Griddle grills are some of the oldest type of grills out there. Starting as grills made of stone or clay, they have eventually evolved into modern products, available for everyone, using durable materials and gas as a heating source.
A major reason why a lot of people are addicted to these type of grills is that they offer a few additional benefits when compared to traditional gas or charcoal grills.
One of the most popular griddle grills manufacturers is the ‘Blackstone Products’. We decided to do a full review of the Blackstone Griddles, pointing out all the advantages and disadvantages of these models.
Note: If you are in a hurry, you can use our quick navigation table below to jump directly to the conclusion or preferred section.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is a Griddle Grill?
- 2 Blackstone Products History and Customer Reviews
- 3 Blackstone Product Line
- 4 Blackstone 36 inch Gas Griddle Review
- 5 Blackstone 28-inch Griddle Review
- 6 Blackstone 36” vs 28” Differences
- 7 Blackstone 22-inch Gas Griddle Review
- 8 Blackstone 17-inch Griddle Review
- 9 Differences between Blackstone 22” vs 17” Griddle Grill Model
In a Rush? Blackstone Griddle 36" vs 28" Quick Comparison:
What is a Griddle Grill?
A griddle grill is a cooking device that differs from a traditional grill that leaves searing marks on your food; it consists of a completely flat surface made of chrome steel, aluminum, carbon steel, or composites of stainless and aluminum.
The griddle grills were originally made of stone or clay, and eventually start getting produced for everyone in a more modern form, using steel or other durable material for the cooking surface and using gas, electricity or coal for producing heat. (Wiki Source)
Why You Need a Griddle Grill?
I think that griddle-type grills offer a unique cooking style, with a distinct flavor that you can’t find anywhere else.
With a gas grill, you can cook basic grill-type foods such as meats, fish, or other traditional food, but with griddle, you can go even further by cooking foods such as eggs or try other amazing recipes.
Another benefit of using a griddle is that they cook quickly and more evenly than gas or charcoal grills, which often get several hot spots.
Also, griddle grills are more versatile, allowing you to cook several foods at the same time, just by managing the surface correctly.
Blackstone Products History and Customer Reviews
Blackstone has not been around for long when compared to other leading grill manufacturers such as Weber, but they surely have produced some incredible products, which quickly were ranked among the best outdoor cooking tools.
Their first product was launched in 2005, which is probably their most famous model, the 36” Blackstone Griddle.
Since then, they have launched several cooking equipments and as they say, “have partnered with pro chefs and backyard masters to craft a product which meets the highest standards”.
Nowadays, they have a full line of products, starting from full size 36” griddle grills, and continuing to more compact 28”, 26” or even 17” models.
Customer Reviews
As for customer reviews, you can see that almost all their products have very good ratings, with hundreds of positive reviews, making their products some of the Top Rated models on the market.
Blackstone Product Line
Blackstone Products first produced model is their 36” Griddle grill. Currently, this is also one of their most popular and most sold model.
After the major success and positive feedback for their first model, they started to expand their product line to other versions, including griddle grills in a more compact size, to fit everyone’s needs.
Currently, they offer a full product line of griddle grills, starting from their full size 36” Model, and continuing to more compact 28”, 22” and 17” models.
If you take a look at their product page online, you will notice that they now offer a full variety of versions for their griddles, for anyone who isn’t satisfied with the basic version and want to have an upgraded version.
Their 36” Model comes as a Deluxe Package version, with a full set of cooking tools and a set of two covers. Also, you can find the 36” model in a stainless steel body version, for more durability or as a version with accessory side shelf.
Their 28” model comes as a basic model or as an upgraded stainless steel front plate model.
The 22” & 17” griddles are tabletop style grills and come standard with stainless steel front plate.
Blackstone announced recently their expansion of products variety to tailgater combo models, with griddle + grill products, a pizza oven bundle package, and a single burner stove.
However, their main focus is their Full-size griddle grills.
Blackstone Griddle 36" vs 28" Comparison Table
Technical Details:
Overview
The Blackstone 36 inch griddle offers four independently controlled burners on a 36-inch gas, non-stick griddle. It is an easy-to-start propane griddle that can cook a variety of foods at different temperatures. You can cook for one person or a crowd, and you can even take it with you. This grill is well-built, easy to use, and easy to clean. It is almost a one-man-band as a cooking appliance.
