I just started looking at griddles, with hopes to buy one over the next couple of weeks. I've read a lot of reviews looked at the comparisons, thought about the size I would be looking for, and now I am looking for the real reviews comparisons and ideas from the pitmasters. Are flat tops and griddles worth it? Are they an addition to what we already have for cooking and grilling or are they a main piece to the outside cooking experience? Any ideas,suggestions or opinions would be helpful before I make a purchase.
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Club Member
- May 2020
- 1238
- Massachusetts
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Smokers/Grills:
Camp Chef Smokepro DLX pellet grill
Weber Kettle
Dyna-Glo vertical offset smoker
Favorite whiskey:
Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon
Angels Envy Bourbon
Whistle Pig Rye
Everyday sipper:
Jim Beam Black and Wild Turkey Rye 101
Favorite beer:
Coffee Porter or Stouts
Pabst Blue Ribbon and Narragansett for grilling and lawn mowing.
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 19028
- Clare, Michigan area
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Follow me on Instagram, huskeesbarbecue
Smokers / Grills- Yoder loaded Wichita offset smoker
- PBC
- Grilla Silverbac pellet grill
- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (SnSK)
- Masterbuilt Gravity 560
- Masterbuilt Digital Charcoal Cabinet
- Weber 22" Original Kettle Premium (copper)
- Weber 26" Original Kettle Premium (light blue)
- Weber Jumbo Joe Gold (18.5")
- Weber Smokey Joe Silver (14.5")
- Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker (repurposed)
Thermometers- SnS 500 4-probe wireless
- (3) Maverick XR-50 4-probe Wireless Thermometers
- A few straggler Maverick ET-732s
- Maverick ET-735 Bluetooth (in box)
- Smoke X4 by ThermoWorks
- Thermapen MkII, orange & purple
- ThermoPop, yellow, plus a few more in a drawer for gifts
- ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (wife's)
- Morpilot 6-probe wireless
- ThermoWorks Infrared IRK2
- ThermoWorks fridge & freezer therms as well
Accessories- Instant Pot 6qt
- Anova Bluetooth SV
- Kitchen Aide mixer & meat grinder attachment
- Kindling Cracker King (XL)
- a couple BBQ Dragons
- Weber full & half chimneys, Char-Broil Half Time chimney
- Weber grill topper
- Slow 'N Sear Original, XL, and SnS Charcoal Basket (for Jumbo Joe)
- Drip 'N Griddle Pans, 22' Easy Spin Grate, and Elevated Cooking grate, by SnSGrills
- Pittsburgh Digital Moisture Meter
Beverages- Favorite summer beers: Leinenkugels Summer & Grapefruit Shandy, Hamm's, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold
- Fav other beers: Zombie Dust (an IPA by 3 Floyd's Brewing), Austin Bros IPA, DAB, Sam Adams regular, Third Shift amber or Coors Batch 19, Stella Artois
- Fav cheap beers: Pabst, High Life, Hamm's & Stroh's
- Most favorite beer: The one in your fridge
- Wine: Red- big, bold, tannic & peppery- Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc
- Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Blanton's, Old Forester 1870, Elijah Craig Toasted, Basil Hayden's. Neat please.
- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Yes, they are worth it. Griddle cooking is its own animal, and the reason you love restaurant/diner food is because of their griddle cooktops. They add that certain something you cannot get from using a skillet on your stove.
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Club Member
- Mar 2019
- 171
- Weirton, West Virginia
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From the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia
i have done brisket, ribs, pulled pork, cheese, pastrami, turkey and chicken. my goal this spring and summer is trout (if i can catch a few) and salmon.
yes definitely worth it. As Huskee said above there are completely different use cases for the griddle vs my other cookers. I will say for me it has definitely changed my thought process on certain foods. Burger for example. my family so much prefers the crusty crisp burgers off of my Blackstone that we almost never do them over charcoal in the Weber kettle anymore. I never expected that. Also because it is so versatile i cook on it a lot, breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a dessert every now and then.
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Club Member
- Jul 2017
- 1408
- Southeast Illinois
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Cookers I have:
Weber S-335 gas grill
Weber 26†kettle
Weber 22†kettle
Camp Chef XL Smoke Vault
Camp Chef 3 Burner cook top
Camp Chef Woodwind 36 Pellet grill with sidekick burner
PBC
Accessories:
SnS XL
SnS standard
Vortex
Weber Rotisserie for 22†Kettle
1st gen FireBoard
2nd gen FireBoard
Griddle for Camp Chef cooktop
Several Thermoworks items
Set of Grill Grates
Very much worth it. But with that said I sold my blackstone and bought a camp chef expedition 3 burner cook top that included a Removable griddle. So now I have a more versatile cooker that I can use my fish cooker on along with my CI skillets.Last edited by Dadof3Illinois; July 29, 2020, 03:49 PM.
