Buying guide for best gas griddles
A gas griddle is useful for much more than cooking breakfast. Sure, you can cook pancakes, hash browns, eggs, and bacon, but you can also sear steaks and sauté vegetables, too. The flat surface is also ideal for pots and pans, making a griddle every bit as versatile as a grill, and probably more so.
The challenge comes in trying to decide which is the right gas griddle for your needs, so BestReviews has been investigating. Our top recommendations cover a range of models from the lightweight portable to those big enough for a full-on street party.
In the following buying guide, we discuss the important aspects to help you choose your favorite, look at prices, and answer some common questions.
Key considerations
Your two big decisions when choosing a griddle are the size and the materials that made up the griddle.
Size
Cooking area: There are a number of calculations you can make to work out the right griddle size for your needs. Some experts suggest allowing 100 square inches (sq. in.) per person. Others recommend 450 to 500 sq. in. for an average family. Some say 550 to 650 sq. in. is the best size.
All are valid, but you also need to think about your intended use. If you’re looking for a portable griddle for camping, a couple hundred square inches will give you something much easier to carry around. If you party with big groups of family and friends, you might well want a griddle that’s bigger than average.
Dimensions and weight: Physical size and weight are important considerations. Will the portable model fit in your vehicle’s trunk? Small griddles can run off a 1-pound propane bottle, but more powerful griddles might require a 20-pound tank. If the griddle is going in your yard, will it fit in the space? Check the actual dimensions — width and depth — and not just the cooking area.
Power: A lot is sometimes made of British thermal units (Btu), perhaps because the numbers are big and sound impressive. In our experience, manufacturers are pretty good at judging the number and power of burners, so you don’t really have to worry about it. Griddles get up to 600°F or 700°F, which is more than hot enough, but you’ll want to experiment. A lot of griddle cooking is actually done between 350°F and 400°F.
However, multiple burners with independent controls do offer one advantage: the option of setting different cooking zones across your griddle, such as one for cooking and one for keeping food warm. A three- or four-burner griddle gives you plenty of area and maximizes flexibility.
Griddle material
Steel: The professional griddles you see in diners are usually made of cold-rolled steel. It conducts and retains heat well and is extremely durable. These griddles need to be seasoned before use (though it’s not difficult), and they’re prone to rust. However, continual use of cooking oil on the surface usually prevents it becoming a problem.
- Cast iron: The alternative is cast iron coated with either porcelain or enamel. Cast iron is even better at conducting heat than steel, but it’s more prone to rust, hence the protective coating. The coating does make cast iron easier to clean (it’s like a giant nonstick pan), but problems can arise if the coating gets damaged, which can happen if it isn’t treated with care.
Gas griddle features
Ignition: Gas griddles light with push-button ignition, usually piezoelectric, which doesn’t need an external power source or batteries.
Support: Legs and shelves are either painted, powered-coated (which is tougher), or stainless steel. The latter is arguably the smartest, but you’ll likely pay extra for it.
Grease catcher: All griddles have some kind of grease management, often a hole in one corner with a removable tray underneath.
Cover: Few griddles have lids, so a cover is a good idea. Sometimes one is included, but not many come with one.
Side tables: These are useful for food prep and serving.
Mobility: Wheels and handles make a larger griddle easier to move around.
Gas griddle accessories
You can use many of your barbecue accessories with your griddle, and your apron and gloves, but there are a couple of different tools you’ll probably want to add:
The stainless steel Chef Craft Turner is very much a griddle tool, making it easy to flip those burgers and eggs. The utensil is made of angled stainless steel, but the handle is plastic. For such a low price, it’s a handy and inexpensive addition to your kitchen cache.
This is another versatile tool for the griddle chef that costs very little but comes in very handy in the kitchen. Use it to chop onions and veggies for an omelet or to prepare small chunks of meat for a griddle stir fry.
An oil mister makes it easy to add oil to your griddle as you prepare it for cooking. You can also use it to lightly moisten food as it cooks. Instead of purchasing aerosol cans of cooking spray with unpleasant additives, consider investing in an oil mister. It’s less wasteful and more healthy, too.
Gas griddle prices
Inexpensive: You don’t really need to pay more than $70 to $100 for a portable griddle that is great for camping, tailgating, or using in your RV.
Mid-range: Family-size outdoor griddles run from about $180 to $220. That should get you around 500 square inches of cooking area. If you need to store it outdoors, a properly fitted cover will cost you another $25 to $30.
Expensive: Big, professional-style griddles — the kind that can feed a big group of family and friends — cost $250 to $350. We’ve seen a few that cost as much as $500, but often you’re just paying extra for a name brand.
Premium: There is one other category: professional built-in griddles, the ones you find in diners. Those can cost $1,500 and more.
Tips
Use paving slabs or boards and a spirit level to even up your griddle. If your griddle is level, the cooking juices and grease will run off as intended.
Keep plenty of oil or nonstick spray handy. These will stop your food from sticking.
Practice. Burner dials are not calibrated for temperature, and no gauge is supplied, so you’ll need to practice to figure out the right temperature for different foods. Cooking pancakes is a good way to learn your griddle. The mix is cheap (you’ll burn a few). Once you get good, you can cook bacon, burgers, onions, cheese, and toasted buns just like the pros!
Don’t forget pans. You’ll need them for making sauces and gravies.
Keep plastic bags and styrene food containers away from the hot griddle. If they melt onto the griddle, they can be a real pain to get off!
- Maintain your griddle. To clean, scrape off food waste while the griddle is still warm. With steel griddles, some people like to use an old towel to thoroughly wipe down the surface (wear oven mitts or barbecue gloves to protect your hands) and then apply a light coat of oil to protect the surface. Store or cover the griddle when it’s cool.
Other products we considered
If you’ve already got a gas grill or barbecue and don’t want a complete gas griddle, the Aura Cast Iron Griddle is a 135-square-inch reversible plate that rests on top of your existing grill. It’s not quite as efficient, but it’s a good, inexpensive option for occasional use. The Onlyfire Stainless Steel Griddle is a similar idea but for a kettle grill, though the price isn’t far short of the portable griddles we feature. From a company perhaps better known for its grills, the Megamaster Gas Griddle/Plancha is well worth a look. It has two burners running at 18,000 Btu, with 282 square inches of cooking surface. An interesting feature is the protective lid that works as a grease shield when open. Finally, there’s the Brasero Portable Flat-Top Gas Griddle. It’s among the larger “portable” models with almost 500 square inches of enameled cast iron surface, and it weighs 40 pounds.
FAQ
Q. What’s the difference between a griddle and a grill?
A. You might get arguments about this one, but for us a grill is your standard barbecue model with open racks. A griddle is a flat plate like you see in diners. To put it another way: If you can fry an egg on it, it’s a griddle!
Q. Do I need to preheat my griddle?
A. Yes. Even if you want areas of different heat across your griddle, you want to stabilize it as much as possible before you start cooking. To some extent, it depends on the size and power (Btu), but in general it takes no more than 15 minutes.
Q. What type of oil should I use on my griddle?
A. There’s lots of debate about this and everyone has a favorite. Basically, the oil has to be able to withstand high heat. Those with a smoke point below 450°F will tend to burn off. Popular choices are vegetable oil (or vegetable shortening), extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and canola (rapeseed) oil.
