MCS strikes - love some advice on flat top griddle

[nunyaz]

Greetings Pitmaster peeps!

I've longed for a griddle since I stumbled upon some YT vids and kinda knew that smash burgers on a CI on the Weber Kettle would be a good benchmark / introduction to the family and help ease the DW into the idea of yet another tool in the pit

Made those burgers one night a couple weeks ago and again two nights ago and they were a SMASH hit and the seed has been planted (to mix metaphors) with the DW helping me cook them one at a time on the 10" CI ...

All of that to ask:

1. How many burners do y'all recommend? Why?
2. Cast Iron or the Pit Boss ceramic? Why?
3. A cover, while it jacks the price, seems to be useful, if not essential ... if not, why not?
4. On the 'short list' is the Char-Griller cuz it's a 'portable' 4-burner for less than $300(!) but has only 121 ratings (and so-so good numbers) on Amazon
5. Don't really have a budget number, but that $300 CG ... (sounds like I'm asking for permission to get that one 😆) – AND, to be honest, I’m torn between a full-size (needing a 20# LP tank – another $60) and a ‘table-top’ that runs on the little LP canisters (which we already have for a camp stove).

I've looked at many YT vids on features/usage etc. so here's our 'parameters': portability not necessarily a deal breaker (for us), we're a family of 5 and 'entertaining' (read: cook for a LOT of folks) doesn't happen very often so a 2-burner might work (as a minimum), but the mantra of buy more cooker than you *think* 💭 you'll need is pretty wise IMHO. Also, not convinced one way or the other re: Steel vs Ceramic and location of the grease drain/trap is immaterial (for me).

Regardless, the added versatility of a griddle is VERY attractive: the hash brown omelets mentioned by Mosca in another thread, stir-fry (haven't had Chinese take-out since 2020 ), cheese-steaks (Philly or otherwise) and of course, smash burgers all make this a good option ... hence this post asking for input from 'been there/done that' brothers and sisters.

(BTW, the Char-Griller mentioned above does have the fold-up feature which would help keep the pit (aka pool deck/patio) a wee bit neater when not in use, but again we're not camper/travelers so portability is not really a priority, just a nice bonus ).

Peace,
Nunyaz

[CHNeal]

Sorry my friend, I just can’t help myself! Under $100 and it takes up no room.

[nunyaz]

Finster - I went to the link Clay included. Manufacturer says the hole is both exhaust and for pot (like coffee pot, saucepan, etc.).

[Finster]

nunyaz
The exhaust makes sense.
Not sure I can envision the coffee pot part..
Could always put a drip pan under the hole to catch grease, I guess..
The welded edges look like they might be convenient (if they're high enough) for help corralling food, as has been noted on other models..

[CHNeal]

Finster They do exactly that. It was my main reason for wanting this one. They are an inch tall and stop food from hitting the inside of the kettle.
Again the ONLY thing I would want is those higher welds in the exhaust and will ask for them if he agrees to make one for my 26 as it’s becoming the tool to use for wok and cast cooking.

[Redwng]

I have a three burner BS from Lowes and I really enjoy using it. Took me a while to understand how to cook with it but someone on AR said to never use water and wipe down with a thin oil coat when done. Best advice I had, haven't had any issues with surface rust since and I live in central FL. Have heard of some folks having issues the Pit Boss surface.

[DavidNorcross]

I recommend the Grilla Primate. Has 4 burners, goes very hot and also has a 3/4 griddle so you can also use one burner for grilling if needed. I cannot speak to the surface comparison. I have only had cast, but have seen good things with the Pit Boss.

[nunyaz]

The Grilla Primate is a budget buster DavidNorcross, but thanks for the input!

[Mosca]

1) It’s just me and Mrs, and 3 burners is good. It will do 20 slices of bacon. I wouldn’t hesitate to cook for a party of 6. But if I were cooking for 4 or more regularly, I would want 4 or 5 burners. These things have hot spots and cool spots just like a gasser, and having larger sections of each is good. In general, you will never remember how much you paid; but you will definitely know if it limits you. A 4 burner can act like a 3, but a 3 burner can’t act like a 4.

