Mastering Your Blackstone Griddle: 20 Essential Tips for Seamless Outdoor Cooking

My Big Green Egg is green with envy. And honestly, who can blame it? It just sits there in its elegant table nest, giving me that unmistakable look: “I see that orange and black thing. I know what you’re doing.” How does one even respond to such ceramic disdain? I usually just pat its bumpy surface a few times, lift the lid, and assure it that it remains the most awesome Large Big Green Egg in the entire land. Then, I gently replace the cover and turn my attention to my new Blackstone Griddle.

Life, after all, is a journey of change and adaptation. It’s been a couple of months since I brought home a new Blackstone Adventure Ready 28 Inch Griddle from my local Walmart. This period has been more than enough time to fully appreciate just how radically different this world of flat-top griddle cooking is from the controlled, smoky universe of the Big Green Egg kamado cooker, which patiently awaits its turn just ten feet away. There’s even a Char-Broil gas grill another ten feet beyond that, feeling a little left out as well. But we’re all in this outdoor cooking adventure together, and I’m here to share the wealth of knowledge gained. Here are 20 essential insights you’ll undoubtedly discover for yourself once you join the ever-growing Blackstone Nation.

Why There’s A Time And Place For Every Barbecue Grill

Imagine the ultimate outdoor cooking arsenal: a versatile Blackstone griddle, paired with a sophisticated kamado ceramic cooker like a Big Green Egg or a Kamado Joe, and perhaps complemented by a popular outdoor BBQ unit such as a Traeger pellet grill or a reliable Weber Genesis Grill. With this setup, you truly achieve the best of all worlds right in your backyard. What’s fascinating is how these distinct cooking philosophies – griddling, smoking, and traditional grilling – are as different as night and day. In a metaphorical sense, they’re like Mercury, Venus, and Earth, each occupying its unique orbit, yet all relying on intense heat to deliver culinary delights for your pleasure.

For most of us, our busy lives mean that meal planning is often spontaneous, dictated by our mood or available time. The Big Green Egg, while immensely rewarding, typically demands planning and patience. It’s completely worth the effort if you’re embarking on a day-long journey to smoke an Aaron Franklin Brisket or even something slightly less ambitious that requires sustained, indirect heat. Now, with the Blackstone, I have two fantastic options for fast-action outdoor cooking. A propane tank and an open flame lead to quick results. If I crave a perfectly seared ribeye or juicy pork chops, I’ll often gravitate towards the Char-Broil gas grill, as I prefer an open flame for achieving that ideal crust on thick cuts of meat. But if a burger is calling my name, the Blackstone, with its flat-top surface and a trusty grill press, is my undisputed champion. Even breakfast becomes an exciting, rapid affair on the griddle, making us far less inclined to settle for a quick bowl of cereal when we can effortlessly whip up fluffy pancakes and crispy bacon.

20 Essential Discoveries After Buying Your Blackstone Griddle

Whether you’re making a grand transition from another type of outdoor cooking hardware or introducing a new Blackstone as the solo superstar on your back deck, these are some of the early, yet crucial, discoveries you’ll likely encounter on your exciting griddle journey. These tips will help you master your Blackstone and elevate your outdoor cooking experience.

1. Embrace the Standing Position: It’s Like the National Anthem of Griddling

Perhaps the most significant adjustment when moving to a Blackstone griddle is the constant standing. The beauty of grilling on a Weber or smoking with indirect heat on a Big Green Egg kamado cooker often lies in letting the fire do its intricate work while you relax, perhaps with a cold beverage and some tunes. Advanced temperature control devices like the Flame Boss even allow you to step away from the grill for extended periods. You’d typically get up occasionally to check your food, nod in approval, and then settle back down. With the Blackstone Griddle, however, the entire cooking experience demands your presence. You’ll be standing with good posture for the duration of the cook, actively engaged. Think of it like a chef in a bustling kitchen – feet shoulder-width apart, ready for action. You might shift your weight or move your feet around a bit just to keep the circulation going, because yes, you’ll be standing for the entire time your griddle is hot and active.