Key Features and Benefits
Four Burners
The four solid stainless steel burners offer a total of 60,000 BTUs of heat. Some foods can be kept warm on low, while other foods are being finished at higher temperatures. The multiple heat zones also allow you to cook foods at the same time that you might not be able to cook at the same time with other grills. To save propane, you can turn on only the burners you need.
Griddle
Featuring an outdoor flat-top griddle station, the Blackstone 36 inch griddle has a thick rolled steel surface for excellent heat retention and distribution. It features 720-square-feet of cooking space and an easily removable griddle top. There is a hole in the center along the front or back, depending on your model, to drain grease.
Performance
With four burners producing a total of 60,000 BTUs of heating power, the 36” Blackstone griddle can easily grill steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs, just like on a conventional grill.
The griddle offers convenience with two side shelves and a bottom shelf for food storage and preparation. It provides more control of your cooking without the smoke or the flame flare-ups of a charcoal grill.
Also, since it is a griddle and not a grate, you can cook breakfast, including ham, bacon, sausage, patties, eggs cooked in a variety of ways, hash browns, or pancakes. You can make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and even heat soup in an oven-safe pan.
Other additional food you can cook include steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables. The vegetables can be eaten as a side or used in stir fry or fajitas. You can finish a meal with grilled fruit, such as peaches. Even though this Blackstone griddle offers such versatility, your food will still be as moist or as crispy as you like.
One thing we like about this model is the ability to turn on only one burner and leave the others off. This way, you can make a grilled cheese for lunch for one person, cook a meal with multiple dishes on different burners, or cook burgers and hot dogs for a crowd with full capacity.
The 720 square inches cooking surface has a maximum capacity of 28 hamburgers, 72 hot dogs, or 16 steaks.
Ease of Use
Since the Blackstone 1554 uses propane, you can avoid dealing with charcoal, lighter fluid, and matches. The battery-powered, electric push-button igniter provides you with a quick start. The non-stick griddle makes clean up easy.
Design and Build
It has a black powder-coated steel frame mounted on four industrial-strength, caster wheels that provide easy mobility with the ability to lock two of the wheels.
It measures 62.5 inches x 22 inches x 36 inches and weighs 120 pounds.
It requires some assembly, but that’s an easy task. If you’d like to take it with you, just fold down the legs and shelves, and it is ready to go with for tailgating, camping, or to a fundraiser.
Other Features
Other features worth mentioning are the front or rear grease drain, making it ideal for families or professional restaurant use.
It also has two side shelves and a bottom shelf for food and utensil storage.
Conclusion
I highly recommend the Blackstone 1554 griddle. The non-stick, steel griddle top provides excellent heat retention and distribution and allows you to cook a larger variety of foods than grill racks. You can even use oven-safe pans on it.
It has an easy push-button start and uses propane so that you do not have to deal with charcoal, lighter fluid, matches, ashes, and leftover charcoal.
It has four independently controlled, 15,000 BTU, stainless steel burners that allow you to cook a different food on each burner. You can also keep some food hot while other food is finishing. It offers the convenience of cooking a single grilled cheese for one or cooking for a crowd with a maximum capacity of 28 hamburgers, 72 hot dogs, or 16 steaks.
Cleaning is easy since you only have to clean the lift-out, non-stick gas griddle.
It is a high-quality grill that is built with a black powder-coated steel frame that can be folded down to take with you. You can use it at home, take it camping, take it tailgating, or take it to a fundraising event. The four caster wheels make it easy to move around your deck, and two of the wheels lock to secure the grill in place.
With the Blackstone 1554, you almost have the only cooking appliance that you need.
Technical Details:
Overview
Differently from their 36” model, the Blackstone 28-inch is a more compact griddle grill.
It features two independently controlled burners, which powerful enough to quickly heat the non-stick griddle surface. Even though this is the 28” model, you can cook food for a person or a crowd, using the easy-to-start propane griddle.
Design and Build
Just like the full-size 36” model, the 28” Blackstone griddle features a black powder-coated steel frame which is mounted on a set of two caster wheels for easily moving around.
The cooking surface is made of thick, cold-rolled steel and is around 470 square inches big, making it ideal for preparing breakfast, lunch, or dinner meals.
