“GRIDDLE LOVERS UNITE!” is the slogan of Blackstone, a USA-based outdoor cooking appliance manufacturer. Their philosophy is to bring people together; according to them, their outdoor griddles are just doing that. The brand is known for the reliability and durability of its outdoor cooking appliances, especially the outdoor griddles.
The USA based, proud Weber is a household name among grillers all over the world with their slogan,
“Born to Barbecue.”
The company was founded by George Stephen, who, in 1952, cut a buoy in half to invent the first-ever BBQ grill.
He attached three legs to the lower side of the half-cut buoy and put vents and cooking grates onto the cut-side to create Weber’s first kettle grill. He then added the top half of the buoy as a lid to his grill. But this grilling innovation continued until Weber became the most reliable brand in backyard grilling.
While Blackstone specializes in outdoor griddles, Weber focuses on backyard grills.
But what’s the difference between a griddle and a grill in the first place? Do you need to know all about Blackstone griddle vs Weber Grill? Stick to this article; you’ll have a clear head before putting your hand on any. Let’s understand them….
What is a Griddle?
A griddle is any flat metal cooking surface that’s heated from underneath, such as a hot plate or frying pan in your kitchen.
Griddles are great for cooking breakfast items or baking granular food items (rice, etc.) and liquids (eggs, for example). However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t cook or grill other foods on a griddle. Hence, you can cook almost anything on a griddle.
Some of the most popular types of griddles are:
Freestanding: a griddle with its own cart or stand, such as the Blackstone 36″ Gas Griddle.
Tabletop: a griddle that’s small, compact, portable, and suitable for camping, such as the Blackstone 17 inches Tabletop Gas Griddle.
Insert: a flat metal cooking surface fitted over a heating element or firepit. It’s a DIY, cost-effective solution if you can’t afford a freestanding griddle.
What is a Grill?
A grill comprises a slatted, metallic cooking surface directly heated by an open flame. The slatted cooking surface is a cast iron or stainless steel grill grate or series of cooking grates suspended above a charcoal pit or gas burner.
The major benefit is that it exposes the food to direct open flame, allowing the Maillard reaction to occur rapidly and the food to brown nicely. Grease and juice from the meat runoff between the slats of the cooking grate, sizzle, and get vaporized by the charcoal or gas burners to rise and infuse your food with a delicious, burnt, smoky flavor.
When you already have a gas or charcoal grill, the idea of getting a griddle hardly comes to your mind. By placing a simple flat top griddle on the grill, you can convert it into a griddle like those of Blackstone. Yet, despite having a Blackstone griddle, you might love to own a gas grill soon.
Key Differences Between Blackstone Griddle vs Weber Grill
The obvious difference between the two is the cooking surfaces-flat top in the griddle, while stereotypical gaps and ridges are in the latter. However, some other points also make a difference between the two cooking devices that must be discussed.
Cleaning Process
While it may seem counterintuitive, Blackstone is difficult to clean despite having a flat top surface. It’s because you’ve to clean a continuous grilling surface and, in most cases, you can’t remove the griddle top. You must use a fine scraper carefully, finding the right balance between perfectly cleaning the surface and not damaging it.
The other reason a griddle is challenging to clean is its flat surface. It means that there’s no gradient for the grease to flow down. While some griddles have a tilted surface to ease the grease flow down the griddle top into a grease tray, some are completely flat. Luckily, the Blackstone griddle has a slightly tilted cooking surface.
On the other hand, food juices and grease run down the gaps between the bars of a cooking grate. In addition, almost all Weber gas grills have flavorizer bars to vaporize and smoke drippings, meaning there’s less grease to deal with. And there’s an efficient grease management system in all Weber grills for leftover grease.
You can remove the Weber cooking grates and put them into a tub of soapy water for easy cleanup.
Smoking meats
Weber’s charcoal grills are an excellent option for smoking meat. The charred, burnt, smoky meat flavor is something you can’t achieve with a flat-top Blackstone griddle.