2) I can’t answer this one for you, all I can tell you is why I chose the ceramic: ease of maintenance and cleanup. I’ll go through long periods of using a cooker every day, and then long periods of using something else. This suits the way I work. I would have liked to have all the music of the clinking and clanking spatulas, though.

3) The Pit Boss ceramics come with a hard cover. That factored into my decision. If you are talking about a cloth/tarp, I got one. It just makes sense here in the Northeast to protect the tool.

4) Idk.

5) It depends on how you’re using it, I think. Full sized with tank fits us. I never take cooking stuff anywhere. I spent $35 on a Weber Smokey Joe, and I never use it, ever. It was a waste of $35. But the Pit Boss 2, 3, and 4 burner ceramics ARE portable, and there are adapters for the small tanks.

5a) TWO tanks. Because the answer to the question, “How many cooks do you get from one tank of propane?” ALWAYS ends in, “…and a half.”

For anyone with other cookers, especially charcoal, pellet, kamado, smokers, etc, a griddle is going to pretty much completely replace a gas grill. The only thing I used my gasser for was quick burgers and dogs. The only thing the gasser really excelled at was the hot dogs. Well, those can go on the Weber Kettle. I got my gasser for free, and after a month with the griddle I gave it away. For free. Think about it. Gassers beat charcoal for convenience. That’s it. Well, a griddle is as convenient as a gasser, and it is far more versatile.

So there you have it. The weather has limited my cooking. But, all these years, once winter hit I pretty much stayed indoors. But this winter, I moved the griddle to the patio door, and I use it 3-4 times a week, no matter how cold it gets.

[GolfGeezer]

Big +1 on the PB Ultimate. That ceramic coating makes a huge difference, too, in ease of use and clean up. I had a Blackstone and discovered that I could not do a good job of keeping it seasoned. The PB Ultimate makes those problems go away.

[Allon]

Go get 'em Master Mosca!

[nunyaz]

Mosca - very thorough response! Many thanks my PA friend

[jfmorris]

The choice is really down to the Pit Boss with a ceramic nonstick coating, or a rolled steel top like Blackstone, Campchef and most others have. I really like my Camp Chef 6 burner (900 sq inches!), but I do a lot of big cooks. Personally, while you have to season and maintain the seasoning on a rolled steel top, its pretty much indestructible. Even if it rusts, you can clean it off and re-season. If you scratch up that non-stick coating somehow, its ruined. I know others in here have had great luck with it, but let's check back in a couple of years and see how they are liking it then...

[nunyaz]

I hear ya jfmorris! The CI can have lifetime and a half service with proper care; lifetime with renewal (read: elbow grease and re-season).

[jfmorris]

nunyaz FYI none of the griddles are "cast iron". They are rolled steel. Not that it makes a lot of difference I suppose, since use and care are about the same. For me, I just scrape it clean after use (while hot), use some water and rags to give it a good steamy scrub (with tongs if necessary), then lightly oil and shut it off. Cover once cool. I think it takes me 3-4 minutes after a cook to get it nice, clean and ready for the next time.

[Mosca]

I put a scratch in mine before I ever used it. It “healed” by accepting seasoning, and I don’t notice it at all.

I really think that there isn’t a bad choice to make between the two. I’m certain I would be happy with steel. But I was really concerned with keeping the top seasoned, that I might not use it frequently enough, and chose that way. My concern may have been misplaced, but addressing it is what put the griddle on my deck!

[SmokingSteve]

Check out the Cuisinart 360 rolled steel circular Griddle. AR did a review of the 22" griddle. It is offered as an option in the 2nd prize monthly drawings. It is also available as a 30" model with 2 shelves. I had the 2 burner 22" for 3-4 years in AZ until I moved to WA in November. It worked very well. Usually cooked for 2 but occasionally 5 people.

