Blackstone

[herbike]

We bought ours last spring before the weather warmed up. I seasoned it in my shop, cooked some philly cheese steaks on it. Since we have hauled it in the back of the pu when camping, used it on the tailgate, on a plastic table where it is now by our back door. I like fixing breakfast on it here at home, saves the wife having to clean up after frying bacon. I can fix 8 pancakes at once so when the bacon is done the pancakes are done with in minutes afterwards.

No problem using it on a plastic table, just don't let you wife sit her plastic contain for birdseed against it when you are using it. Makes a mess out of plastic containers that way.

[russhd1997]

Originally Posted by rangerjean

I have read everything I can find and was a little alarmed at some of the buyer reviews. Comments were regarding Blackstone griddles arriving damaged, with rivets missing or bent, flat top arriving rusty, but the scariest are remarks about warping of the actual griddle piece. Most of the negative remarks are on the Walmart site.

So many on here seem so delighted with their Blackstone, I am almost ready to buy but now a little scared. I do understand about seasoning as I am a cast iron cook. Could there be a difference in the units shipped to Walmart as say directly from Blackstone?
I also understand that there are always a few who are dissatisfied with things and the vast majority of the comments are good.

Some people will complain about anything no matter how small the problem is. The thing to remember here is that these griddles are mass produced and made for a price point. On mine the grease trap doesn't sit quite flush with the face of the base. I've seen complaints about that in the reviews and the truth of the matter is that the grease trap functions the way that it's supposed to.

The early Blackstones had problems with the cooktop warping but they fixed that issue by welding some angle iron to the bottom side to stop that from happening. All of the ones that are sold now have the reinforced cooktop.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by rangerjean

So many on here seem so delighted with their Blackstone, I am almost ready to buy but now a little scared. I do understand about seasoning as I am a cast iron cook. Could there be a difference in the units shipped to Walmart as say directly from Blackstone?

I think Blackstone makes models that go specifically to retailers. Basically the same guts, just differences in trim and add-ons. I haven't seen the combo setup that is at Walmart on the Blackstone site... Mine is all black, came with a stand, closable lid, and the hose adapter for a large propane tank.

[rangerjean]

You guys....I'm so excited. While I am reading and asking all kinds of advice my wonderful daughter just ordered me a 22" grill..it just came. It, and she are simply wonderful.
The 22" is way bigger than I thought but we have room so thats not an issue. It was in perfect condition but the picture on the box shows a silver cooking surface and mine is black like cast iron. I will wash and season it in my BBQ grill like I did all my cast iron. That just works really well and doesnt smoke up the house. Did you guys also season the bottom side of griddle? I season all surfaces on cast iron and carbon steel wok. 6 weeks to camping Wheeeee

[Funengineer]

Yes I seasoned all surfaces several times then worked on just the cooking surface.

[russhd1997]

I only seasoned the cooking surface on both of mine. I've got the 17" for the camping trailer and a 28" for the house. I didn't think of seasoning the bottom.

[rjshiflet]

I recently bought a Blackstone Combo Tailgater (grill and griddle) and have used it several times. Seasoning was easy - just followed directions and a video I found on YouTube. Though I cook outdoors regularly on a grill, I'm new to griddling. The couple of times I've cooked something on the griddle it has turned out pretty much perfect.

Happy to be an RVer and Blackstone owner!

[babock]

Originally Posted by russhd1997

I only seasoned the cooking surface on both of mine. I've got the 17" for the camping trailer and a 28" for the house. I didn't think of seasoning the bottom.

I think the bottom as well as the top comes with an oil coating on it. No need to add more to the bottom.

[twohand]

Originally Posted by babock

I think the bottom as well as the top comes with an oil coating on it. No need to add more to the bottom.

I got my 22-inch Blackstone for Father’s Day 2019. Oiled and baked the bottom two different times last year just to keep rust at bay.

[rangerjean]

Interesting, some of the top pieces I see in photos and also the picture on the front of my box show a silver rolled steel. Mine came with a black powder coating. I dont think that there will be a cooking or seasoning difference as it feels like my Lodge pans did but it does make me wonder why. Maybe the powder coating is a tiny bit rougher. At any rate I am happy and off to the thrift stores for some "accessories"

[Funengineer]

The current Blackstones come with a coating of soy oil. Directions tell you to wash the griddle and then season it several times. I don’t think the griddle is powder coated.

[Funengineer]

Cooked some hamburgers on the Blackstone today. That alone made the purchase worthwhile. They were excellent!

[DenD]

I have the tailgater and leave it set up all summer at our seasonal campsite. It's awesome - I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with a Blackstone if they season and care for it properly. 93 days till the campground opens and counting!

[just4u_cara]

Originally Posted by DenD

93 days till the campground opens and counting!

79 days here until we open up our camper, weather permitting! Our 36" will live at the lake with me all season long. Thinking it'll have to come home with me at the end of the season, for those rare nice-to-be-outdoors-cooking days we have thru the Fall/Winter in Saskatchewan.

[rangerjean]

A great big WaaHoo. I finished my seasoning and watched a whole bunch of videos (I know ...way overthinking) and tonight the maiden voyage of my new Blackstone.
Total success. I did shrimp fajitas. I made my own sauce and next time will spice it up a little but it was fun and easy, Clean up a breeze. This is just going to be a blast. Thank you to all you enthusiastic Blackstone folks on here, I never would have known if not for you.