Weber Gas Grills Come with Additional Features
What you can find with a flat top grill, you can also find in a grill. But what you can get with a Weber grill can be hard to imagine with a griddle. For example, with a Weber gas grill, it’s obvious to get:
- The rotisserie installment can satisfy your cooking needs.
- The storage is enhanced via cabinets.
- Built-in lid thermometers are a must-have.
- The side burner aids in cooking.
- The sear burner helps you to grill outstanding steaks.
- Dual feudal options of propane or natural gas
- The infrared rear burner can be found in a Weber grill.
Grilling over Grill Comes with Health Risks
Grilling over a flat top Blackstone or any other griddle is perfectly safe. However, we can’t say the same for any Weber grill. But why?
The answer lies in research related to two chemicals – heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The two chemicals tend to alter DNA in a way that increases the odds of developing several diseases, including life-threatening ones like breast cancer. Charred meats have been found to contain the said chemicals.
First, HCAs are found in the char on meat cooked over direct flames. Direct heat is responsible for the reaction between amino acids, sugars, and creatine in muscle, giving rise to HCAs.
Another type, PAHs, is formed when fat from the meat falls onto hot charcoal, gas burners, or heating grill elements. The fat vaporizes, turns into smoke, rises, and contaminates the food. There’s a growing amount of evidence that frequent grillers who consume charred meat are potentially at risk.
Yet you can avoid health risks associated with grilling by:
- Choosing leaner cuts of meat to ensure less fat drips down and produces PAHs;
- Raising the grill grates farther above the charcoal bed or burners to avoid open flames forming this chemical;
- Continuously rotating the meat to limit heat exposure. You can use rotisserie for this purpose;
- Marinating your meat and avoid eating blackened, charred spots.
More from Blackstone vs Weber Grill Comparison
As already mentioned, Blackstone is known for its heavy-duty, high-end outdoor griddles. Meanwhile, Weber is hailed for its top-notch, state-of-the-art backyard bbq grills. Thus, these are different cooking surfaces.
For you to better understand the two brands and their products, we’ve chosen one of the most advanced models from each brand, reviewed them, and compared them head-to-head.
Blackstone 36 Inch Gas Griddle Review
The Blackstone 36″ Gas Griddle has dominated the market since its first appearance in 2005. The griddle is Blackstone’s cornerstone product and delivers the brand’s promised quality, design, and engineering. It’s one of the most popular Blackstone griddles and shows its love for family, friends, and outdoor cooking.
Overview
The Blackstone 36 Inch Gas Griddle comes with features that make food prep, cooking, and cleanup a breeze.
What’s more?
The griddle has enough cooking space to prepare food for a large gathering, making it exceptionally suitable for family cookouts and other occasions.
Moreover, the griddle has enough cooking space to prepare food for a large gathering, making it exceptionally suitable for family cookouts and other occasions.
The item dimensions of the Blackstone 36″ griddle are 62.5 x 22 x 36 inches, meaning that it has 720 square inches of flat top grilling area. The flat-top grilling surface is heated by four independently controlled gas burners, making it easy to set up a 2-zone or indirect grilling system.
Each burner outputs 15,000 BTUs of heat per hour. The 20 lb propane cylinder can be tucked under the left storage shelf/side table.
The Blackstone 36″ griddle weighs 120 pounds and isn’t lightweight or portable. But four solidly built wheels and a side-mounted propane tank make the griddle maneuverable, or at least manageable. However, it’s heavy and more petite than portable.
The griddle features two side shelves for storing tools or prep areas (based on how you use them) and a rear grease management system.
In a nutshell, the Blackstone 36″ griddle is praised for its colossal cooking surface, reliable performance, and solid build. Even more, the griddle is easy to assemble.
Construction and Design
The Blackstone 36″ griddle features heavy gauge alloy steel construction, which is very sturdy and durable. Folding legs, the fact that the propane tank goes to the side, and the removable griddle top make it somewhat portable.
There’s a storage area between the legs to place grilling equipment. Two side tables and a spacious griddle top are great for use as prep areas.