[nunyaz]

SmokingSteve - someone else here in the pit sang the praises of that griddle ... gotta find it
Thanks for the input!

[jfmorris]

I will second that one. My son in law got it when Woot! had it on sale for something like $179 last year, and loves it. That and a 18" kamado are all the grills he needs for cooking for the two of them.

[Old Glory]

Weber is coming out with a griddle soon. I like that the surface is enameled cast iron. Harder to scratch and rust resistant.

[nunyaz]

Old Glory - My DW has a couple enameled CI dutch ovens, but being the impatient cook that she is, they're scorched from using high heat to get to temp faster - now EVERYTHING sticks 😡
My concern is that if/when that happens to a griddle, it's downhill from there 😳

[Jfrosty27]

I’ll add my two cents and say I LOVE my Pit Boss Ultimate with ceramic top. I have the three burner. I’ll echo everything said by Mosca too. I had a little one burner Blackstone to begin my griddle adventure. First, just too small. Buy as big as your budget and space allow. Second, the cleaning and care if the PB top is SO much easier. Cleanup after a cook is 90 seconds max. Then just close the top and boom you’re off to eating dinner. Now having said all that, I will also echo jfmorris and see how it holds up. I’ve had it only about six months but so far no issues at all.

[Uncle Bob]

You've gotten a bunch of good ideas/suggestions/advice so far. I'll just add a few comments to keep your brain a churnin'.

Most of the "reviews" and such you see are made by folks who haven't owned but one griddle in their lives. Whatever choice they made, whether based on price, ease of purchase location, Uncle Fred's advice, or whatever it "the best" in their eyes................because they don't really know the alternatives. And frankly, it may be just fine for them if it works out. If you look at resale ads, and a lot of griddle ones have badly rusted tops, you'll recognize that not all users have positive outcomes. Sometimes it's because the equipment is cheaply made, but more often it's user error. All of that is to say it's not easy to identify what's best for you because you haven't learned what that is yet.

Price isn't always the best measure of quality, but for the most part it seems to be that way in griddles with only a few exceptions. Most of the lower price stuff, typically big box store offers, are made of lighter weight materials...........they get the price down by "de-contenting". Some are done by less engineering. I'm in favor of hinged lids because of the convenience and usefulness. Some of the cheaper ones look to open and close "the same" as their more pricey counterparts but if you had the opportunity to test drive each you'd likely find you'll enjoy how smoothly the better built ones work. That's an example of the "they haven't learned what better is yet" thing I mentioned above.

I've had a few rolled steel tops and worked to learn how to maintain the seasoning, though if there is any ambient condition that's going to allow water intrusion you'll need to do spot "repairs" from time to time. I think I'm the first person on this group to acquire the Pit Boss ceramic, and I've been active on the FB group for that product. I've seen plenty of complaints about the ceramic top being defective and feel confident saying that every single "problem" was user error. Humans being humans, even after spending lots of keystrokes and a few pics, some folks just refuse to accept it's on them. The ceramic tops carry a premium price because they involve more production cost, but the comments from the other folks above about being easier to maintain are spot on. Unless you really abuse it, rusting of the cooking surface should never be an issue. Neither of those pluses mean much though if the typical extra effort of a seasoned rolled steel is within your comfort range and ability. But again, you won't learn that until you jump in the pool.

The odds are good, whatever choice you make, you'll enjoy the experience. If your first choice is a blivet you'll know better what to look for the next time.

[Panhead John]

I’ll echo the other Pit Boss owners on their comments. Mosca made some good points for you to consider. I have the Pit Boss 2 burner and while I think it’s plenty big for 2 or 3 people, if I wasn’t single I’d start with a 3 burner griddle at a minimum. There’s been a few times where I wished mine was just a bit bigger, but I’m nitpicking really.

