, I heat it up & wipe it down with paper towels & I'm ready to cook. I haven't fired up my charcoal or gas grill at all since I got the BS.
 
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