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Club Member
- May 2017
- 3260
- North Central Washington
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KBQ C-60
PK360
Thermoworks Smoke
Thermoworks Thermopop
Thermoworks Dot
I cook on mine everyday. Wife loves it because I'm not messing up the kitchen. I spent far more on the PK360 and KBQ, but my 28" Blackstone I purchased last fall has seen far more road time than both of those put together. As for any advice, I would lean towards three burners so you can create a heat profile across the griddle. I cook on one side, keep cooked food warm on the other. So going left to right, it is off/low, medium, medium/high. I cook right to left.
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Club Member
- Sep 2015
- 5097
- Tennessee
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22" Weber Kettle w/SNS, 18" WSM, Bronco, Grilla Chimp, Traeger Tailgater, UDS, Camp Chef Tahoe Stove.
I have a Camp Chef 3 burner Tahoe stove with a griddle. We love it - it is portable, so we can lug it on the RV. And having exposed burners makes it pretty versatile. We use it for frying fish in CI, doing crab and shrimp boils - whatever you can do on the stove top in the house. And we have the griddle, which is great as all of these guys noted.
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Club Member
- May 2016
- 5615
- Huntington Beach, Ca. Surf City USA.
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Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots
Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads.
The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
Erik S.
I have the Blackstone pro series and I love it.
Cautionary tail. The Blackstones run hot. Unlike ComfortablyNumb I cook from to right To left as that’s how I’m set up for space. Our daily breeze blows in from Right to left, I’m not sure how much impact that has but I know it has some.
4 Burners, Hot, hot off and off. The third burner area that is off will hang at low and the left burner area that is off will hang at warm. That’s just the heat creep.
Or you can load it up!
I LOVE my Blackstone. Huskee is right. It’s another tool. Plopping down some burgers or fatty pork and throwing in onions, mushrooms, garlic and the like to sop up the fat whilst have the needed space to push and hold your food for timing reasons.
Flatops are the outdoor answer to crockpots for one pan meals. You also get killer crust and are capable of variety textures and degrees of doneness for varying members of your picky family.
I have no experience with other home brands but.....
Flattops first sure!!!
Edit: Pretty sure jfmorris might have something to say here when he has time. He has the Camp Chef big one I think.Last edited by HouseHomey; July 24, 2020, 11:19 AM.
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Apparently, the wind guards don't work with griddles with a hood like mine. I may have to swing by Home Depot or Lowes, grab some sheet metal and rely on redneck ingenuity.
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I may have to swing by Home Depot or Lowes, grab some sheet metal and rely on redneck ingenuity.
Standin by, ready to assist, or at least hold yer beer lol!
Have HD cut ya some really small mini blinds, then ya'll have ya some dampers lol!
- 4 likes
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Club Member
- Jul 2016
- 3412
- Elizabethtown, KY
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Current line-up of cookers: Oklahoma Joe's Bronco Pro, Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050, Blackstone ProSeries 4 Burner 36" griddle, Weber Performer Deluxe and Weber Smokey Joe.
I'm just getting started with my 36" Blackstone, and I love it. I use it for something nearly every day. If you're like me, you will wonder why it took you so long to get a griddle.
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Amen, I feel I wasted 62 years of my life not having a griddle.
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I unnerstand, an am so glad to spread th word.
Flattops are definitely NOT a cause of stress; rather, they are a stress reliever, a Liberator, an empowerin device.
No more figgerin how am I gonna git this to all come up together, how many/which pots/pans am I gonna use / wash, where do I hold component X, Y, Z, etc., usw, as I do this? How much mess/collateral damage/heatin up my kitchen this gonna cause???? I could go on, natch, but I must needs make me a bevvie, so I'll be back in a spell...
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Whiskeyman53 All of the positives have had me thinking about one but a big thing to note is where people live and how long your outdoor cooking season is. Some of these folks live in the south or southwest where they can count on 8-10 months of weather decent enough to cook outside.
My season is maybe 4 months with 2 months of prime summer weather. So, when I get one, it will be easily portable etc. I don't mind cooking inside either. That's what kitchens are for, so the idea that these mean you don't mess up your kitchen is... odd to me.
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...time. I prep the food there. I wash the dishes there. I just don't use the stovetop as much, but I still heat the coffee water on it everyday and occasionally cook on it, and use the oven. Frankly, I don't see how I use my kitchen, or how my wife feels about it, is such a big deal to you, or why you think you are being attacked. I don't feel attacked that you only cook outdoors in nice weather and prefer using your kitchen. I'm happy for you. More power to you. <sigh>
- 1 like
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Club Member
- May 2020
- 1238
- Massachusetts
-
Smokers/Grills:
Camp Chef Smokepro DLX pellet grill
Weber Kettle
Dyna-Glo vertical offset smoker
Favorite whiskey:
Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon
Angels Envy Bourbon
Whistle Pig Rye
Everyday sipper:
Jim Beam Black and Wild Turkey Rye 101
Favorite beer:
Coffee Porter or Stouts
Pabst Blue Ribbon and Narragansett for grilling and lawn mowing.
