Ask Jo: Griddles

Every so often questions and comments come from readers that I think others would like to hear my response to.  That’s when I feature them on the blog.  This is one of those days.

I got an email from Laurie asking:
“A while back you recommended a beautiful, gigantic stove-top griddle. I looked in your recommends link, but couldn’t find it there? It seems it wasn’t an Amazon purchase though. Would you mind forwarding the link for it to me? I’m thinking it would be a nice Father’s Day gift.”

I do have a flat top griddle that goes over the top of my stove.  Mine is the Steelmade brand.  You can find it HERE.  You can read even more about it HERE.

The company makes several versions of this so that you can have one for electric, gas, or flat-top stoves.

Here are a few downfalls of the griddle.

-The grill MUST be preheated.  It takes about 10 minutes for that to happen.  So if it’s just me and I want to make myself a burger, it isn’t efficient.  When all of us are here and it’s the evening or weekend and we’re visiting, it’s great.  We have a drink, congregate around, and wait for it to heat.  No problem.

-The grill is heavy and a little hard to store.  Obviously, you are going to want to use your regular stove occasionally, that means pulling the griddle off and having a place to store it.  My laundry room is adjacent to my kitchen so I put it on my dryer.  It’s not glamorous but it works just fine.

-The stove gets a little messier than regular cooking.  It’s not a big deal…just a few more wipes of the cloth at clean-up time but I do want to make that note.

If you are cooking for a family or get together, this is the way to go. I love my big stovetop griddle if I’m cooking for a crowd.

If you are just cooking for two or three…or even four, (or one) I recommend… a Bethany House griddle.  You can find them HERE on Amazon.

These are originally made to cook lefse on.  I used it for so much more.  In fact, it is a family staple.  If I have to list my favorite kitchen appliance, this would be at the top of my list.  They are made in a town just to the north of me…well, in Cresco, home of the Cresco Ladies who do the charity quilting here on the blog.

Lefse makers out there probably think it’s sacrilege that I am using the griddle this way, but hey, I don’t have space for something I’m only going to use once or twice a year.  Besides, even if I use it for other things, I can still go back and use it to make lefse.

Kelli recently bought one and is in love.  She can’t believe she lived so long without one.  She worked at a bar/restaurant in college and made so much of her food there when she was working.  She says she just loves her Bethany House griddle as it’s reminiscent of cooking on the big griddle.

If you like breakfast food or bar food, this is what you need.  Here is a short list of the things I make on the griddle.

-Grill Cheese Sandwiches
-Quesadillas

-Rueben and Rachel Sandwiches
-American Fries
-Raw Fried Potatoes
-Hamburgers
-Steak
-Eggs

-Pork Chops
-Chicken Breasts
-Stir Fry

-tortillas
-Crunch Wraps
-French Toast
-Pancakes
-Fried Eggs
-Sausages and Brats
-toast

I make LOTS of Chinese-style food on the griddle.  Much of it regular people would likely make a wok.  Oh, I love it.

Clean up for the grilled is super easy too.

I’m sure there are MANY more things to make but these are our favorites and the first things that come to mind.

If you’ve ever eaten a greasy hamburger at some little podunk bar and thought it was the best burger ever, a griddle is what makes it so good.  As the meat releases the fat when it’s cooking, the burger then cooks in that fat making it extra juicy.

I don’t love burgers on a grill.  All of the fat drips away and I think hamburgers don’t taste as good.  It’s griddle burgers all the way for me!!

I would estimate that I use mine at least 3 times a week.  Kelli uses hers even more as she cooks a breakfast meal very regularly.  She commented that she thinks she’ll likely get rid of her toaster.

I highly suggest going to Youtube and looking up Flat Top Griddle cooking.  Anything you see can be made with either griddle.  What you want to purchase really depends on how many you are cooking for.

Again, the link to the Bethany House Griddle is HERE.
The Steelmade link is HERE.