Every now and then a new concept comes along and rocks your whole outdoor barbecue cooking world, and that’s what has been happening for a while now in the orange and black Blackstone Griddles. I thought I was doing just fine with a Char-Broil gas grill special and a Large Big Green Egg on our back deck, but then I started watching other people flipping flapjacks and shrimp into the air like diner cooks and I was hooked.
According to Blackstone, 92 percent of their customers use their griddle more than once a month compared to 58 percent of gas grill and pellet grill enthusiasts. And two out of every three Blackstone users say they cook with it more than once a week.
The Blackstone Adventure Ready 2-Burner 28 Inch Outdoor Griddle makes it even more fun, because it is made for portability so you can slam burgers at home or pop it in the back of the family SUV and easily re-connect parts for a great on-the-go convenience at the park or as a Blackstone camping griddle or a companion for a cross-country drive.
Clearly there has to be something to this whole standup griddle thing, so I decided it was time to make my deck duo a trio. They all have their own strengths. The Blackstone 28” Griddle makes sense because it so versatile as a regular user at home or away. Before you know it, I was at my local Walmart paying a special $197 price and entering that orange and black world, just in time for National Griddle Week. Which is now every week.
Here are 20 ways you can join the fun as well, from the initial research to whatever and wherever is the right Blackstone portable griddle for you, to assembly and preparation and the first cookout:
1. Determine the Size Griddle You Need
One Reddit search shows a lot of debate between the 28” and 36” griddle models. A lot of people will swear by the 38 because they say it provides the necessary amount of cooking surface. The 28 proponents point to the equally important portability factor in addition to the decent amount of cooking surface. I went with the 28 because it’s usually just 2 or 3 of us eating and I want to be able to close the legs whenever I want and pop it into the back of my SUV for a day at the park or a stadium tailgate outing. So for me, the 28 is best of both worlds.
2. Find Your Goldilocks Griddle Setting
If this is your first or only grilling apparatus, then it’s probably no problem finding a convenient spot for it. If you’re like me, a Blackstone standup griddle is going to accompany other grilling equipment and requires a little strategic thought. I have a Large Big Green Egg ceramic cooker on the deck and a Char-Broil gas grill on the other side of the rail. We live in the Tampa Bay area where any tropical summer afternoon can bring unexpected high wind gusts, so I have to make sure this newcomer is in a safe place for a sturdy position, stabilized with straps. This corner of our deck is sort of a neglected space so the barbecue griddle will go there perfectly!
3. Look for Deals Online and Save Cash for Food
If you are buying any new Blackstone, just wait around and you’ll find sales. If you find one online and plan to pick up the standup grill at your local store, make sure you have evidence of that when you get to the store. Walmart listed it online for $197, which was $100 less than Amazon, and when I got there I took a photo of the barcode on the box and scanned it at the self-service checkout. It read $297, so I went to customer service and he saw the same disparity and rang me up at $197 plus tax right there. Then a lawn and garden employee helped load the box into my SUV.
4. Facebook Marketplace Could be Your Best Move
I did a quick check on Facebook Marketplace in my area by searching for the word “Blackstone” and immediately saw two assembled Blackstone 28 Standup Griddles each for $200. There were many more models available as well, and there were multiple examples of markdown prices for the used grills. One big advantage to these is that they are already assembled, and since this is made to quickly take apart and stuff in the back of your vehicle, I would say that Marketplace and Blackstone are sort of made for each other. A downside is that you have no warranty registration and have to trust that the seller assembled it properly.
5. Protect Your New Investment With A Quality Cover
The same Walmart sold specific covers for both the 28 and 36 inch models, fortunately, as the Blackstone website was sold out of the better ones. For my own taste, I think the 28 cover is a big winner, at least at this retail location. The 36 cover was all black with the Blackstone logo in orange, and I’m not a fan of black grill covers especially in Florida, where they fade so easily within the first year. You might not mind if you’re up north. The 28 version is a gorgeous two tone with heather gray mostly and black bottom trim.
