Blackstone 36" Griddle Cooking Station

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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

If you ever want to see your boyfriend have an erection and grill at the same time, buy him this. He pushes it around outside like we're at a teppan grill. I look out of the window and admire my tough guy, delicately flipping my gardenburger on this monstrous grill. Trust me, size matters. Get the 36". We bought the canvas cover to prevent rust and to hide it from the elements. I know that if my boyfriend ever cheats on me that this will be the first thing that I vandalize, because he loves it THAT much. Even more than his Star Trek light up phone he bought in 1984.

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

UPDATE: Blackstone finally replaced my warped griddletop after months of emails. The replacement confirmation email came 2 weeks after my review was posted to Amazon. I do not know if the poor review (see below) was intrumental in the replacement. I have yet to season the new griddle (it's a time-consuming process).
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I think this might be my first review on Amazon. I spent countless hours researching what flat top griddle to purchase. I was looking for high quality, portability, and at least 36" wide. I settled on the Blackstone griddle for it's size and foldable legs. I spent a full 20lb bottle of propane seasoning the griddle. Once seasoned, it was a blast to use. I have had so much fun cooking various dishes on it. I have used it to cook pancakes for 120 ppl. Now for the cons:
1) the grease trap located at the center rear is not a great location. I would have much preferred the standard trough found on almost all other flat top options.
2) after about 5 months of use the griddled taco'd. While cooking up a usual dish, teppanyaki, the griddle made a loud pop and became permanently warped. None of the welds appear to have broken. But it is no longer an effective griddle.
3) Customer Service: I have laenred their customer service is either incompetent or actively ignores warranty claims. All attempts to work out a warranty replacement or other option has been either ignored or I have been told I need to contact a different Blackstone employee, but not provided a way to contact the person.

I am writing this review as a last ditch effort hoping someone at the company will take notice and help me resolve my warped griddle.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

This review is for the 36" Blackstone griddle (model 1554) which I have been using for over a year now. Overall I have found this griddle to be an outstanding value, especially for its price point. You might be able to find a better griddle, but you will spend a LOT more money.

Some simple assembly is required. My griddle came in a single box. Cut the two plastic straps and the box lid lifts right off. The components seem well packed. I used a 10mm wrench, an adjustable wrench, and a Philips screwdriver to assemble. Once I had it unpacked, assembly took about 15 mins. If I had someone assisting, we probably would have been done in 10 mins or less. Blackstone has a helpful 3 min assembly video you can watch either on Blackstone's site or on youtube search for "Blackstone 36" Griddle Assembly". I weighed the griddle top in at 55.5lbs. If you're not comfortable lifting a bulky item of this weight, get someone to help you.

If you discover a problem with your new griddle, email or call Blackstone directly. Page 23 in my manual had their customer service phone and email. I had a small issue and found their customer service to be extremely helpful. Replies to email were prompt and when I phoned, I was talking to a real human being within seconds (a real human being who spoke American as a primary language). Keep in mind, customer service operates M-F 9a-5p Mountain Standard Time.

The griddle top comes coated in a protective oil to prevent rust. As noted in the instructions, your first step after assembly is to wash this oil off. I used dish soap in hot water. I followed this up with plain hot water to get the soap off. I towel dried the surface and then fired up the grill for a few mins to cook off any remaining moisture.

The top is carbon steel (not Teflon nor stainless steel) and if not seasoned it will rust. For many griddle users, at this point they slap on some oil or bacon and immediately start cooking. Over time they build up the seasoning that helps protect the griddle surface from rusting and the food from sticking. In my case I wanted to do a more methodical seasoning.

For a methodical, long lasting seasoning of the griddle, you follow similar steps as you would with seasoning cast iron cookware. Blackstone has a youtube video called "Blackstone Griddle Top Recovery". This video was made to show people how to restore a rusted griddle top; however, at 2min39sec into this video they cover the topic of seasoning.

The Blackstone video agreed with several articles I read about seasoning cast iron cookware with flax oil. Make sure you get the organic, cold pressed, unrefined, refrigerated flax oil. You don't want any ingredients in the oil other than flax oil. Check the date on it, and shake well before using. It is expensive oil, but you don't need a large bottle. I did 6 coatings on my griddle and used just a little more than 3oz total of the oil. Each successive layer used less oil.

The seasoning coat/layer consisted of :
1. wiping on a thin layer of flax oil over the cooking surface (I applied with a paper towel).
2. wipe off excess oil (I used paper towel).
3. turning on all the burners for 30 mins or so to basically burn the oil in (I ran a little longer than 30 min).
4. turn the burners off and let the griddle cool
Repeat the process. Blackstone recommends at least 4-5 coats. The cast iron cookware seasoning articles I read recommended 6 coats.

Optimal seasoning will leave you with a shiny black cooking surface. After 6 coats of flax oil, I was nearing the optimal shiny black surface.

