Anyone wish they had NOT bought a griddle?

[missonyxk9]

No regrets, we love our Blackstone. We also have charcoal grill, gas grill, and a cast iron grill pan. Nothing gets used more than the Blackstone. In fact, we're getting rid of the 2 other grills.

[fivergeezer]

I have 2 Blackstones, one for each home & gave my stepson the largest one for his family. Since then, all 3 of our Weber grills are rusting on the patios. We literally cook everything on the flat griddle, from pancakes & eggs to burgers, steaks & pork chops. I've even mastered the art of the Japanese flat grill cooking of noodles, fried rice & vegetables. Shrimp, fish, scallops, everything cooks faster, juicer & better tasting than burning on the Barbie.

[NHGuy]

We have a 22 inch Blackstone for the motorhome and a 36 at home. Our charcoal grills have been given away. If you're worried about cooking in a puddle of grease .. you're not setting it up right. I have yet to find anything that could not be cooked on the griddle and taste great.

[Paulat]

Hate having to carry everything outside to cook then bring it all in again. Often too hot or buggy outside. With friends over, or for a steak, I'll do the propane grill.

[sjgh20]

Don't have the blackstone but I have a little weber 2200 gas grill. I got a griddle insert for Christmas last year and love it! Handy for cooking eggs and bacon outside!

[corymiiller]

Sure don't! I love mine.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by sfsgm

Wow, if that charcoal is ready in five minutes, I'm on it.

You want charcoal ready in 5 minutes? You can do it with a charcoal chimney. There are dozens of ways to make one, mostly based around a coffee can. This is the first one I found.

[smitty31093]

We recently bought the 17" Blackstone Griddle with a carrying bag and all the utensils. We used it extensively on our last 4 day camping trip and was very pleased. Ours is the model with the grease collector on the back of the grill. I ran mine off of a 20lb propane bottle that had a splitter to allow us to also use our camp stove/oven. We cooked lots of foods to include eggs, bacon, hash brown potatoes, and steaks. So, no, we do not regret the purchase. So much better to cook outside when the weather permits.

[gunslingertom]

We have a 17 inch BS, a Weber Q, and a charcoal grill. My mood decides which one I use. And I grill bacon all the time on our charcoal grill. Set it up for indirect cooking, cook bacon right on the grate. When almost done, move to direct cooking area just long enough to crisp. Awesome.
And this crock about using a griddle, not being outdoor cooking is just like the tent Nazi's claiming that trailer camping, isnt real camping. If your cooking, and its outdoors, its outdoor cooking. Good grief.

[NJKris]

just like the tent Nazi's claiming that trailer camping, isnt real camping.

Lol! We all know it really isn't though!

[gunslingertom]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Lol! We all know it really isn't though!

Hey, if covered wagons were "camp" in the 1800's...

My 5th wheel, Silverado and Side by Side, can certainly be "camp" in the early 2000's

[Rlarence]

I got rid of mine after one use. It was heavy and hard to store plus a pain to clean the cook top

[DenD]

Originally Posted by loyda

They have one with griddle and grill combo

I have this one and it is awesome!

[PuppyDogMom]

We have the 22" and really enjoy it, especially for breakfast. Only problem is that I couldn't find a carrying case for the 22" so had to get a different one that doesn't quite fit.

[harleyfltri]

Originally Posted by Joe_GA

With all this talk of Blackstone griddles, is anyone sorry they got a griddle. It doesn't matter if it is Blackstone or other brand.

I have the 36" Blackstone, a regular gril and a Green Mountain Davy Crocket pellet smoker for my house. I bought the Tailgater Grill/Griddle combo for our camper and can easily bring the Green Moutain with us if I want. A freind with a Class C had a grill that came with it and added the 22" blackstone. Converting from a propane tank to a lowpressure hookup is easily done with a replacement hose that Amazon carries.

[boatnut]

Love my 17" portable Blackstone. Always goes with me. Same goes for my Anovo sous vide machine!!!! Never leave home without both.

[RFarley]

As far as RVing goes, this griddle does not fill the bill. First it is way to heavy to be hauling around and paying for the cost if gas mileage. Also the griddle is heavy propane user, can not hardly get two grilling session out of small bottle.

