I’ve been using a new Pit Boss Ultimate, four burner griddle, for a few months now and figure it’s time to post up some commentary here. For those unfamiliar this is a recent release from the folks at Pit Boss that has two primary features that differentiate this line from many of the other home, gas griddles some may be familiar with. The griddle surface is coated with ceramic for non stick properties, and the top cooking section of the total assembly lifts off from the lower cart section for portability, say tail gaiting or camping. I’ll get to those tow features in more detail below. This family of griddles comes in two, three, four, and five burner configurations. Additionally, the three burner version is also available from Walmart as an exclusive model (similar to deals they have with Blackstone) that has a copper colored lid and goes by the model name Sierra. In appearance (except lid and knob color) and features it looks to be exactly the same as the Ultimate 3 burner right down to the shipping weight. I add that last comment because there’s at least one clown on the webs who’s posting in multiple spots that the Sierra is made from lighter gauge materials. It runs about $100 less than the Pit Boss direct model, so some skepticism is warranted, but unsubstantiated speculation is foolishness.
Assembly was pretty straight forward with the separate cook section and cart adding some extra parts and small amount of assembly time. Once put together it is very sturdy and on parr with the build quality of my Camp Chef FTG600 which many think is built better than most in it’s market segment. If you look at the picture you’ll notice some struts connecting the legs which do help with rigidity of the cart, but also block access to the lower shelf. Not hugely, but you are aware of them. The wheels and casters appear to be of good quality for the job, and having four wheels is an improvement for mobility over the two wheels of the Camp Chef. The two side shelves drop down to reduce the real estate consumed if desired, are sturdy, and have a subtle positive feature. They are mounted lower compared to the griddle height so that heat escaping from under the griddle plate is less likely to melt plastic bottles used for oil, seasonings, and water when griddling. A trade off to that is you have to bend over very slightly more to use the shelves. The lid is a nice, high dome shape with hinges that operate very smoothly. I’ve lifted the lids on some competitor units at various stores and with more regularity than I think they should, they prove to be somewhat balky. Especially the ones that use two different length hinge brackets on each side. The PB is like velvet in comparison. And while the lid has a gap around it’s entire lower edge when closed, which makes it safe to use as part of the cooking process, it will hold in enough heat to act somewhat like an oven. You can actually bake biscuits under it, maybe not quite as efficiently as a real oven, but with patience it works. The control knobs have a good feel to them and the ignition is battery operated. You can light each burner individually or all at the same time, none of that silly sequential lighting nonsense. The burner configuration is relatively common with inline stainless tubes with the exception of the left most burner that is in a D shape and somewhat smaller holes. I’ve not seen any commentary (though it may exist somewhere) from PB about why they chose that switch up, but in use it creates a slightly different heat pattern from the straight tubes. I use it as my lowest temp zone to either cook more delicate foods, or use as a holding zone for in process foods. Experienced griddle users have learned that they have hot and cooler spots around their cook tops that seem annoying to the novice but become tools to be exploited by the more experienced flat top chef. I also use that burner for sauce pan warming for say a baste or finishing sauce, or perhaps a side dish.
Of course the thing that most folks are especially curious about is the ceramic coated griddle surface. Again, the experienced flat top folk are most familiar with rolled steel tops that require "seasoning", basically laying on thin coats of oil that are polymerized by heat to create a non stick cooking surface. Very similar to that process used on carbon steel or cast iron pans and griddles. Stainless tops are a different animal so won’t be compared here. Once cleaned of any manufacturing process contaminants the ceramic coated griddle is ready to use without having to go through the "normal" seasoning process. And, happily, it works very well. You think the "egg test" is the go to field test of non stick ability? This griddle won’t disappoint. In fact, if you spatula skills need development you might end up chasing the egg all over in your efforts……………………it’s slick. With a normal seasoned top you almost always have to lay down some cooking oil of sorts even if the seasoning job you did was first rate, it’s just a thing. With the ceramic you can skip that with certain foods, particularly high fat proteins. As far as sear quality I find no difference in crustiness between, say burgers or steaks, what I get on either the Camp Chef or the Ultimate. However, proteins and seasonings will still settle crusty deposits on the ceramic in very similar fashion as on conventional seasoning. I’m a clean as you go guy with the objective of minimizing cleaning of those deposits. As one example, when I flip a burger I try to have a fresh landing spot for side two so that when the burgers are flipped I can immediately scrape the residue off while it’s hottest and not extra baked on. The ceramic benefits from that much as the conventional seasoning does. This is one of those process things that confuse folks. Because the surface is expected to be non stick some folks think you don’t have to be as careful for clean up……..that would be wrong. The oils, renderings, and seasonings are the same (choice and application dependent) and will react chemically in almost exactly the same way to similar operating temperatures. What has surprised some users with the ceramic is that it will in fact take on seasoning similar to the rolled steel tops, and create sticky deposits of polymerized oil that can become problematic over time if allowed to excessively accumulate. Experienced hands who know how to properly take care of their conventional seasoned tops will accurately say that clean up is easy. I agree, but having used both kinds regularly I will say that the ceramic is easier. That distinction is lost on the reading comprehension impaired. The ceramic enjoys a related benefit that it will prevent corrosion of the griddle surface throughout any storage time/manner. Even well seasoned conventional griddles will show some deterioration of the surface when set aside for some prolonged time and need to be cleaned up and re-seasoned before use again.