2. Blazing Speed Means Your Standing Time Is Surprisingly Short

Don’t let the thought of constant standing deter you; the cooking speed of a Blackstone griddle is truly remarkable. Imagine the seventh-inning stretch at a baseball game – it’s a necessary pause, but it doesn’t last forever. Griddle cooking is much like that. It’s not a torturous ordeal because the process is incredibly fast. You squirt a little oil onto the preheated griddle, spread it evenly, then confidently place your food onto the designated cooking zones. The sizzle is immediate, fast, and furious. You’ll use both spatulas simultaneously to work your food, watching morsels quickly brown, caramelize, or crisp to perfection. Employ a dome to tenderize or quickly melt cheese for incredibly fast results. Before you know it, the entire cooking exercise is over, and you’re ready to serve, much like being ready for the lead-off batter in the bottom of the seventh.

3. The Griddle Mantra: “If You’re Lookin’, You Must Be Cookin’”

Any seasoned cook who has smoked brisket, pulled pork, or a beer can chicken on a Big Green Egg is intimately familiar with the classic expression: “If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.” This adage stems from the critical need to prevent valuable smoke and heat from escaping your grill or smoker, which can drastically impact temperature stability and cooking times. Maintaining a consistent internal temperature is paramount in those units. With the Blackstone Adventure Ready Griddle, however, this wisdom is completely inverted. The new mantra becomes: “If you ain’t lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.” On a hot griddle, food can burn remarkably quickly if left unattended. Your constant vigilance allows you to see precisely what needs to be flipped, moved, or removed right now, ensuring everything cooks perfectly and nothing gets overdone.

4. Elevate Your Platter Game: Preparation Is Key

Given that you’ll be actively engaged at the griddle for the duration of the cooking process, meticulous preparation is even more critical. Ensure you have all your platters, bowls, and serving dishes neatly arranged on adjacent side tables or a nearby cart. This strategic setup allows you to quickly remove each item as it finishes cooking, transferring it efficiently from the scorching griddle to a waiting platter. This streamlined process is vital for two reasons: firstly, it prevents food from overcooking on the hot surface, and secondly, it ensures that your dishes remain piping hot when you transport them to the kitchen or dining room for serving. Without this foresight, you’ll quickly understand why they put the word “black” in Blackstone as food left unattended will inevitably burn. Always be ready for the grand culinary finale.

5. That Griddle Performance Deserves a Standing Ovation

As we’ve established, griddle cooking means standing at attention, fully immersed in the culinary action while that scorching griddle surface works its magic. You’ll find yourself moving with a certain rhythm, much like an orchestra conductor. With two spatulas in hand, you’ll be constantly shifting, flipping, and arranging pancakes, burgers, vegetables, or whatever delicious items are on the menu. It’s an active, almost choreographed performance. When every dish is perfectly cooked and ready to serve, there’s an undeniable sense of accomplishment. You can, quite literally, turn around, take a bow, and imagine a packed concert hall erupting in applause, yelling “Bravo!” for your culinary masterpiece. It’s an engaging, energetic experience from start to finish.

6. Maintain Laser Focus with an Infrared Temperature Gun

I was fortunate enough to receive a General Tools Digital Laser Temperature Gun from a fellow cast iron restoration enthusiast. While I primarily use it for seasoning vintage skillets in my oven, I quickly discovered it’s an absolutely vital tool for the Blackstone Griddle. Simply point it at various spots across the cooking surface, and you instantly get a precise temperature reading. This isn’t merely an accessory; it’s as integral to your griddle persona as Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber was to him in Star Wars – an extension of your cooking prowess. Trust me, you need this tool. It allows you to understand the varying heat zones with unprecedented accuracy, a crucial aspect for griddles that is far less critical for ceramic cookers or gas grills where overall ambient temperature is often the focus.

