It may be time to reconsider what you think of when you think of the best grills. Instead of thinking about which is the best propane grill, you should think of propane griddles instead. Enter the Blackstone 36 stainless steel griddle, which has the potential to be the envy of every grillman’s backyard.
Why We Like It – Blackstone 36 Stainless Steel Griddle
The Blackstone 36 Stainless Steel Griddle is a powerful addition to any backyard and will provide you with perfectly seared meat thanks to its four powerful burners. And if you like to have neighborhood cookouts, the large grilling area provides plenty of room to cook your guests’ food.
- Constructed from Steel
- Easy Assembly
- Well Thought Out Design
- No Natural Gas Option
- Hard to Clean
Power/Heating
The Blackstone griddle cooking station possesses four stainless steel burners that churn out 15,000 BTUs of heat each, for a total of 60,000 BTUs. There’s no reason to think this gas griddle will be underpowered. Of course, not everybody needs this much heat when grilling. If this is you, you might want to consider the Char-Broil Performance 2 Burner.
Size/Versatility
The cooking space on the Blackstone gas grill is a generous 720 square inches of rolled steel. If you usually find yourself hosting many guests you’ll never have to worry about crushing food together, like you would on the Weber Spirit II, again on this griddle top. The only downside here is that you have to use a propane tank as there is no natural gas option.
Related: If you like some flexibility with your grill, check out our Blackstone 1819 griddle review.
Durability
For a grill that’s so large it’s surprisingly light. It’s still one of the heaviest propane grills we’ve seen at 120 pounds, but it’s far lower than we were expecting. It’s also made entirely from steel, and there’s something great about the feel of well-made equipment. The Blackstone feels incredibly solid and won’t give the sense that it can collapse at any moment.
Ease of Use
The Blackstone grill is surprisingly easy to assemble, requiring only your hands and absolutely no tools. Cleaning the Blackstone grill is a bit of a pain though. The rolled steel isn’t corrosion resistant, so you definitely need to oil it and thoroughly clean it after every use, which can be cumbersome. At least the rear grease management system does its job well. For something easier to clean, try the Weber Q1200.
Related: Also check out our Blackstone 28-inch outdoor flat-top gas grill griddle station review.
Value
One of the great things about the Blackstone Grill is that they really thought out how people would use it. The two side shelves and the under griddle tray is proof of this. They are bigger than your normal side shelves and under-trays as well, which is welcome. And for a grill that’s less than $500.00 you really can’t go wrong considering all the features you get.
Blackstone 36 Stainless Steel Griddle Wrap Up
It would have been nice to have a natural gas option, but we’re not going to hold the Blackstone 36 Stainless Steel Griddle too accountable for this. The fact is the griddle provides an exceptional, high-quality cooking experience for mid-level grill prices. And that’s what we choose to focus on when selecting grills.