The internet being the internet there are a lot of sources for misinformation about the durability of the ceramic tops. The one legitimate question is "how long will the ceramic maintain it’s integrity and not flake off or become too damaged to be effective?". They are new enough on the market that only time will tell. Like any other product, your results may vary. Skilled users or people with high OCD scores will get far better life out of any piece of equipment compared to certified klutzes who seemingly could break an anvil by just walking past it. So do your best to flush out the speculators and naysayers who have never used one of these, much less have any solid data/experience, but will still spout off as if they are well informed. One area of contention is the use of different tools; e.g. spatulas, scrapers, etc. PB recommends that users get silicone or high temp nylon tools rather than metal ones. Some will see that as a negative, but it’s of little consequence actually. I suspect they make that recommendation with an abundance of caution since they can’t know if a user is gentle or an abuser. I have a YouTube friend with a channel known as "The Flat Top King" who regularly uses metal spatulas on his Ultimate. But as a word of caution, he’s prepared tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of meal on a flat top and has muscle memory for efficient use of the tools. His spatulas have round corners and eased edges which won’t scratch easily, coupled with his dexterity, and he doesn’t do the showy Tapanaki banging and clattering thing on the ceramic surface. Me, I use the silicone and nylon stuff with little to no compromise.
All in all I’m very happy with the quality of build and performance. I’ve been cooking on it for near four months using it weekly at least once, often more. The ease of clean up is a joy, and it has done everything I’ve expected of it. I do have mixed feelings about the cover that PB makes for it. From a quality standpoint it is one of the best I’ve had, particularly from OEM. The reservation is it’s shaped to cover the unit with the two side shelves extended. For some that’s not any kind of issue. For me it’s about the amount of space I have on the patio and where I slot the grill between other cookers. I fold down the one shelf which causes the cover to look sloppy………………..might be related to the OCD comment above. The other shelf can’t be dropped if the tank is mounted, so it ends up taking up extra space that way. A small complaint that specific to my situation.
Assembly was pretty straight forward with the separate cook section and cart adding some extra parts and small amount of assembly time. Once put together it is very sturdy and on parr with the build quality of my Camp Chef FTG600 which many think is built better than most in it’s market segment. If you look at the picture you’ll notice some struts connecting the legs which do help with rigidity of the cart, but also block access to the lower shelf. Not hugely, but you are aware of them. The wheels and casters appear to be of good quality for the job, and having four wheels is an improvement for mobility over the two wheels of the Camp Chef. The two side shelves drop down to reduce the real estate consumed if desired, are sturdy, and have a subtle positive feature. They are mounted lower compared to the griddle height so that heat escaping from under the griddle plate is less likely to melt plastic bottles used for oil, seasonings, and water when griddling. A trade off to that is you have to bend over very slightly more to use the shelves. The lid is a nice, high dome shape with hinges that operate very smoothly. I’ve lifted the lids on some competitor units at various stores and with more regularity than I think they should, they prove to be somewhat balky. Especially the ones that use two different length hinge brackets on each side. The PB is like velvet in comparison. And while the lid has a gap around it’s entire lower edge when closed, which makes it safe to use as part of the cooking process, it will hold in enough heat to act somewhat like an oven. You can actually bake biscuits under it, maybe not quite as efficiently as a real oven, but with patience it works. The control knobs have a good feel to them and the ignition is battery operated. You can light each burner individually or all at the same time, none of that silly sequential lighting nonsense. The burner configuration is relatively common with inline stainless tubes with the exception of the left most burner that is in a D shape and somewhat smaller holes. I’ve not seen any commentary (though it may exist somewhere) from PB about why they chose that switch up, but in use it creates a slightly different heat pattern from the straight tubes. I use it as my lowest temp zone to either cook more delicate foods, or use as a holding zone for in process foods. Experienced griddle users have learned that they have hot and cooler spots around their cook tops that seem annoying to the novice but become tools to be exploited by the more experienced flat top chef. I also use that burner for sauce pan warming for say a baste or finishing sauce, or perhaps a side dish.