7. Cultivate the Ability to “See” the Hidden Fire Within

Why is the ability to precisely “see” temperatures on a griddle so much more critical than on a Big Green Egg, a Traeger pellet grill, or a Pit Boss Smoker? Because the Blackstone griddle is a unique outdoor cooking apparatus where the fire, though powerful, is entirely hidden. Humans have a long history of interacting with and eventually concealing fire, evolving from Neanderthal discoveries to sophisticated furnaces and wood stoves. Personally, I derive immense satisfaction from seeing beautiful, dancing flames when I cook, so adapting to the Blackstone’s hidden heat source was a distinct learning curve. Mastering a Blackstone stand-up griddle involves developing an intuitive ability to visualize the intense fire lurking beneath the rolled carbon steel top, understanding that a fire, whether visible or not, is still a potent force to be respected and managed.

8. Acknowledge That All Heat Zones Are Not Created Equal

Now armed with your infrared temperature gun, you’ll discover that despite what advertisements might suggest, the griddle top features a wide and dynamic range of hot spots. While Blackstone often advertises “two” heat zones, referring to the two independent H-burners with their own temperature control knobs, the reality is far more nuanced – it’s more like 20 distinct zones. The burner on the left, typically closest to the propane tank, often creates the hottest center on your griddle. Understanding this variability is key to successful griddle cooking. You’ll need to learn precisely where to place different foods, how often to move them, and which areas heat up the fastest. For example, if you’re cooking bacon and pancakes, you might start the bacon on the hotter left side to get a quick sizzle, then pour your pancake batter on the slightly cooler right half of the griddle, allowing for simultaneous, perfectly cooked results.

9. Be Prepared to Use a Long Lighter – The Igniter Might Not Cooperate

Both H-burners on the Blackstone griddle are designed to ignite effortlessly when you turn the dial to the first orange dot and press the ignite button. However, in my experience, the igniter on my unit never worked from day one. Blackstone provides an extensive list of troubleshooting tips for such issues after assembly, but none of them proved helpful for me. In fact, I’m now zero for two on igniter buttons working on my last two propane-powered devices, which is incredibly frustrating. Companies like Blackstone should aim for foolproof quality assurance in their manufacturing process, rather than burdening customers with post-assembly troubleshooting. My workaround involves opening the propane tank, setting both dials to the start position, and then inserting a long butane lighter through the small gap beneath the griddle to manually ignite the burners. It’s a simple, effective method, and you can usually catch a glimpse of the small blue flame through the gap, confirming ignition.

10. Stay Agnostic: Don’t Be a Brand Zombie

Brand loyalty, especially in the vibrant world of barbecue, is often vastly overrated. I’ve observed Big Green Egg enthusiasts who feel compelled to outfit their entire outdoor kitchen with every conceivable BGE-branded accessory. The same phenomenon occurs with Blackstone devotees who “bleed orange and black,” purchasing only their brand’s accessories. While I genuinely appreciate and enjoy Blackstone accessories, and occasionally tag them on social media, slavishly buying every item they produce primarily serves to boost their fiscal reports and increase their revenue projections. I wholeheartedly swear by my Big Green Egg meat press, which I regularly use on my Blackstone. Similarly, my Weber griddle spatulas and squirt bottles are often just as good, if not superior, to Blackstone’s branded versions. In virtually every category of griddle accessories, you’ll find at least one high-quality alternative. A quick search on Amazon will reveal a wide array of options, often at better price points. Save your hard-earned money in this area and reinvest those savings into buying more premium ingredients for your culinary creations.