I purchased the griddle thinking this would be a great piece to have purchased the special flax seed oil seasoning for the cast iron griddle, has hot spots in the middle, spadder goes everywhere and is hard to keep things from sticking. Cleanup takes for ever waste a lot of paper towels and large mess. I do not want to take this much effort and time just to cook a small meal for two people,.

I used it three times and just put back into the box. Thought I might use it at home but the base gets way hot and need to be careful where you place it when in use. Too much work, too much propane and hard to use, too much weight to carry around.

Just use a copper grill mat easier, cheaper and much lighter and cheaper

Happy Camping Ron

[Chris_]

I use the 22" BS and I am glad I didn't buy the 17" as I think it would be too small for me. Usually I cook breakfast (bacon or sausage, hash browns, eggs) and with covering the cooked stuff to keep it warm, I need all of the room. My 5th wheel is permanently set up at the lake so I don't have to worry about transporting the griddle around.

I don't cook my steaks on it though and use the Weber small gas grill for that as I don't like a griddle cooked steak; at least mine. I will however, heat up the BS on high and quickly sear the steaks before I put them on the Weber. And, I cook on it to keep the smells out of the camper.

Get yourself 2 steel spatulas with which to cook. I bought some knobs and magnets to use as handles on 9x14" baking pans for covers to keep stuff warm while other stuff is cooking. BTW, the 17" has only one burner so you can't get two cooking zones like you can on the 22".

Cleaning
After I cook, I scrape off the junk with the official "Scraper" that comes with the BS kit. I love the rear grease bin on the 22". I have these rags and fold it into a 5x7" size, soak it in water, fold it into a 5x7", lay it on a boiling hot griddle and use this grill brush on top of it and clean the griddle with it (watch out for the steam). Then while it is hot, I put just a small amount of olive oil on it (like maybe a tablespoon) and use a paper towel to wipe it over the surface and sides, and let it burn on high until it stops smoking. The whole process takes 5 minutes or so. A suggestion on oiling it after cleaning is to put only enough oil on it so that it barely looks wet, thin is the secret.

Seasoning
So, this is probably the most asked question about these griddles. Here is what I found. Wash the griddle with dish soap and water to remove any factory coatings. Dry it of course. Put on a barely wet coating of oil ( I used flaxseed oil for the initial seasoning but many say other oils work fine) After putting on the barely wet layer of oil and burning it off until the smoke stops, do it again, and again, and again. Do it as many times as you like or have time for, remembering to use a very, very thin layer, barely wet. After several times you will have a nice coating on it. Then cook, cook, cook. Many folks so perfectly smooth surfaces, which is awesome. Mine has areas that have chipped off and been re-seasoned with my cooking and oiling and while it may not look perfect, cooks perfectly.

Sous vide
So, I got a a sous vide machine and used it several times. I don't use it any longer. While it did cook as advertised, I just didn't like the texture of my steaks and I still had to sear them for the nice surface. The texture of all of my steaks was like prime rib. and not like a grilled steak. I have seen videos where folk's steaks did look nice after sous vide, but mine never did. I just thought it was too much trouble when a nicely grilled steak was fast, easy and tasty. Having said this, every steak I did sous vide was super tender and tasty but it just didn't have the grilled taste and texture I like.

I do like my Blackstone 22" and glad I bought it. It is the best for food that might fall through a grill grate like shrimp or meat chunks with veggies, rice, fish. The 17" would be too small for a full meal for two people, in my opinion, but many folks use it for that. If I was cooking a full meal for more than two people, I would want a larger one.

[NHGuy]

You do not need the recommended flax-seed oil to season your griddle. I just use regular canola oil. If your food is sticking .. you have not seasoned your griddle properly. Yes .. you get hot spots on the griddle but it is consistent as to what area is hotter than others and once you learn where those hot areas are I find it handy when cooking. I often had hotter areas on my charcoal grill so each cook I would need to learn where that area was to be able to move the food around and have everything cook evenly. I’ve never had a cooking surface that was so easy to clean. While the griddle is still hot, I just squirt a little water on the griddle, scrape off any food particles and wipe off with one or two sheets of paper towel.

[Skip12]

Originally Posted by corymiiller

Sure don't! I love mine.

CoryMiiller, thats a nice set up. Can you travel like that? What keeps the griddle and grill box from detaching from the base while travelling?