6. Grab Just Enough Blackstone Accessories to Get You Started
It’s easy to overdo it on Blackstone Griddle accessories while you are there at the store buying the barbecue grill. It’s kind of like hitting the casino in Vegas, where all the money usually goes out in the end. I decided my existing spatula is good enough for now so I passed on the two-piece griddle spatula set. Look over the selection and think about which ones will make your gas griddle life easier, then toss a few in the cart and move on. Make sure you have two squirt bottles, one for cooking oil and one for water. Maybe some Blackstone griddle seasoning. You’ll have plenty of time to load up, and besides there will always be like-new accessories on the aforementioned Facebook Marketplace.
7. Don’t Forget the Propane
Add a propane gas tank or two on your way home. If you already have one or two in use on another BBQ gas grill, then it’s a good idea to add an extra because you’ll go through them more quickly. Keep your propane grill tanks in a safe covered space when not in use, but just leave the one for the griddle hooked up to your new flat top grill. It not only fuels your cooking — which is more fun than an electric griddle and you’re outdoors breathing fresh air — but it also serves a bonus use as extra weight to help anchor the otherwise lightweight griddle.
8. Try With a Little Help From My Friends
Once it’s in your vehicle, the easiest next step is to politely ask a friend or family member to help you carry the box to your grilling area. I didn’t feel like being polite or asking or waiting so I did a shortcut! Honestly these Blackstone 28 inch griddles are made for portability and ease of movement, so it’s not that hard for one person to do it all. But if you have someone to assist, all the better. Be sure to watch a few youtube assembly videos before digging in!
9. Keep Everything Where You Want It
If you are going to assemble this Blackstone griddle on a deck as I did, I suggest laying down a big moving blanket or any kind of blanket so it’s all done on a large contained area. If you are going to get a skid-proof floor mat like I did, then now is also a good time to use it. There are some very small pieces including a couple of washers and this way you are sure no little pieces will fall through a crack and be lost forever. Better to be safe than sorry!
10. Whoa! When They Say Short Order Cooking They Mean It
OK, you are ready to turn over the Blackstone griddle stand you have been assembling upside-down. Hello, short stuff! I wasn’t quite prepared for the low level of this equipment, after cooking on a regular-size gas grill and a Big Green Egg with a table nest. I am 5-foot-10 and the Char-Broil grate is about waist-high. This griddle surface is about thigh-high. I’m not really sure why it sets so low, where I will be stooping just a bit. There is a Reddit discussion about this matter, posted by a much taller person than me, and one user suggested these bed risers. Indeed, you could simply take off the four wheels (two are casters) and thus extend it another foot or so. Or just build a platform yourself and sit the griddle on that. Anyone from Blackstone or inveterate fans can please just use the comments below to explain why these griddles are engineered short! The good news is, your kids will be able to watch you cook.
11. Take a Few Minutes to Register Your Warranty
It’s a good idea to get yourself into the Blackstone customer support system, and take advantage of the one-year warranty at least. (You can get a longer warranty at purchase if you want.) Something could go wrong, and as you’ll see below I needed help quickly. One upside of registering online is that you receive a free mobile-friendly cookbook.
12. Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Blackstone Engines!
You want everything to be perfect when you go through a whole assembly process, but alas it doesn’t always work out that way. After hooking up the propane tank and inserting a Double A battery into the igniter, I eagerly peeled off the (overly) sticky promotional sheets that covered every surface. I gave the griddle a first-time cleaning, and then I was ready to go. I opened the propane flow, pressed the ignitor button, held it in a few seconds and turned the knobs to high. Boom, absolutely nothing. Turned off propane, waited five minutes for gas to clear, tried it again, and nothing. Repeated over and over. Slumped back into a mini depression and started troubleshooting.
