Pellet Fan
Accessories & Essentials => Equipment -- grill grates, grill mats, brushes, covers, tongs, etc. => Topic started by: glitchy on May 06, 2018, 03:53:09 PM
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Got my Blackstone 28 this week and seasoned and used it for the first time yesterday. For the price, I’m happy with it and think in will likely be around a while. I had the grease issue right away, so the mod is on order already. I’ll be posting some pics soon, so watch for replies and edits (my posts often fail if I start with pic attached).
Update:
How I personally settled on the 28" griddle. I picked the 28" after receiving a shipping damaged 36" and returning it. The 36" was bigger than I realized at 36x20 plus 2 side shelves as well as very heavy (listed at 125 shipping pounds) and I'm wasn't sure how much I'd be able to use it in the winter in Iowa. I also didn't want a tabletop type of model as I didn't think that would be big enough for me hoping to make things like pancakes and quesadillas for four at once.
The 28 is roughly 28x17 for the top with a single side shelf over the tank side. It's listed as 75 shipping pounds and that seems pretty close. It was pretty easy to manage and assemble with the weight being close to half in the top and half in the base. If I wanted to haul this to a family reunion or party, it wouldn't be a big deal to manage even by myself.
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Unpacking and assembly:
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I'm looking forward to your thoughts.
Is that the new and improved grease channel that's failing you?
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I'm looking forward to your thoughts.
Is that the new and improved grease channel that's failing you?
I’m not sure, I can’t find pics of both revisions to know which I got.
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Pics of seasoning, 3 cycles with organic flax oil.
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And first cook, some bacon.
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When the bacon was done I tossed on a few burgers and onion slices. I didn’t take pics of my first two cooks for some reason (too much going on at once going in and out of house and still cleaning up bacon grease running down the leg). I learned why people use burger presses as I’ve never had burgers puff up like this, they turned out great with lots of sear. Missed a little of the wood fired flavor, but still good.
Dinner was pancakes and sausage. Was nice to cook 8 sausage patties and four pancakes at a time. Just used Pam spray and it worked well.
I do like it. I’ve never cooked on a flat top before. I’m anxious to try searing some sous vide steaks on it after seeing the burgers. It it a little susceptible to wind, When seasoning I rotated it 90 degrees each time to try to shift the hot spots each round. The hard covers that hang on the back when cooking might be in my future for some wind control since it’s always breezy here.
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Do you have an IR gun?
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This is the "old" style. The new design has a hole in the center of the back of the griddle and the drip tray hangs off the back. Supposedly this fixes the issue of grease dripping down the front leg. For the style you have, many folks form an "L" shaped stiff wire that they hang in the grease channel down into the grease tray. the grease follows the wire into the tray.
Figures that I drew the old just buying last week :( Mine does not have a hole either to hang a wire through into the catch pan.
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Do you have an IR gun?
I do. Something in particular you want to see?
The seasoning pics lines up somewhat with what the gun showed. The front quarter doesn’t get near as hot and the center rear was always hottest.
Update: I finally resized the last seasoning pic I had and added to that post above. Gives a better idea of how it was distributing heat. If I remember correctly, the left rear was maybe 40-50 cooler than the very center rear and the right was in between.
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This is the "old" style. The new design has a hole in the center of the back of the griddle and the drip tray hangs off the back. Supposedly this fixes the issue of grease dripping down the front leg. For the style you have, many folks form an "L" shaped stiff wire that they hang in the grease channel down into the grease tray. the grease follows the wire into the tray.
Figures that I drew the old just buying last week :( Mine does not have a hole either to hang a wire through into the catch pan.
Amazon has a grease slide attachment for it. Looks like it would work well.
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Grease-Griddle-Blackstone-locking/dp/B078S2BW9N/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YC8NN0SE1V9EYJ4T8Y46
I see sschor beat me to it.
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Ugh. Well, there is a mod for sale on Amazon ($14.49), stainless steel, that fits into the trough and is fixed with a couple of allen screws. It slides into the end over the grease tray, and has a hole, so the grease delivered over the middle of the tray. I can't vouch for its effectiveness. Just search "Blackstone griddle mod".
Thanks, I wish I had known about that one a little sooner as I didn't see the one with the allen screws, but had already ordered the pinch on one by backyard life gear. Probably would have liked the allen screws better to hold it on. I've also seen several photos of people just propping a soup can in there too which I might actually try since I can just toss the can after scraping everything in it when done to clean up. I just don't want to use a can if it might easily get bumped out making an even bigger mess.
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Ugh. Well, there is a mod for sale on Amazon ($14.49), stainless steel, that fits into the trough and is fixed with a couple of allen screws. It slides into the end over the grease tray, and has a hole, so the grease delivered over the middle of the tray. I can't vouch for its effectiveness. Just search "Blackstone griddle mod".
