Cooking with gas...

 

It's an old person saying: "Now you're cooking with gas!"  For any whippersnappers reading this, it means you're doing something the right way.

We have been enjoying our BlackStone griddle.  We bought it when we were in Phoenix last year; used it once to make sure it was functional, then packed it in the coach until we got home.  We used the heck out of it at home.  When it came time to head north for some good scoot riding, it was decision time: do we take the griddle or leave it?  Of course, we took it... we don't travel light.

That said, it is a beast to haul around, including the propane tank ('cause we're "cooking with gas" ;-) ).  The discussion of getting a smaller griddle to use when we're out in the coach came up.  It led me to researching smaller Blackstone griddles, which led me to looking at their e-griddle line (electric).

I was pretty convinced that a good part of the flavor of what we were making came from that rolled steel surface and the fast heat that propane provides.  The e-griddles are slower to heat, don't use the rolled steel griddle surface, and there is no need to season them.  More research... there are people who bought one of each to compare them.  This was coming from dedicated propane griddle users; the consensus: the e-griddle is different.

Duh.

We bought one the other day while at Wally World.  I think it will be a handier size in the motorhome.  We put it to its first use today: breakfast, consisting of bacon, eggs, and hash browns.  The results: it's different.  ;-)  The griddle surface is a ceramic coated titanium, thinner and lighter than the rolled steel in the propane versions.  It is non-stick.  I can vouch for that... I made the eggs over-easy, and I had to chase them all around the griddle to get them on the spatula (plastic, 'cause you can't use metal tools on this).  You use way less oil with this surface.  Clean up is easy: you can wipe it down after it cools, or take the cooking surface and glass lid off and wash them in the sink.  Yes, you use (gasp!) soap and water to clean this.  Nothing to re-season.  It heats up slower, but you can set it for a specific temperature on the cooking surface, as opposed to the propane version that has "high" to "low" with no temperature readout.  I still used my handy infra-red hand-held thermometer to check the surface.

This may turn out to be "healthier" for cooking, since I will use less oil.  I'd hate to think all the good food I've made on the griddle over this past year played a part in my raised blood sugar levels.  For the record, all the breakfast items tasted as good as on the propane griddle.  I plan to make some steaks and salmon (salmon for Joan, I am still a meat-eater) on it this evening, so we'll see how that goes.  But, my first impression is: two thumbs up... although it feels tinier and I kinda miss having different temperature zones.  Only one setting for the whole thing with this 17" model.  

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Joan made some oh-so-tasty cheesy potatoes and crusty bread; I used the Blackstone electric griddle to make New York steaks and salmon... outstanding all around.  I was concerned that I wouldn't get a good sear on the steaks with the e-griddle; no concern - these were good steaks and the griddle did a fine job on them; just as good as any I've made on the grill or the propane griddle.  And clean up was easy.