If you want to cook breakfast foods in family and friends’ gatherings, and recreate the best boardwalk and carnival food around, you need an outdoor griddle. They’re excellent at cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, bacon, and sausages, quesadillas, and more!
In today’s article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know, so you can pick the best outdoor griddle for your needs. Let’s dive right in!
In This Guide
Top 5 Outdoor Griddles Available on the Market
Here's our favorites when it comes to the best outdoor griddle.
Now, let's take a closer look at each of them, before we tell you the important things to consider when making your choice.
Blackstone 36 Inch Cooking Station
Kicking off the list with one of the overall best options out there. The Blackstone Cooking Station is made of a powder-coated steel frame and stainless steel burners with an overall cooking surface of about 720 square inches.
This large cooking surface allows you to use it to cook all kinds of meals for a large number of people.
The griddle is equipped with 4 independently controlled burners that produce a total of 60,000 BTU.
The best part about this griddle is that it’s available in smaller sizes as well. However, the 36 inches model gives you a built-in cutting board and side shelf as well as a garbage holder for added convenience.
One of the unique parts of the griddle is that all its legs are powered by wheels, which makes it remarkably portable for its size
Pros
- Solid construction
- Large cooking surface with evenly distributed burners
- Comes with a built-in cutting board and side shelf
- 4-wheel control for added portability
Cons
- A bit pricey
Get more information on Blackstone 36 Inch Cooking Station
Razor Griddle GGC1643M 37 Inch Outdoor Griddle
Although the Blackstone is a great all-rounder, it’s not the largest option on the market and runs quite expensive.
If you’re looking for something slightly bigger without costing you a lot of money, the Blue Rhino Razor griddle is a decent choice to consider.
This one has a larger cooking surface of about 730 square inches. This large space is heated using 4 separate stainless steel burners that are easily ignited.
Although we would’ve loved it if the griddle had 5 burners for more even cooking, the griddle cooks food quickly.
The Razor also comes with two shelves that you can use as a cutting and preparation surface. They’re easily folding to save space and cover the surface when unused.
Pros
- One of the largest cooking surfaces for parties and gatherings
- Equipped with two folding shelves
- Durable construction
Cons
- You may find some hot and cold zones due to the large cooking surface
Get more information on Razor Griddle GGC1643M 37 Inch Outdoor Griddle
Royal Gourmet PD1301S Portable 24-Inch Table Top Gas Grill
Whether you’re on a budget or you’re looking for a gas-powered tabletop griddle to use outdoors, the Royal Gourmet PD1301S is a great choice to consider.
This one has a space-efficient cooking surface of about 316 square inches, which is suitable for frying burgers, hash browns, eggs, and more!
The griddle is heated by 3 separate burners, which ensures excellent heat distribution with no hot and cold zones.
Moreover, it comes ready with a protective cover, so you don’t have to worry about any grease stains while packing.
Pros
- Ideal for buyers on a strict budget
- Portable design that can be taken along while camping
- Excellent heat distribution
Cons
- Only suitable for small meals
Get more information on Royal Gourmet PD1301S Portable 24-Inch Table Top Gas Grill
U-MAX 4-Burner Portable Propane Gas Grill 2 in 1
The U-MAX is an excellent solution for those who don’t have enough space in their backyard for a grill and a griddle.
This device operates as a girl but you can turn it into a griddle by placing the built-in flat top cooking surface on the top.
It comes with a large cooking area of about 740 square feet, which puts it on the list of largest outdoor griddles on the market.
Although this griddle also comes with 4 separately controlled burners, it has the advantage of adjustability, as you can optimize the heat on the griddle to eliminate hot and cold zones!
Pros
- Can be used as a grill or a griddle
- Comes with a storage basket
- Large cooking surface
Cons
- The grease drain may arrive broken, but the seller usually replaces it
Get more information on U-MAX 4-Burner Portable Propane Gas Grill 2 in 1
Royal Gourmet GD401 Portable Propane Gas Grill and Griddle Combo
Last but not least, we have the Royal Gourmet GD401. What makes this product unique is the reasonable price they come at, despite the quality build, which makes it a great bang for the buck!
Similar to the previous model, this one also works as a griddle and a grill. However, this one has the added perk of running both of them side by side rather than replacing one another!