Check level. Before starting to cook on the griddle, check level. Use a construction level or a marble or anything you have handy. You want to be sure that liquid will flow towards the drain. My patio slopes away from the house, so I had to set the left wheels of the griddle on a scrap of plywood to get the grease to head to the drain hole.

Cooking. Even with a great seasoned cooking surface, I add a dash of oil with many of the things I cook (for example, eggs).

Cleaning the griddle: Helped along by my well seasoned cooking surface, I find the griddle quick to clean. It typically takes me 3-5 mins. I found a video from a griddle user on youtube that was helpful. Search youtube for "Easy way to clean the Blackstone Griddle (Revised)". Guy in the video uses spray oil, but I use liquid oil.

My only complaint about the griddle would be the same issue that other reviews have mentioned: Blackstone still hasn't conquered the grease drain problem. Randomly the grease running off will miss the cup and start running down the griddle leg. So use a paperclip or a piece of wire. If you stick it in the hole down to the grease cup, the grease will run down the wire instead of the surface tension causing fluids to flow up under the grease gutter. Or you can wrap a small piece of foil around the end of the drain to direct grease down.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

Awesome grill and would have been 5 stars if not for the serious hot grease running down the leg from a poorly designed drain setup... I reemed the hole out to 1" and tig welded a steel tube in, that's really what Blackstone should do from the factory...

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Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

This has hands down been my favorite purchase in a long time! this griddle is high quality, BUT has one flaw-- explained at the end- Other than that- the griddle is fantastic- I have seasoned it and used it 5 or six times since purchase, and get nothing but rave reviews about how great the Mongolian BBQ is - I also purchased the folding shelves add-on, and I cant imagine how anyone can cook without them- they are needed to hold all the plates, and fixings for the meal.
Now for the flaw- the grease drip trough and catch pan need to be re-engineered. There is a shallow trough that runs the length of the griddle, that drains to the right - the trough extends out about 2" and has a hole drilled in it. Then there is a catch can that sits under the hole. for most drippings, this is fine. But when you have a lot of oil, grease etc, trying to drain, it starts to miss the catch can, and drips down the leg of the griddle, and puddles on the ground. I have bought the mod extension sold by another seller on here to help with this problem, but it is still not a perfect solution. The fact that there is another seller trying to fix this problem should let Blackstone know they have an issue.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Nous devrions tous en avoir une.

Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

J'adore!! 4 a 5 cuissons pour maîtriser la température et après vous pouvez faite cuire tout.
Des que vous avez fini votre cuisson, lancer un verre d'eau et racler avec votre spatule en guidant le tout dans le bac a graisse.
Je fini le nettoyage avec du papier essuie tout et j'huile la plaque.

5.0 out of 5 stars What A Timesaver!

Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2017

Verified Purchase

I will start with shipping...I ordered it on Saturday, April 8th and received it Thursday April 13th. Very unexpectedly quick when you take into consideration the size and weight of the package. It was well packaged and very easy to assemble.

We purchased the grill for the sole purpose of cooking bacon, sausage, and ham on it for monthly church fundraiser breakfasts. We followed the instructions to season the grill. The first time used we cooked 44 pounds of bacon, 2 boxes of sausage, and 2 large breakfast hams sliced. What a time saver. One person tended the meat while the other loaded the grill. It cooked very evenly on a low to medium heat which resulted in nice long strips of bacon rather than scrunched up slices we were used to when we cooked on high, on electric griddles. Of course bacon generates lots of grease... way more than most meats and we managed fine. The grease channel at the front of the grill directed the grease to the collection container on the right end. We had to dump it frequently but if cooking anything other than bacon I expect the container would be more than adequate.
The shelves on the unit improve efficiency, so convenient! The rack for the propane tank also very efficient and sturdy. It is easily moved around despite the size. The unit was easy to clean. I can't imagine being without this grill. It saves us so much time!!!!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for Koththu Rotti

Reviewed in Canada on February 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

My friend recommended this product. I was impressed with the build quality of this BBQ machine. Only issues is that I'm keep on burning my hand since the entire surface of the grill is hot (not the side panels). I wish they have better design to avoid user burns on the side of the grill surface. Other than that if you are looking for making pancakes, Dosa, Koththu Rotti. This is a good grill to go with!

5.0 out of 5 stars well pleased with the purchase.

Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2020

Verified Purchase

Very easy to put together. (1 hour) It arrived torn up and looked like it was drug around for the trip to me, but once I opened it everything was fine. Nice wooded frame inside the box protected it. Can't wait to use it.

1.0 out of 5 stars Check you received all your parts

Reviewed in Canada on May 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

Didnt come with all the parts.. so dont start the build until you do a complete part inventory..
Mine was missing the huge stability lower shelf to stabilize the grill. Parts now to have to wait for from Alberta.
Cant comment on its use because well its sitting on the garage floor.. FAAACCK