[russhd1997]

Originally Posted by rangerjean

A great big WaaHoo. I finished my seasoning and watched a whole bunch of videos (I know ...way overthinking) and tonight the maiden voyage of my new Blackstone.
Total success. I did shrimp fajitas. I made my own sauce and next time will spice it up a little but it was fun and easy, Clean up a breeze. This is just going to be a blast. Thank you to all you enthusiastic Blackstone folks on here, I never would have known if not for you.

Congratulations! On my maiden voyage I made breakfast, bacon, over easy eggs and homefries. It only gets better from here. I like to cook NY strip steaks on mine the best. It's real easy, I get a nice char on both sides of the meat with a perfect medium rare inside. Season with sea salt and ground pepper with a pat of butter on top. Yeah I'm making my mouth water just thinking about it!

[frank4711]

I like to compare products to my own made up rating ... I call it cost to satisfaction rating .... the Blackstone is a 10 AAA+++ and provides daily happiness

[MaineCampingFan]

Originally Posted by frank4711

I like to compare products to my own made up rating ... I call it cost to satisfaction rating .... the Blackstone is a 10 AAA+++ and provides daily happiness

You know, that type of rating makes sense. I got my first Blackstone last year, the 22 inch with hood and stand. Was a good size for home and easy to take with the camper. That will now be dedicated to the TT and I've the new 3 burner 28" that Walmart had on Black Friday.
So, I would rate it the same way. I really enjoy cooking on the Blackstone and still keep the grill handy tho.

[BriaBeck]

We bought our 17" Blackstone because of the people on here and the rave reviews of it. We also have a Weber Q2000, which I, at the time, thought it would be impossible to replace. I seasoned the BS with 5 coats of grapeseed oil, then fried up some bacon on it for the last layer of initial seasoning. It was Ready to Go.

The first time I used the 17" BS, I HATED it. To the point that I was considering giving it away to the first person that said they wanted it. The reason was because I did not have it level... every thing wanted to run downhill... which made cooking eggs for breakfast quite the PITA. The next camping trip, I decided to give the BS another chance... I had made 3 small leveling triangles to slip under the feet to get it perfectly level when using it. That made all the difference in the world for me. That little 17" Blackstone became my favorite cooking tool almost instantly. I didn't believe that you could cook steaks on it, but you really can. We even tried a Side-by-Side comparison by cooking a steak on the BS and the WeberQ, with side by side taste testing. The Weber did win, but the DW and I both agreed that the margin was razor thin... the steak cooked on the BS was quite good. We still take the Weber along with us, but it doesn't get nearly the use that it did before. It is true, you can cook almost anything on the Blackstone. Burgers cooked on the BS are superior those cooked on the Weber!

This year, the DW got me a 22" BS to replace my dear little 17". Once the weather warms up, I'll get it fired up and season it and get it ready to cook.

For me, the secret of using the BS is to make sure it is well seasoned, and make sure it is properly leveled before using. I use a bullseye level placed on the cook surface and then the 3 wooden triangles to place under the feet to get it perfectly level before cooking on it. We also run both the BS and the Weber on the camper's low pressure propane supply. No messing around with the little 1 lb cylinders.

[Funengineer]

Originally Posted by BriaBeck

We bought our 17" Blackstone because of the people on here and the rave reviews of it. We also have a Weber Q2000, which I, at the time, thought it would be impossible to replace. I seasoned the BS with 5 coats of grapeseed oil, then fried up some bacon on it for the last layer of initial seasoning. It was Ready to Go.

The first time I used the 17" BS, I HATED it. To the point that I was considering giving it away to the first person that said they wanted it. The reason was because I did not have it level... every thing wanted to run downhill... which made cooking eggs for breakfast quite the PITA. The next camping trip, I decided to give the BS another chance... I had made 3 small leveling triangles to slip under the feet to get it perfectly level when using it. That made all the difference in the world for me. That little 17" Blackstone became my favorite cooking tool almost instantly. I didn't believe that you could cook steaks on it, but you really can. We even tried a Side-by-Side comparison by cooking a steak on the BS and the WeberQ, with side by side taste testing. The Weber did win, but the DW and I both agreed that the margin was razor thin... the steak cooked on the BS was quite good. We still take the Weber along with us, but it doesn't get nearly the use that it did before. It is true, you can cook almost anything on the Blackstone. Burgers cooked on the BS are superior those cooked on the Weber!

This year, the DW got me a 22" BS to replace my dear little 17". Once the weather warms up, I'll get it fired up and season it and get it ready to cook.

For me, the secret of using the BS is to make sure it is well seasoned, and make sure it is properly leveled before using. I use a bullseye level placed on the cook surface and then the 3 wooden triangles to place under the feet to get it perfectly level before cooking on it. We also run both the BS and the Weber on the camper's low pressure propane supply. No messing around with the little 1 lb cylinders.

FYI My 22” has leveling feet on it. Rubber with threaded studs. [emoji106]
I still have issues with trying to fry egg whites as they run all over the grill. The grill as it heats up creates a dome from edge to edge where the burners are. Currently looking for a few silicon egg rings for eggs. Otherwise we love ours too.