11. The Enigmatic Squirt Bottle: A Persistent Mystery

Speaking of squirt bottles, I confess: I still have no idea why they are so confoundingly difficult to get working initially. It’s as if they were designed with child-proofing in mind, but for adults. Please, feel free to enlighten me in the comments section about this peculiar design flaw and who might be responsible. The bottle designated for vegetable oil eventually becomes our go-to after what often feels like an hour or two of coaxing the liquid to flow properly. To this day, I remain stumped on how to get the water bottle to squirt effectively, or even precisely when and why one should use water on a griddle, considering that water and oil have never mixed harmoniously in human history. As a side note, I strongly advise against leaving the same water in the bottle indefinitely, especially if you store your bottles on the covered grill, as it can become stagnant and unhygienic.

12. Discover the Magic: There’s No Place Like Dome

Initially, I hesitated on investing in a separate griddle dome, assuming that the Blackstone’s integrated hood would provide sufficient convection heat when closed. However, I quickly learned that isolating a dome over specific items is absolutely key for optimal results. A dome creates a micro-environment that effectively melts cheese, steams vegetables, or tenderizes meats much faster. For instance, during my first two attempts at making smashburgers with a generous hunk of fresh blue cheese, I struggled to crumble the cheese onto the patties. Blue cheese, by nature, tumbles. Once the patties were topped, the dome became indispensable, allowing the cheese to melt quickly and thoroughly without overcooking the burgers. While a round dome is technically superior to a square one due to basic physical properties that enhance heat distribution, either type will significantly improve your griddle cooking.

13. Skip the Blackstone Spatula Holder: It’s a Burn Hazard

I purchased Blackstone’s package of four bright-orange magnetic utensil holders, and these have proven quite handy for keeping my cleaning tool and other essential utensils within easy reach. However, someone in Accessory Strategy decided it would be wise to include a small spatula holder strip within that magnet package, perhaps to make the package appear larger and more appealing for purchase. This metal strip features a lip, designed to fit over the back edge of the griddle while you cook, supposedly allowing you to rest your spatula blade there when not in use. Here’s the critical problem: IT’S EXTREMELY HOT BACK THERE! Reaching to retrieve the spatula practically singed my wrist hairs, and the spatula itself became searingly hot, rendering it impractical and unsafe. Frankly, the magnets should be sold individually, and we can simply rest our spatula on the convenient side shelf when not actively using it, which, incidentally, is rarely the case during a fast-paced griddle session.

14. Master the Art of the Perfectly Smashed Burger

Smashing a burger on a Blackstone griddle is a procedure entirely different from what I was accustomed to on my Big Green Egg or even my Char-Broil gas grill. On traditional grills, when you press a ground beef patty down hard, the meat tends to ooze through the grates, potentially leading to some loss of meat into the fire when you attempt to flip them. With the Blackstone, there’s nowhere for the burger to go but outwards, creating that iconic crispy edge. This is where my Big Green Egg press proves exceptionally effective – its wide, circular design ensures the patties never extend beyond its sphere, preventing uneven edges. Rectangular presses can sometimes fall short here, as the meat can push past the shorter ends, resulting in irregularly shaped burgers. My first attempt at smashburgers resulted in a bit too much pink inside for my liking. It took developing a keen feel for when to flip and how often. The second time, however, they were insanely good and perfectly crispy – think Shake Shack in New York or your favorite greasy-spoon diner-style perfection.

15. The Beer Question: Where Does It Go on a Griddle?

Am I the only one who habitually takes a swig of beer and then pours a little onto chicken or steak as it’s searing over open flames on traditional barbecue cookers and grills? I’m pretty sure I learned that technique from a certain parent, and I always felt it imparted just the right touch of flavor in the end. Well, you can effectively throw that beloved tradition out the window right now when using the Blackstone. I mean, quite practically, where is the beer supposed to go if you pour it directly onto the flat griddle surface? It just pools and evaporates. Let me know in the comments if any of you have devised a clever strategy for incorporating beer into your griddle cooking. It feels like the American way, and I’m open to innovation!

