We get all kinds of cooking questions here at Blackstone. One of the most common is whether we call our Blackstone a griddle or just a grill. While the answer comes down to personal preference, let's look at the differences between a griddle and a traditional grill and let you decide for yourself what you want to call it.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GRIDDLE AND A TRADITIONAL GRILL?
An outdoor grill is a cooking appliance with its own heat source. Grills are most commonly fuelled by gas or charcoal and can reach temperatures of 600°F (about 315°C) or even higher.
When you cook on a grill, the food is placed on grill grates above the heat source, which is usually an open flame. Grill grates are made of metal. They consist of parallel bars spaced roughly half an inch apart, not quite as thick as a pencil.
A griddle, on the other hand, works in much the same way as a traditional grill. The biggest difference between the two is the cooking surface. Unlike grill grates, which often expose food to a direct flame, a griddle has a smooth, flat surface on which the food is cooked – just like a giant frying pan.
DOES FOOD COOK DIFFERENTLY ON A TRADITIONAL OUTDOOR GRILL COMPARED TO A GRIDDLE?
When food is placed on a hot grill grate, the first thing that happens is a sizzle. The sound comes from conduction, meaning heat being transferred directly between surfaces that are in contact.
The spacing of the grill grate also affects how food cooks. It allows the food to cook by both convection and radiation. Convection and radiant heat come from the grill's heat circulating around the food and cooking it.
Radiant cooking also depends on how close the food is to the heat source.
To explain radiant heat better, think of a time when you were cold and went to warm up next to a wood stove or fireplace. If you're really cold, you can sit closer to the fire and warm up faster, but over time the heat becomes unbearable and you have to move further away so you don't get burned. That's an example of radiant heat.
The same applies to cooking.
If you've ever toasted marshmallows over a campfire, you know there's a sweet spot where the marshmallows reach that perfect melted texture.
But radiant cooking is hard to control. Think about what happens when marshmallows get too close to the fire. They often burn or catch fire. Although radiant cooking works, the method is challenging and impractical.
COMPARED TO COOKING OVER AN OPEN FLAME, GRIDDLES HAVE A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH HEAT
Because the entire cooking surface of a griddle is heated, food cooks differently than it does over an open flame. It benefits greatly from conduction.
Conduction isn't just what makes food sizzle when it hits a hot surface; it's part of what makes food delicious.
When you put food on a grill, most of the conduction happens where it touches the grill grate. But when you put food on a griddle, the entire surface of the food is in contact with the heat, which can make it considerably tastier than if it had been cooked on grill grates alone.
Let's take a simple cheese sandwich as an example. You can put a slice of cheese between two slices of bread and it's edible.
But when you put the same bread and cheese on the griddle with some butter, everything changes. The bread turns golden brown. The cheese melts and the surface of the bread develops a slightly crispy texture, while the inside stays soft and fluffy.
ARE THERE ADVANTAGES TO COOKING ON A GRIDDLE COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL GRILLING?
Anyone who has owned a stove or cooked in a frying pan is qualified to cook on a griddle.
Griddle cooking isn't reserved for anyone in particular. If you've ever used a stove, you don't need much of a learning curve to cook on a griddle. Thanks to the large cooking area, it may even be easier than cooking in the kitchen.
Traditional grilling on grates over an open flame can be intimidating for many people. Food can stick, fall through the grates and burn quickly if you're not careful. A griddle is far more forgiving. You can adjust the temperature either by turning down the heat or by moving the food to a cooler zone. Food won't fall into the fire, because there are no gaps for it to fall through. On a properly seasoned griddle surface, food glides easily and for the most part doesn't stick.
I wouldn't say you should get rid of your traditional grill just yet, but it's worth noting that the griddle has some amazing features.
So next time you're thinking about frying potatoes outdoors, consider how much easier it would be on a griddle compared with chasing potato pieces between the grill grates.