Griddle surface
The Blackstone 36″ has an expansive cooking surface made of rolled steel. What it signifies is that neither you have to crush your food to fit it on your cooking pan nor do you have to cook it in batches, leaving it to cool down while you grill another batch.
The major downside of rolled steel is that it’s susceptible to rusting and corrosion. To prevent this from happening, you need to oil and season your griddle surface post-cooking. However, oiling the cooking surface adds some flavor and taste to your dishes.
Performance
On this griddle, you can cook anything from eggs to pancakes, Quesadillas, grilled cheese, steak, potatoes, and Teppanyaki-style foods. Taking advantage of the independently heated cooking zones, you can set up a 2-zone or indirect grilling system or cook various recipes at different temperatures simultaneously.
The burners are well-designed and made of stainless steel, meaning that there will be little to no maintenance for decades to come.
Grease Management System
The Blackstone 36″ griddle is one of the best Blackstone grills; it’s made of non-corrosion-resistant alloy steel, meaning that it needs to be cleaned regularly and carefully. However, a stainless steel variant is also present. But for the alloy steel model, you need a dedicated Blackstone scraper (sold separately) and regular oiling to clean and maintain the griddle.
The grease tray was side-mounted in the older models, and fats and grease tended to leak down the front leg. The grease tray is rear-mounted in the newer models and has fixed the woes of leaking oil for good.
A rectangular hole in the rear of the flat top griddle lets fat and grease flow down into a grease tray sitting just below the spot.
After cleanup, it’s best to season the griddle with a light coat of oil to prevent rust or corrosion.
In short, Blackstone griddles are alt top grilling GURUS; and Blackstone 36 is the best among them. Yet, if you need a small griddle, you can also opt for a Balckstoen 28 inches griddle. You can read a detailed comparison of Blackstone 28 vs 36.
Pros
- A huge cooking surface.
- An efficient, flawless rear-mounted grease management system.
- Folding legs, a removable griddle top, and four sturdy wheels allow you to move this griddle around.
- Four high-output, independently controlled burners.
Cons
- Too heavy to be suitable for camping.
- Made of alloy steel, it’s not entirely corrosion and rust-resistant. (There’s a stainless steel version available.)
Weber Genesis II S-435 Gas Grill Review
The Weber Genesis II S-435 Gas Grill is one of the best propane gas grills out there today. Weber’s Genesis II lineup is its most successful series to date, and the S-435 model is at the forefront of this. The grill has a matchless style, power, fuel efficiency, and longevity. The grill features three main burners, a sear station, and a side burner.
The grill shines brightly under the sun, as it’s made from hardened stainless steel. However, some parts of it have matte silver instead of the grill’s overall shiny silver finish. The Weber Genesis II S-435 grill comes in an enclosed cart-like style. There are two small swivel locking casters and two big, all-weather swivel casters.
The huge two-door cupboard area under the grill is spacious enough to store anything from cooking utensils and condiments to prepared or raw food items.
Performance
As the features go, the S-435 model contains everything Weber had to put in. The key feature of this model is its Sear Station with a dedicated burner. Main burners on a gas grill sometimes can not produce those majestic grill marks on steaks.
Sometimes, the configuration of the main burner is not suitable for searing steaks. Sear station burners, on the other hand, are placed closely with indirect heat in a way that results in beautifully seared steaks.
The burners are independently controlled and rely on Weber’s proprietary Infinity Ignition system, promising to work in all weather conditions and never fail. Individually controlled burners mean grills can cook many foods at different temperatures simultaneously, something that Blackstone’s Griddle also sports.
Additional Features
This grill is iGrill thermometer ready, meaning that you can monitor your food’s internal temperature and get to know when it reaches its minimum internal temperature. The accessory is sold separately, but the grill has a fit-size cutout cut in one of its side tables for the wireless thermometer.
A spacious cabinet storage area under the grill liberates you from the hassle of making multiple trips into the house to bring essential tools and equipment. Tool hooks are built into the side tables for hanging scapulas, tongs, and forks. You can also use side shelves as food prep areas.
The warming rack lets you keep the food warm while cooking other foods. There’s a built-in lid thermometer gauge as well.