16. Silicone Molds: Fun, But Nothing Beats the Real Thing

Yes, we’ve heard that before. But seriously, let’s be real: those colorful silicone spherical cut-out molds for pancakes or eggs are primarily a way for accessory manufacturers to generate more sales. I was at the Lodge Cast Iron Factory Store in South Pittsburgh, Tenn., recently and came incredibly close to buying a batch of them; they just look so appealing. But do you genuinely need a mold to perfectly pour a pancake or to make an egg? Did your first-grade teachers have to help you color inside the lines, or did you learn to draw freehand like most of us? You possess a creative module in your brain, so embrace the artistry! Enjoy the process of pouring batter freehand or cracking that egg and flipping it with confidence. Remember, the seasoned cook at your local diner would likely chuckle at the thought of relying on little silicone accessories to showcase their culinary talent.

17. The Simple Art of Making Pancakes Properly

To make pancakes properly on a griddle, you simply pour the batter, wait for bubbles to form and the edges to set, then flip them, cook briefly on the other side, and remove. Seriously, it’s that straightforward. While we’ll probably dedicate an entire blog post to this on a food site – because that’s what food sites do – I’m fairly certain we all covered this basic culinary skill in Cub Scouts or a similar introductory class. There truly isn’t much to “learn” beyond practice. We certainly didn’t do a lot of pancake flipping or egg frying on the Big Green Egg because, well, it’s ALREADY AN EGG-shaped smoker, and the batter would simply drip down into the fire in a glorious, albeit messy, pile of Cowboy Pancakes.

18. Weathering the Storms: Durability and Protection

Living in the Tampa Bay area means our outdoor cooking equipment needs to withstand some truly intense afternoon storms. So far, the Blackstone unit has proven its sturdiness admirably. I invested in a strong, durable, and heavy-duty grill cover that effectively keeps out all elements. Its weight ensures it stays securely in place even during severe weather. This was one of my initial concerns about having a relatively lightweight Blackstone portable griddle on our back deck, especially when compared to the formidable, heavy Big Green Egg situated right next door. A good quality cover is an absolute must to protect your investment from the unpredictable elements.

19. Cleanup Is Much Easier and Intrinsically Different

Big Green Egg cooks know that cleanup actually marks the beginning of the next cooking process. First, you typically have to shake out the ash from the previous cookout, then meticulously fill the bottom with quality lump charcoal to establish a fire and open airways, which can sustain smoking for 12 hours or more. A quick wipe of the grate while it’s still warm is usually the extent of the actual “cleanup.” With the Blackstone, the cleaning process is far more straightforward and occurs entirely at the end. Immediately after removing the food and transferring it to platters, I use my sturdy spatula to scrape any leftover food bits and grease towards the grease tray opening. Then, I wipe the griddle surface down with paper towels, which are conveniently dispensed from the roll arm feature. Next, I apply my “Easy Beezy” roll-on product, smearing it evenly around the still-warm griddle surface. I’m not entirely sure if this is the intended application, but it works wonders for me. I then use a few more paper towels to spread that product evenly over the entire surface, and once it has cooled, I close the hood and place the cover over the griddle. A final wipe down of any exterior grease, including the side shelves, and I’m done. Simple and efficient!

20. Portability: The Game-Changer That Makes All the Difference

Imagine the sheer jealousy radiating from my Big Green Envy Egg when I effortlessly pop off the Blackstone hood, fold up its legs, and slide it into the back of our vehicle, ready for a camping trip, a tailgate party, or a vacation road trip. This level of portability is a massive advantage that even our gas grill cannot offer. It truly opens up a world of culinary possibilities beyond the backyard.

While I haven’t yet fully capitalized on this incredible portability advantage with my Blackstone, it was undoubtedly one of the many compelling reasons we decided to purchase it. Your comments below are highly welcomed for any travel takeout tips, road trip recipes, or clever ways to utilize the griddle on the go. And, of course, any advice on how to deal with my Big Green Egg’s perpetually hurt feelings is always appreciated!