The Blackstones Have Arrived!

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Blackstone Griddles for weeks and now they have finally arrived. But do they cook as good as they look? I seasoned a 36″ model with hood (we’re in the UK, of course I bought them in with hoods) with five coats of oil (see video), I think three would have done it but seeing as was my first time seasoning a Blackstone I wanted to ensure that I had done it correctly plus it really doesn’t take long.

I did intend to cook some smash burgers or tacos on the griddle that afternoon but customers had a different idea (I won’t complain about that) so the following day it seemed rude not to cook a breakfast on it so I cooked some Breakfast Buns which as you would expect were delicious.

So was my experience cooking on the griddle all I hoped it would be? To be fair I had cooked on the Masterbuilt 800 with the griddle attachment so it’s not my first time ‘griddling’ but it is my first time cooking on a griddle with variable heat zones and that to me is what makes a perfect griddle. Having cooler zones that you can move food to whilst cooking other foods is a game changer for me. I love the process of cooking and being a novice and not having the ability to gauge how fast some foods will cook over others having the ability to move it around is a Godsend and the Blackstones that we have brought in allow just that. Take a look at me cooking the Breakfast Buns and you will see what I mean (then read on).

So to my likes. It’s tough, very tough and will take the abuse of spatulas hitting the cast iron and moving food around. I like the tall back and sides making it easy to gather your food onto your spatulas and I like the multi heat zones that this four burner gives you though I suspect the two burner will work just as well. I like that fact that when griddling you use a multiple of tools, spatulas, tongs, scrapers, oil bottles and yes water bottles. I used the water quite a lot as you will see as this lifts any stuck food and fond. You will get stuck food with your first few cooks as the cast iron seasons more and more and to be honest by the end of this cook the eggs were fine and did not stick.

Dislikes? I’m sure I’ll find something as I cook more on this Blackstone but for now I don’t have any, maybe rose tinted glasses but I loved using it and can’t wait to do some tacos. So is one going home to the OG Barbecue Shack? You bet one is, just which one?