Of course the thing that most folks are especially curious about is the ceramic coated griddle surface. Again, the experienced flat top folk are most familiar with rolled steel tops that require "seasoning", basically laying on thin coats of oil that are polymerized by heat to create a non stick cooking surface. Very similar to that process used on carbon steel or cast iron pans and griddles. Stainless tops are a different animal so won’t be compared here. Once cleaned of any manufacturing process contaminants the ceramic coated griddle is ready to use without having to go through the "normal" seasoning process. And, happily, it works very well. You think the "egg test" is the go to field test of non stick ability? This griddle won’t disappoint. In fact, if you spatula skills need development you might end up chasing the egg all over in your efforts……………………it’s slick. With a normal seasoned top you almost always have to lay down some cooking oil of sorts even if the seasoning job you did was first rate, it’s just a thing. With the ceramic you can skip that with certain foods, particularly high fat proteins. As far as sear quality I find no difference in crustiness between, say burgers or steaks, what I get on either the Camp Chef or the Ultimate. However, proteins and seasonings will still settle crusty deposits on the ceramic in very similar fashion as on conventional seasoning. I’m a clean as you go guy with the objective of minimizing cleaning of those deposits. As one example, when I flip a burger I try to have a fresh landing spot for side two so that when the burgers are flipped I can immediately scrape the residue off while it’s hottest and not extra baked on. The ceramic benefits from that much as the conventional seasoning does. This is one of those process things that confuse folks. Because the surface is expected to be non stick some folks think you don’t have to be as careful for clean up……..that would be wrong. The oils, renderings, and seasonings are the same (choice and application dependent) and will react chemically in almost exactly the same way to similar operating temperatures. What has surprised some users with the ceramic is that it will in fact take on seasoning similar to the rolled steel tops, and create sticky deposits of polymerized oil that can become problematic over time if allowed to excessively accumulate. Experienced hands who know how to properly take care of their conventional seasoned tops will accurately say that clean up is easy. I agree, but having used both kinds regularly I will say that the ceramic is easier. That distinction is lost on the reading comprehension impaired. The ceramic enjoys a related benefit that it will prevent corrosion of the griddle surface throughout any storage time/manner. Even well seasoned conventional griddles will show some deterioration of the surface when set aside for some prolonged time and need to be cleaned up and re-seasoned before use again.
The internet being the internet there are a lot of sources for misinformation about the durability of the ceramic tops. The one legitimate question is "how long will the ceramic maintain it’s integrity and not flake off or become too damaged to be effective?". They are new enough on the market that only time will tell. Like any other product, your results may vary. Skilled users or people with high OCD scores will get far better life out of any piece of equipment compared to certified klutzes who seemingly could break an anvil by just walking past it. So do your best to flush out the speculators and naysayers who have never used one of these, much less have any solid data/experience, but will still spout off as if they are well informed. One area of contention is the use of different tools; e.g. spatulas, scrapers, etc. PB recommends that users get silicone or high temp nylon tools rather than metal ones. Some will see that as a negative, but it’s of little consequence actually. I suspect they make that recommendation with an abundance of caution since they can’t know if a user is gentle or an abuser. I have a YouTube friend with a channel known as "The Flat Top King" who regularly uses metal spatulas on his Ultimate. But as a word of caution, he’s prepared tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of meal on a flat top and has muscle memory for efficient use of the tools. His spatulas have round corners and eased edges which won’t scratch easily, coupled with his dexterity, and he doesn’t do the showy Tapanaki banging and clattering thing on the ceramic surface. Me, I use the silicone and nylon stuff with little to no compromise.
All in all I’m very happy with the quality of build and performance. I’ve been cooking on it for near four months using it weekly at least once, often more. The ease of clean up is a joy, and it has done everything I’ve expected of it. I do have mixed feelings about the cover that PB makes for it. From a quality standpoint it is one of the best I’ve had, particularly from OEM. The reservation is it’s shaped to cover the unit with the two side shelves extended. For some that’s not any kind of issue. For me it’s about the amount of space I have on the patio and where I slot the grill between other cookers. I fold down the one shelf which causes the cover to look sloppy………………..might be related to the OCD comment above. The other shelf can’t be dropped if the tank is mounted, so it ends up taking up extra space that way. A small complaint that specific to my situation.
Neal has a lot of good content.
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