Pros and Cons of owning a Flat Top Grill

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What is a flat top grill or griddle as most people call it? I’ll go over the two most popular brands and I’ll give you five pros and five cons of owning one.

That way you can decide if it’s the right purchase for you or your family, let’s do it. Hi, I’m Joe. My channel here is all about cooking on the griddle.

When I meet someone new and tell ’em about my YouTube channel, they often ask what is a griddle? And it’s simple. It’s a flat-top grill that you probably recognize from a Japanese steakhouse or your local diner because there are no greats on it. Like a normal grill. You cook the food right in its juices.

Then the grease runs off through a trough. It is hands down the most versatile piece of cooking equipment that I own.

There used to be giant, ugly monstrosities that were expensive and only in commercial kitchens, but in the past few years, a lot of affordable residential models have been made, which hook up to a propane tank and are perfect for the backyard weekend warrior.

The two most popular brands are a camp chef and Blackstone. I own a camp chef and I’ll link a video in the cards explaining why I pick that brand. I do. However, think you can’t go wrong with either one.

They’re both quality products, which are a blast to cook on. Cam. Chef has two main models for at home. Griddling the FTG 600 and the FTG 900, the 600 has four burners and is probably the most ideal for your backyard.

The 900 is bigger with six burners and would work great for a large family or like or something. You can find the camp chef on their website, on Amazon, and at sporting goods.

Blackstone has tons of different models. And generally speaking, is a little cheaper than a camp chef. They have a two-burner 28 inch, which would be perfect for camping RV, small apartments, or condos.

And they have had numerous 36-inch models with different accessories. And they’re probably the most popular griddle on the market. They even have one that comes with an air fryer attachment. You can find Blackstone at Walmart, Amazon, and also on their online store. Also, I’ve heard that if you check Walmart often, they will mark them down when they go out the season.

If you’d like to take a look at any of the griddles that I just described, pros and cons, in my opinion, there are way, way more pros than cons to owning a griddle.

But I did five each for uniformity. I will start with the cons first con it produces a lot of greases because there’s so much of a variety of food. You can cook on it. So occasionally this might attract the unwanted outdoor critter, but a grill can kind of do that too. So it is what it is.

Cons

You need to season it. If you buy a new one, it’s exactly like seizing a cast iron pan, but larger.

So you should be intimidated. However, this is an extra step that the grill doesn’t have.

Number three, the sides get very hot and can melt the plastic. If at stuff on the shelf, not a huge deal, but be aware of this. You’re gonna lose some plastic bottles. Once you buy your griddle.

Number four, if you already have a grill, this might seem like an expensive purchase for a similar item.

The price range is from anywhere like two 50 to $700, depending on which one you get. It could seem like a lot, depending on if you already have a grill, finally,

con number five, most of the griddles do not come with lids. Now some do, and those models are very nice.

And a lot of the newer ones do, but a lot of ’em don’t, which means you almost have to purchase a softer, hardcover to go along with the griddle. And I hate having to buy something else after you just bought an expensive item, but you just can’t risk exposing the griddle to the elements.

If it gets wet, it will then rust and then you have to sand it down and re-season it all over again.

Pros

Now, as I said, I could give you tons. And the reason why I love having a griddle, but I narrowed it down to the top five. I still think these completely outweigh the cons and you will be very, very happy with purchasing a griddle, regardless of which brand you buy.

Number one, pro the meat coats in its own juices, creating more flavorful food. Just look at these smash burgers. That’s all I need to show you.

Same concept for steaks chicken, whatever you put on there.

Number two, if you have a large family, you can cook for everyone at once easily. Here’s a breakfast. For example, pancakes, bacon, eggs potatoes, all on the same piece of equipment. It wants. Everyone gets fed.

Number three, it gets extremely hot and you can see your meat. So if you’re a person who loves steak, you can get a nice sear on it or your burger or your chicken. I mean, I’m talking over 500 degrees is what it gets up to

Number four, the grease stays outside. So you do not make a mess in your kitchen and you only need the griddle to cook with. You. Don’t need a bunch of pots and pans. So it saves you from cleaning up and pro.

Number five for owning a griddle is the versatility you can cook. So, so much more on a griddle than a grill.

Editor’s Choice: Top-list grills under $200-$1,000

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