Thanks for honest opinions, I will be purchasing a griddle. Looking at a camp chef to go along with the camp chef pellet grill I already have. Any opinions on camp chef flat tops?
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jfmorris just got one.
Ok folks, time for the big reveal, and thanks to the generosity of some really great friends, the decision of what griddle I am getting is settled. Yvonne and I are now proud owners of the big bad Camp Chef FTG900 flat top grill! Click image for larger version Name: IMG_2122.jpg Views: 0 Size: 2.75 MB ID: 869694
- 1 like
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Camp chef has some great products at reasonable prices and their customer service does a great job.
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Club Member
- Nov 2017
- 7153
- Huntsville, Alabama
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Jim Morris
Cookers- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (2021)
- Camp Chef FTG900 Flat Top Grill (2020)
- Weber Genesis II E-410 w/ GrillGrates (2019)
- Weber Performer Deluxe 22.5" w/ GrillGrates & Slow 'N Sear & Drip N Griddle & Vortex & Party Q & Rotisserie (2007)
- Custom Built Offset Smoker (304SS, 22"x34" grate, circa 1985)
- King Kooker 94/90TKD 105K/60K dual burner patio stove
- Lodge L8D03 5 quart dutch oven
- Lodge L10SK3 12" skillet
- Anova
- Thermoworks Smoke w/ Wifi Gateway
- Thermoworks Dot
- Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
- Thermoworks RT600C
- Weber Connect
- Whatever I brewed and have on tap!
Whiskeyman53 I have the Camp Chef FTG900 - their largest flat top, and love it. I find myself cooking more on it this summer than I do any of my other outdoor cookers. I’m even doing pots and pans on the flat top, to keep heat and mess out of the kitchen.
The 4 burner FTG600 is the only model they have that can convert to a grill if you care about that. The larger 900 and smaller 450 do not.
As ComfortablyNumb and others have said, you find yourself cooking differently, and different things on a griddle. I’ve done burgers, bacon, lots of veggies - stir fry is so easy - fried rice, steak, and last night I made tortellini carbonara with a garlic cream sauce, bacon, onions and sun dried tomatoes. Like I said - keeping the heat out of the house. And clean up of the griddle top is faster than washing pots and pans in the kitchen.
If you want a LOT of flexibility, and don’t already have outdoor burners like I do, definitely also consider the Camp Chef 16†cooking system. A 3 burner stove in that series can take a large griddle top of about 600 square inches, pizza ovens, grill boxes, and also double for boiling and frying stuff in pots and pans. If I ever get an RV or camper, one of those will be in the underneath storage for sure. If I didn’t already have 4 outdoor burners for putting pots on I would have considered one of those for sure. That said, the FTG series has a lot going for it.
There are still uses for my other cookers - I’m not doing ribs, bone in chicken, or smoking butts or brisket on a flat top for example. It’s an awesome tool though.Last edited by jfmorris; July 25, 2020, 10:05 AM.
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jfmorris I was wondering how long does it take for you to empty a 20lb propane tank with normal use?
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Hulagn1971 I've not emptied the first tank yet, so I'll let you know.
I didn't help matters last night - I turned off all burners, or so I thought, and didn't turn off the tank. I went out an hour after dinner to cover the grill up, and the far left burner was still going on low!
The little gauge built into the tank has a green, yellow and a red segment, and the little needle is just hitting the yellow. I imagine the tank is about down to 1/2 or 1/3 left. I have spares though.
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Hulagn1971 even though all 6 burners total 72,000 BTU's, I assume that is on high. I run all 6 on medium-low to pre-heat, then turn 2 off, 2 to low, and leave two on medium or medium-low.
- 1 like
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Club Member
- Mar 2016
- 1636
- Sunny SoCal
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Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
I love my griddle, and as has been stated before...it's an entirely different beast. Burgers from that thing even prompted my father to get a small one for himself & Mum. Yeah, they're that different. I imagine his 4-burner gasser will be used even less.
I opted for the Blue Rhino Razor because at the time of my looking, I HATED the grease management on the Blackstone. It's a 4-burner with integrated shelves that fold up to become a lid/cover. I still use a cover on it, but that's just because it keeps it that much cleaner.
It's incredibly versatile, so breakfast, lunch, & dinner can all be done with ease. And unlike most add-on griddles for a grill...it's completely stable and quit a bit larger. I can cook up monstrous amounts of fajitas that I wouldn't even attempt on my 6-burner Summit.
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