Blackstone: All hype? Or totally worth it?

I have been seeing tons of Blackstone recipes online. I couldn’t help but wonder if it would really live up to the hype or not.

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Aunt Lou here.

As you may know, our entire family loves to camp. Lately, we have been seeing tons of recipes to use while you are camping that are for a Blackstone griddle. So, we thought we would check it out and see if it deserved all the hype.

First Impression

So, since I wanted the Blackstone to be portable and not have to worry about if I had a good place to put it while I cooked. I got the 22 inch Blackstone on the Go model. It wasn’t long before I ran into a small problem. Two screws on one leg and one screw on another leg couldn’t go in! The holes in one part of the leg did not line up with holes in the other part of the leg. While I understand things happen, I really did expect to be able to actually get all the screws in to put it together without needing to make modifications.

I didn’t go wild with buying accessories. I wanted to use the Blackstone a little first to see what I thought would actually be helpful. However, I did buy the cleaning kit, because the kit wasn’t too expensive, and I wanted to make sure that I could take care of my Blackstone. I also bought some grease tray liners because I didn’t have time for the silicone liners to arrive before I was going to camp. I think I may get a grill press eventually but haven’t just yet. For the spatulas, I just used what we already had for our grill. They worked pretty well.

Seasoning the Blackstone

The next step was seasoning the griddle. I was honestly a little worried about this. You see, I had read multiple posts where people said they didn’t season it enough and things were sticking like crazy. So, I went to Blackstone’s website for their instructions on how to season it. While they tell you it is best to use their expensive product to season your grill, they do say you can use a high smoke point oil. I used vegetable oil. I did four rounds of a light layer of vegetable oil, and it darkened up really well. While it did take a long time to do (not as long as they said it would though), it was really easy. And, I am happy to report that after our first few times making something on the Blackstone, I did a pretty good job of seasoning it! Nothing is sticking to it, and cleaning it is a breeze! (The picture below is of the process of me seasoning it, not after it was finished.)

Blackstone Test Drive

Since we were at camp, I thought that the bacon and eggs breakfast that Michael usually makes on our electric griddle would be the perfect test drive for the Blackstone. It worked pretty well! It cooks differently than our electric griddle, but it was a good experience. I think it is worth noting that the front inch and a half or so is considerably cooler since it is farther from the burners underneath.

Overall, it cooked the bacon up well, and even though the 22 inch isn’t even close to the biggest Blackstone available, it quickly cooked up enough bacon for eight people. I think we had some happy campers. What do you think?

I do want to note that between the few different meals we made on the Blackstone the first weekend we took it to camp, we blew straight through more than two of the little green propane tanks. So, I think I will be looking into getting the adapter so I can hook it up to a 20 lb propane tank. In the long run, I think it will be more cost effective to make the switch. Those green tanks are not cheap!

Is it all hype?

While I am just getting started on my Blackstone journey, I think that it is a handy dandy thing to have. It is easy to cook on, portable and clean up is a snap. I know that the price for a Blackstone is pretty steep though. So, I highly recommend buying one when it is on sale. However, if you can make it last as long as they say it will last by taking good care of it, I think it is a good investment.

As for me, I am full of ideas for things to make on my new Blackstone. I have plans for Momma’s French Toast recipe, cubed steak, potatoes and oh so much more. If you would like to follow along with all my Blackstone adventures, you can find the recipes over on Recipes That Crock.