Specifications
The S-435 is a flagship gas grill from Weber and has every reason to do so. This is the mammoth of a gas grill with 65 x 29 x 47 inches dimensions.
The most peculiar thing about Weber gas grills is their flavorizer bars. These bars trap food drippings, sizzle them, and send the vapor back to infuse your food with a rich, burnt flavor.
Flavorizer bars also protect the burners from juices flowing down the grates from the food. There are also heat deflectors sitting between the bars, ensuring that the heat reaches every corner of the grilling surface.
With an 844 sq. in. cooking surface, the grill has ample space to cook for a large gathering. The tuck-away warming rack is also a nice feature. Stainless steel cooking grates are 7mm thick, meaning that they will not rust or corrode.
The combined heat output of the three primary burners, a sear burner, and a side burner is a whopping 69,000 BTUs per hour. These specifications dispel every question regarding the performance of this grill.
Returning to the cooking box, the grill has rectangular stainless steel burners with an improved design and promise to provide consistent heat across the entire grilling surface.
The grease management system of the Genesis II S-435 is also great. A removable, angled, and triangular catch pan sits under the burners. It has a central hole through which grease and drippings are funneled down into a disposable drip tray.
Improved stainless steel burners, flavorizer bars, Infinity Ignition system, and an advanced grease management system from what Weber calls the “GS4” (grilling system).
Pros
- Comes with a side burner and a sear station burner.
- Heat output of 69,000 BTUs.
- 844 square inches of cooking area.
- Includes the GS4 grilling system.
- iGrill3 ready.
- Excellent performance, consistent reliance, and durability.
Cons
- Difficult to assemble.
- Too heavy to be portable.
- Occupies a lot of space.
Blackstone Griddle vs Weber Grill: FAQs
What recipes can I cook on a Blackstone griddle?
You can cook as many recipes as you want on a griddle, including burgers, pancakes, waffles, hot dogs, quesadillas, grilled cheese, sandwiches, and French toast.
Yet, you can’t enjoy the grilling or smoking as you can do on an open flame as gas, charcoal, or pellet grills offer.
Which Weber gas grill is the best for beginners?
Weber Spirit E-210 is the best grill for beginners. It’s equally advanced, durable, and easy to use like all other Weber grills.
Can you smoke on a Blackstone Griddle?
Yes, you can smoke on a Blackstone Griddle.
Which will last longer, a Blackstone griddle or a Weber grill?
Weber gas grills last the longest among many other gas grill brands. The reason is Weber’s best quality material, e.g., 304 stainless steel and constructions. For instance, some best stainless steel grills are only available under Webers, which you can rely on for the ultimate durability.
Blackstone griddle vs Weber grill, which is more pricey?
Trusty Weber grills are definitely more pricey than Blackstone griddles. The reason is their supreme build quality and the versatility that they offer. For instance, you can use the sear station and integrate rotisserie kits with Weber grills as well.
Which Blackstone Griddle should I choose?
When it’s about getting the Blackstone griddle, your cooking needs matter; you can get a tabletop griddle or a portable griddle by Blackstone. You can check out some of the best Blackstone grills among the dozens of Blackstone griddles.
Blackstone vs Grill: Final Thoughts
Keeping your grilling and cooking needs, you can think of getting a weber gas grill when:
- You want to make decades-lasting investments with no care of price.
- Durability is your primary concern.
- Your primary recipes mostly comprise grilling steak and smoking items.
- Grills can be extremely versatile with the use of some extra accessories and turn them into a flat top griddle, smoker, or pizza oven.
- Your cooking is mostly restricted to your backyard or garden.
In short, from Weber Spirit Series to Genesis, all Weber grills are at the top among the rest of the gas grill brands. You can have any as per your budget and needs.
Getting a Blackstone griddle station can make you the best choice when:
- You want to opt for more pocket-friendly choices.
- The recipes you cook primarily focus on breakfast items like pancakes and burgers and occasionally on cooking steak.
- You don’t think soon you’ll be craving a grill.
- Camping and outdoor cooking are more fun for you.
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