5 Things I Wish I knew before buying a Blackstone Griddle

A couple of years ago I got to “test drive” a Blackstone griddle  prior to owning mine and it was awesome.  I was hooked once I saw how easy it was to handle and cook on.  Santa brought me one that Christmas after I wouldn’t shut up about it.  I promptly did epic breakfasts, fried rice, country style potatoes and whatever else I could find an excuse to cook on it.  After owning it a while and the newness wore off I reflected on what I cooked on it and the accessories I purchased for it.  I had a few of those “aha” moments where I wish my future self would have told me about.  I made a list of the most valuable things I learned and we talked about it on our podcast.   

5. Hot Zones

Know your cooker!  We talk about this often, but this is great advice.  I’m talking about knowing where the cooker surface is the hottest.  For example on my flat top the middle zone of the cooker is by far the hottest.  When I’m doing a hot sear or want to cook something fast I know exactly where to put my food.  Knowing this can save you a lot of time when you’re cooking multiple things at once.  Having one burger done long before the others sucks!

4. Extra fuel

This one might be a no brainer but having an extra propane tank on hand is key.  You can buy one of those crazy scales or gadgets to let you know when your tank is about to run out but I think the peace of mind of having a fresh bottle on hand is worth the price you pay for it.  If you’re a gas griller, you know what I'm talking about.  It happened to me once (which was one too many times) and I immediately ordered the natural gas kit for it so I'd never have to bother with filling propane tanks again.

3. Seasoning your grill

I wish someone would have talked about the great things seasoning your grill does for it.  I don’t think I seasoned mine very well the first time I cooked on it.  It wasn’t the non-stick surface I was expecting and I attribute that to how I seasoned it when I got it.  I ended up re-seasoning it not long after I got it and it performed better the more I used it.  Seasoning develops that non-stick surface you’re expecting to cook on.  I’d recommend going through the process detailed in the manual a couple times before committing to a cook on it.

2. Don’t go crazy with accessories

I love accessories, probably more than most.  I love all the extras that you can buy to enhance your hobby.  My advice though, is to keep it simple with this one.  You don’t need much to enhance the flat top experience here.  I recommend Blackstone’s simple 5-piece kit.  These are the things you’ll use the most.  I ended up buying a couple melting domes and some special cleaning supplies.  I almost pulled the trigger on a fancy cover but you’ll find out that the 5 piece kit satisfies almost every need that goes along with cooking on this thing.  The scraper and the spatulas are awesome and work great.  The squeeze bottles get used every time I fire it up.  

1. Epic flat top dishes

This might sound like a cop out but why did you buy this thing?  To make epic burgers?  Epic taco night?  Epic breakfasts?  Yep, checks all those boxes.  My favorite thing to cook on this thing?  Hands down burgers.  I know I preach every week about charcoal cooking, and yes charcoal produces some great burgers.  The smash burger craze wasn’t unfounded, I believe some of your favorite burgers came off a griddle.  The Blackstone helps you achieve this great feat of cooking prowess.  Just a couple more ideas, I’ve done delicate flaky fish on this thing too.  It works great, no more worrying about if your fish will fall through the grill or smelling up the house with the smell of fried fish!  Breakfasts are easy and fast too, cooking a huge amount of bacon and frying your eggs up while cooking some hot cakes?  Yep, do it all at once if you want.  

I love cooking on my Blackstone griddle, I recommend you look into one if you’re curious and in the market for a new cooker!

Now get out there and grill!