The unit is pretty durable and comes with folding covers that you can use for condiments and preparation.
Another great advantage of this model is the high cooking power. It comes with 4 separate burners that are rated at 12,500 BTU each.
This means that this has a total power of 48,000 BTU, which is decent enough for a 292 square inch griddle.
Pros
- Affordable price
- Allows you to use the grill and griddle simultaneously
- The fold-down legs allow for a compact storage
Cons
- Small cooking surface
Get more information on Royal Gourmet GD401 Portable Propane Gas Grill and Griddle Combo
Things to keep in Mind While Buying an Outdoor Griddle
Source of Power
Outdoor griddles are typically gas-powered while indoor ones are electric. Most options on the market use either probable, natural gas, or liquid propane.
The choice here mainly depends on personal preference and availability of the type of gas in your area.
Construction Material
Gas griddles can be made from various materials, including chrome, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and more.
Stainless steel and chrome are considered the best materials because they’re great at resisting rust in addition to provide structural durability.
Steel and aluminum are usually more affordable. However, aluminum is typically weak but resists rust while steel is as durable as stainless steel but would rust easily.
The choice here depends on your budget, the outdoor conditions, as well as the amount of care you’re going to dedicate to the griddle.
Griddle Size
The cooking surface size is one of the factors that heavily influence the price and design of the model.
For reference, indoor griddles typically come with a very small surface and are typically electric. However, outdoor ones are usually more suitable for cooking for large groups of people.
As a rule of thumb here, a griddle with a cooking surface of 200 to 350 square inches is considered small.
On the other hand, large griddles usually play in the range of 400 to 900 square inches. Keep in mind that some brands might use length instead of the area to determine the size of the griddle.
In addition to the amount of food you want to cook, you should keep the size of where you’ll use and store the griddle in check.
Portability
Since we’re talking about outdoor griddles, keeping the portability of the griddle in mind is an essential matter.
If you’re looking for maximum portability, you should consider the tabletop options. These griddles are easy to store in your vehicle and can be used while camping outdoors.
However, if you’re going to use the griddle in your backyard, a cart-style option would give you all the additional benefits.
Yet, make sure that they have moving wheels at the bottom to allow you to move them around easily.
Number of Burners
Although most griddles would typically look like a flat surface that can be all used for cooking, they usually have cold and hot zones.
This happens because the griddle pans are usually heated through a number of burners. For that reason, the areas directly above the burner are quite hot while near the edges are typically cooler.
A good burner would have multiple burners that are dispersed evenly under the surface of the griddle pan to cook food evenly and give you good temperature control.
Heating time is also a reason why a large number of burners is recommended. With more burners, the entire surface becomes ready for cooking in fewer minutes and you can create different temperature zones to cook different types of food at the same time.
Ideally, you want a burner for every 150 to 200 square inches of the griddle surface to achieve that properly.
Price and Budget
Based on the previous aspects, you can easily conclude that outdoor griddles come in a wide range of prices.
Typically, most outdoor griddles on the market would cost you anywhere between $110 to $300. However, there are some premium and high-end options that can easily cross the $1,000 price mark!
Ideally, the most budget-friendly option will be tabletop propane-fueled griddles. They’re suitable for small gatherings and cooking for 2 or 3 people at max because they have a small surface with a small number of burners.
However, if you’re buying the griddle to cook breakfast for family gatherings and parties, you might want to go for a cart-style griddle. These options are somewhat pricier but they offer a larger cooking surface with additional features.
For all these reasons, you have to set a specific budget for the griddle you’re looking forward to buying depending on how much you’re going to use it among other aspects.
Wrap Up
Finding the best outdoor griddle depends on a variety of factors, such as the type, griddle size, as well as your budget.
Let's take a look at these great options one more time:
Ideally, we pick the Blackstone 36 Inch Cooking Station as our favorite option because it offers an excellent cooking surface with separately controlled burners.
However, if you’re on a more portable option, you should consider Royal Gourmet GD401 Portable Propane Gas Grill and Griddle Combo. This option will grant you a nice griddle without marking a dent in your wallet.
The outdoor griddle makes a great addition to your favorite smoker and favorite grill, for the ultimate outdoor cooking experience.
Last update on 2022-08-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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