On one side of the cooking surface, you have a steel side shelve for extra cooking and preparation area, while on the other side, there is the removable grease tray for quick cleanup.
It measures 45x20x34 inches, weighs around 75 pounds, and requires some assembly before starting.
Performance
As for performance, the two independent stainless steel burners are capable of producing 30,000 BTUs of total heat, which is more than enough to cook any food at the griddle surface.
With the controllable heat zones, you can choose only to use one side while keeping the other off, saving some fuel from unnecessary usage. This also allows you to cook several types of foods at once and not burn anything.
One thing that we liked about the Blackstone griddles is the electric push-button start-up igniter, which starts the grill quickly every time you need.
Blackstone Griddle 36" vs 28" Quick Comparison Table
Blackstone 36” vs 28” Differences
Between these two models, there isn’t any major difference in the build quality and construction. Both feature black powder-coated steel frame, stainless steel burners, and side shelves.
The major difference between these two models is the number of burners and the cooking surface. The big model features four independent burners, while the 28” model features only two burners. As for cooking surface difference, the 36” has 720 square inches of cooking area while the 28” model has only 470 square inches.
Blackstone Griddle 22" vs 17" Quick Comparison Table
Technical Details:
Overview
The Blackstone 22” griddle grill is a portable, tabletop style model, with compact dimensions and very good performance.
It is one of the top-rated tabletop models on the market, with a lot of customer reviews being impressed by the quality and performance of the unit.
It features two adjustable burners, 330 square inches of cooking surface and is propane-fueled, making it ideal for outdoor cooking, camping, tailgating or picnicking.
Design and Build
The 22” Blackstone griddle model features a stainless steel mainframe, with a black powder finish on several parts.
The cooking surface is also made of steel material, offering durability and very good performance. In total, it features 330 square inches of cooking surface, making it good for cooking meals wherever you are without having to get a full-size grill with you.
On the rear side of the unit, you can find the grease management system, which catches grease away from your food and allowing you to quickly clean it up after each use.
It measures 23x19x9 inches and weighs around 32 pounds, making it the ideal choice for a portable griddle grill and outdoor cooking.
Performance
As for performance, you will be impressed by the capability of this model. Even though it is a tabletop-style grill, it is capable of cooking almost any food without issues.
The two H-shaped burners are independent from each other, allowing you to have two adjustable heat zones and cooking several types of foods at once.
The griddle style grill allows you to cook without any flare-ups or flavor loss from leaked juice, even when you are on the go.
Technical Details:
Overview
The 17” model from Blackstone offers you the same impressive build quality and performance, by reducing the cooking surface and power.
It features only one burner and 260 square inches of cooking space but still manages to offer very good performance when compared with other competitors and price-range.
Design and Build
On the outside, it features a stainless steel frame with black powder finish on most of the parts, just like the 22” model reviewed in the upper section.
The cooking surface is 260 square inches in total and is made of stainless steel, offering you durability and even cooking experience.
Next to the burner’s controller, you can find the built-in catch grease tray for easy clean up after each use. The stainless steel cooking surface also gives you the ability to easily clean the griddle by simply using a paper towel and wipe off the surface.
The convenient size and portability of this product make it very easy to store and take it with you anywhere you go.
As for dimensions, it measures 18 x 18 x 8.5 inches and weighs only 21 pounds.
Performance
Just like other table-top models from Blackstone, this 17” version features an H-shaped stainless steel burner, producing up to 12,000 BTUs heat output.
The burner is started from the electric ignition, making sure that the grill will start heating even on strong winds or other weather conditions.
The H-shaped burner, combined with the compact 260 square inches of cooking surface, will give you an even cooking experience, without having to worry about hot spots.
Blackstone Griddle 22" vs 17" Quick Comparison Table
Differences between Blackstone 22” vs 17” Griddle Grill Model
When you compare the Blackstone 22” vs 17” model, the major difference you will notice is the number of burners and the size.
The 22” model features two independent burners while the 17” model has only one. The cooking surface is reduced from 330 square inches on the 22” model, to only 260 square inches on the 17” model.
The reduction of burners and cooking area has also reduced the price point on the 17” model, making it more affordable than any other Blackstone model.
Besides these two major differences, the built quality and other features are almost the same in both models.
purchased 28″ Blackstone grill with hood & cabinet. Hood is dented in a number of places and one leg is missing the nut that secures the caster.