13. What to Do if Your Blackstone Doesn’t Ignite
Whelp. Blackstone’s website has a great FAQ for troubleshooting things like this, so that was reassuring. Again, watch a youtube video or two and you’ll see that you’re not alone. The good news is you can just lift off your cast iron griddle plate, not all that heavy. Set it aside on a safe surface. First make sure that the little L-shaped ignition needles are between 1/8 and 1/4 inch above the H Burners, and with the end directly over a pinhole. I got the trusty long Bic plastic lighter, turned on the propane, set a knob to high, and then lit it manually. That worked fine on both burner halves, so I knew there was no obstruction of a spider or anything like that. I called Blackstone support and asked them to please send me a new ignitor, and we’ll see if that helps. In the meantime, I realized that I could just do the lighter hack and then position the griddle back in its place without too much trouble. But ideally you don’t want to do that over flames, so at the very least wear a couple of hot gloves like I did.
14. Fill Up Your Bottles So They Are Ready for Actions
One of the two squirt bottles will just be water. The other will be filled with a cooking oil of your choice, likely either Canola oil or a regular cooking oil that contains one like that. Griddles need the juices flowing and you’ll get used to which one to use when.
15. Here’s Some Advice on When to Add the Oil
Adam Richman, from Man Vs. Food, reminds everyone to not add oil too early before cooking. Olive oil has a smoke point between 350-410 Fahrenheit, and if oil is added as the Blackstone heats up, you can quickly trash your dish. Instead, he suggests you heat up the griddle and toss the olive oil on the food itself, and toss them on the griddle together.
16. Don’t Stop There Because You Need These Other Hacks from Top Chefs, Too
You can find countless griddle recipes out there on the Internet, maybe even from asking Mom or her Mom. But before you dive into cooking on this thing, you might want to heed this advice from some of the top chefs in the food business so you work those recipes in the best way possible. Here are seven great tips from chefs that can make your life easier and better. I also recommend you start with Blackstone’s own GRIDDLING 101 course of helpers, ranging from griddle seasoning to griddle pancakes to all things seafood. After all, there had better be shrimp flying through the air as you flip that pile of fresh goodness.
17. Here’s the Part Where You Make Delicious Food
We will have a ton of blog posts right here showing some of our favorite ways to cook breakfast, lunch or supper on a Blackstone 28” Griddle. First up is going to be a big batch of sausage and pepper, starring brats and sweet summer sausage on the left burner and a bunch of yellow and red bell peppers sliced and tossed around that sizzling griddle top. My wife is absolutely stoked to pour the first pancake batter and get to flippin’. Please leave your own favorite griddle recipes in the comments below . . . we’d love to hear from you!
18. Record Everything in Instagram and TikTok
Because nothing can prepare your friends for the beauty and grace of all those food items flying around the grill with your magic spatula talents. Tag with #Blackstone and then look over all your griddle peers at work and get ideas for dominating your backyard.
19. Cover Your Griddle and Behold the Wonder of Short Stuff
Now it’s time to place your grill cover on the new purchase and behold the sheer amazement of a long Blackstone cover on top of a grade-school height standup griddle, with the bottom of the cover piling for about a foot like a pair of pants that are too long. It is what it is. Just strap the cover and pull it tight, and be glad that at least the cover isn’t too short, like my Large Big Green Egg standard cover, which is also a lot flimsier for some reason. I’d much rather have the whole griddle concealed from the weather. For good measure, I am using a strap to run under the griddle and around the deck rail behind it, just so one of our Tampa Bay tropical gusts doesn’t blow the little guy over with the propane tank attached.
20. Enjoy It at Home or On the Road
Once you’re all set up with your outdoor griddle, you can get comfortable with the portability of the whole thing. Assembling it the first time was the hard part. Breaking it down just enough to take it with you in the back of an SUV or truck is going to be a breeze. The legs fold up after you remove screws, and the hood assembly comes off so you basically have two large pieces. Have baggies ready to hold any little parts that you’ll need to take off for the ride to the park or Blackstone camping or highway, and then quickly put it all together at your destination. It gets easier each time. Wherever you are, keep a hot griddle going and be adventurous!