Thanks, I wish I had known about that one a little sooner as I didn't see the one with the allen screws, but had already ordered the pinch on one by backyard life gear. Probably would have liked the allen screws better to hold it on. I've also seen several photos of people just propping a soup can in there too which I might actually try since I can just toss the can after scraping everything in it when done to clean up. I just don't want to use a can if it might easily get bumped out making an even bigger mess.
I have the slide on one and it works fine. I like it better than the allen wrench one because it is easy to slide off and run through the dishwasher.
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Yes please! A few questions 1st, I guess depending on the answers I will then asks for more data.
Is this supposed to be an adjustable heat griddle(flattop)? Or is it simply on or off?
Do the heat adjustment knobs have temps on them like a gas grill?
Do you have an IR gun?
I do. Something in particular you want to see?
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Bentleys question also made me have one. Does this come with a regulator on the hose that attaches to the propane?
It appears its the same knob control as the Blackstone pizza oven. If so, it's alot easier to control the temps with the regulator rather than the knobs. Even though the knobs in theory allow you to adjust the flame incrementally, there are actually only about 3 flame positions. High, medium, and low. The regulator is handy.
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It is adjustable with the typical dials like a cheaper gas grill. No 'temp' markings, but about 90 degrees of adjustment with 4 or 5 hash marks as far as knob movement wise. It also has a regulator, but didn't notice that being adjustable.
However, this is where learning your 'grill' comes into play. Since it's mixing an adjustable flame with with a thick cold rolled steel top, I'm still learning what position is close to what temp and then what affect the wind and ambient temp will have in the equation. I didn't take notes, but I distinctly remember looking at 290's on 'low' in the left side of the cook zone to just over 500 on high in the very center rear. I'm not sure how close it was to peak temp because I turned down pretty quick since I was shooting for 350-400 or so at the time.
Right now, I'm calling the cook zone the back 2/3-3/4 of the surface, I think the front 1/4 is going to be the holding/warming zone at this point.
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I have the 36" and can concur that wind is a killer. I have been meaning to get some sheet metal and improvise a wind guard for years but haven't found my round to it. I have had times with all four burners on high and can't get hamburgers to sizzle because the wind is just robbing all the heat.
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I was just curious what temps were on low & high, if there was a discernable difference. And how even they were across the surface on those settings! Your comments pretty much answer that.
We have a Member who is doing a review of the smaller unit. Not to let the cat out of the bag or steal his thunder, but he was having issues with low temperatures.
I didn't take notes, but I distinctly remember looking at 290's on 'low' in the left side of the cook zone to just over 500 on high in the very center rear. I'm not sure how close it was to peak temp because I turned down pretty quick since I was shooting for 350-400 or so at the time.
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I want to gather more accurate data for my own knowledge on that, when I get the time to do it (busy time of year with kiddos), I'll post it up. I want to know how to cook better on it, so I want to know both low and high values across the grid after giving it time to stabilize. Not any attempt to upstage anyone, just want to share the knowledge since the interest in these griddles seems fairly high.
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The Big A has the 36in for $210 on Prime Day sale right now for those looking for one of these.
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This is the "old" style. The new design has a hole in the center of the back of the griddle and the drip tray hangs off the back. Supposedly this fixes the issue of grease dripping down the front leg.
Is that true for just the 28? I've been seeing the 36 in several stores. They have the front grease channel with a bead welded just to the left of the drip hole. I thought that the bead must be their remedy for the problem.
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This is the "old" style. The new design has a hole in the center of the back of the griddle and the drip tray hangs off the back. Supposedly this fixes the issue of grease dripping down the front leg.
Is that true for just the 28? I've been seeing the 36 in several stores. They have the front grease channel with a bead welded just to the left of the drip hole. I thought that the bead must be their remedy for the problem.
The new 28 and 36 inch Blackstone both have the rear grease drain.
Any I have seen in stores by me are the old style, same as the 36 inch that I have.
The bead helps but doesn't stop all of the drips.
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This is the "old" style. The new design has a hole in the center of the back of the griddle and the drip tray hangs off the back. Supposedly this fixes the issue of grease dripping down the front leg. For the style you have, many folks form an "L" shaped stiff wire that they hang in the grease channel down into the grease tray. the grease follows the wire into the tray.
Figures that I drew the old just buying last week :( Mine does not have a hole either to hang a wire through into the catch pan.
Amazon has a grease slide attachment for it. Looks like it would work well. Why not just drill a hole in the trough and go with the tried and true wire in the hole..Easier to clean too.
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Grease-Griddle-Blackstone-locking/dp/B078S2BW9N/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YC8NN0SE1V9EYJ4T8Y46
I see sschor beat me to it.
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Just now seeing this, we use the heck out of the 17" one.
I tried the fixes to no avail, ours runs hot but man it makes great "griddle foods", hash browns and breakfast chow are right up there with a good ole greasy spoon. YUM.
Just have to watch it, at least ours anyway. I'm definitely buying 2 more 17" for flexibility cooking different things.
We grilled pineapple slices for our granddaughters birthday as well as toasted coconut for the ice cream, it worked perfectly.