This is the only griddle I’ve ever owned so I can’t comment on the other brands, but I know one thing….personally, I’d never have a round griddle with no sidewalls. You don’t realize how much you use them [sidewalls] until you cook on one. I don’t see how they [round top owners] do it, I’d have food flying off on the ground all the time. You don’t have to be nearly as careful with a regular shaped griddle.

Another reason to consider the Pit Boss Ceramic, it’s been mentioned above, but the 2,3 and 4 burner griddles are all portable. Whichever one you decide to go with though, I’ll guarantee you’ll love using a griddle. I’m using mine more than my other cookers now, wish I’d have got one years ago.

[Mosca]

+1 on the edge being a feature. For years you learn to avoid the edges on the grill, then all of a sudden it’s like having an extra hand or two.

[jfmorris]

I used my son in law's 22" Cuisinart once for a cook, and basically had a little learning curve as I got used to the "infinity edge" and leaned quickly to use my second spatula to keep stuff from going over the edge when flipping or pushing the fried rice around.

[Mosca]

I think there is probably an advantage for steel griddles in utensil choice, even though I only know that from watching griddle videos and extrapolating my regular kitchen experience to my ceramic griddle. It looks like steel tools on a steel surface do a better job of scraping food, and you can use the metal tools for chopping and cutting. And you get the auditory feedback that you just don’t get with nonstick-on-nonstick. Using an example like cheesesteak meat, on a steel griddle with steel tools, you can use the spatula to chop the meat, as well as using two spatulas’ flat sides to pull apart the meat. On the ceramic, the technique is different, but still workable; you need to hold the meat with one nylon spatula, while taking the corner of another stiff nylon spatula (I use the griddle scraper) and pulling the meat into shreds. Because you’re using a spatula corner instead of a spatula edge, it’s more painstaking (but not difficult, and cheesesteaks are worth it).

[jfmorris]

There are several foods I find myself using my spatulas in "chopping mode". Hash browns for starters, maybe fried rice, to bust up clumps.

[nunyaz]

WOW!!
As Unclebob so eloquently stated, LOT'S of good advice and much to chew on
I've also wondered about the "infinity edge" of the round cooktop and had the same thought double spatulas would be a solution.
I AM leaning toward the rolled steel (I stand corrected on the CI reference, thank you jfmorris ) - especially in light of the seeming abundance of accessories/tools, not to mention the auditory feedback mentioned by Mosca notwithstanding the resounding review of the Pit Boss ceramic by Panhead John (thank you, brother!)
All things considered, (and this was better said by Mosca above) a 4 burner will do everything a 2 or 3 burner can but the inverse is NOT true :/
Wally has the 4 burner Black Stone for less than $280, my concern is that when the DW sees that monster she's going to nix the idea - this is the primary reason for even considering a table-top type (whether 2 or 3 burner).
Still kicking it around, y'all but really appreciate all the thoughtful feedback!! I think it was Reagan who said something along the lines of: it's not what you don't know that hurts; it's what you know that isn't so ... something like that. Hence my original comment of asking for input from those who've 'been there, done that' (or to paraphrase another quip: learn from the mistakes of others; you can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself 😂).

Peace,
Nunyaz

[Panhead John]

Concerning the round top griddle with no edges, sure you can double spatula it, but how are you gonna drink your beer with a spatula in each hand? 😵💫

[nunyaz]

Panhead John - VERY carefully 🥴🤪

[Davek8282]

With one of those hats that hold two beers and straws.

[jfmorris]

nunyaz If you found the Blackstone 4 burner for under $280, that is a good buy in these times of inflation. And you are spot on - you can always cook less on a larger surface, but cannot cook more on a smaller surface. Even cooking for just the wife and I on a 6 burner flattop, I like having space for setting up different heat zones. And sometimes I just turn on 2 of the 6 burners and cook at one end or the other.

Once your DW enjoys a hibachi stir fry or two, and a few smash burgers, the purchase will be forgiven!

[Mosca]

I spent 35 years selling big ticket items. Nobody ever remembers how much they paid; all they remember is whether they’re happy with it or not.