Cleaning the Camp Chef flat-top grill is quite a breeze, though. When fully tuned, the grease management will direct all extra drippings to the collecting bucket. From smashed ground meat to scrambled eggs, it can cook almost everything you’d want to make on a flat-top grill. I’ve tested some of the best outdoor flat-top grills out there and rounded up these seven according to performance and versatility. Our customer service reps are real people offering great service, backed by 8 weeks of hands-on training with all of our products.
As I discuss in my Traeger vs Pit Boss post, Pit Boss is targeting the value/budget segment of the market. What P-Setting adjustment provides is more control over how much smoke the pellet grill side of the BBQ can produce. Hence, its the model you want if you actually want to be able to produce the most smoke. While I Grills Portable Grills think the Camp Chef Apex above is the best full-width pellet/gas combo grill currently on the market, its not cheap, costing over $2,000. Its possible to purchase either the 24″ or 36″ Camp Chef Apex as just a standard pellet grill without the gas kit for a lower price point and then add on the gas kit at a later date.
That means the burners are protected from wind and the heat is locked in. Traeger advertises a 28% propane savings from this more efficient design. Another unique feature of the burner design is there is an insulator between each burner. This gives more distinct zoning for each of the three different burners, for cooking food at different temperatures. Like the Timberline and the Ironwood, the Flatrock has the Pop-And-Lock Accessory Rail for easily adding on things like shelves and cup holders.
Fans of cast iron cooking — or hot, flat surfaces if you’re into that sort of thing — will be pleased with Traeger’s newest launch. It’s a pleasure to use — there’s really no other way to describe it than fun. After properly seasoning the griddle, my partner and I were able to cook up tasty, delicious meats, eggs and sides with ease. Although the initial setup was a little tricky, once we got the Flatrock rolling, there’s been no looking back. A gas griddle cooktop gets super hot and sears food quickly, preserving vitamins, minerals, and of course flavor.
Most flat-top grills are propane-fueled, so you’ll want to consider how many BTUs of cooking power a grill offers. To determine the size that’s best for you, consider the number of people you typically cook for or whether you want to grill enough food to serve a crowd. We did the legwork for you by tapping experts and researching the most popular flat top grills on the market from brands like Blackstone and Pit Boss. Keep scrolling to read more about the best outdoor griddles for every budget, outdoor space, and family. The best of both worlds, you can fry on the griddle and grill on the rack simultaneously. Serve up a full meal from pancakes and bacon for breakfast to steak and potatoes for dinner this combo cooktop.
However, there is still a difference, with gas being quicker to get to temp. Now, the time difference between getting a pellet grill and a gas grill up to temp is not anywhere near as significant as comparing a charcoal and gas grill. Those burgers aren’t obviously going to taste as nice as they would be cooked on the pellet grill, but if you don’t have the time, that’s irrelevant. Its the time aspect which is a significant consideration for many people.
Samantha Jones is a commerce editor at Hearst Magazines, covering lifestyle, fitness, beauty and more. She has written for Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens and beyond, and she loves staying up to date on the latest viral products worth shopping. When she’s not at her desk, Sam can be found on a run in Central Park or trying out new brunch spots with friends. If you want to find the best Memorial Day deals, now is your chance to score a great price on a new grill. “While the steepest discounts on grills can be found at the end of the summer, if you need or want a new grill now, there are plenty of deals worth checking out during Memorial Day Weekend,” she says.
That has generally kept me away from the large outdoor flattop griddles I’d seen sizzling on street corners during my time living in New York City. Flattops could not, I thought, do nearly as much as even a basic kettle grill (I wasn’t going to be smoking anything on a flattop), and they are big, heavy, and often expensive. Traeger, for a long time the biggest name in pellet grills, released its first gas-powered cooker into the world in the form of the Flatrock, which features a sizeable carbon-steel cooktop. After spending several weeks cooking meals at all hours of the day, I’m a believer. From bacon, eggs, and pancakes in the morning to burgers and stir-fry for dinner, it’s hard to beat the deep caramelization produced by flat top grills.
If you do, its possible the pellets will absorb moisture and go bad. The thin steel construction could rust through pretty quickly once the paint finish starts to fail. You will not find much stainless steel, if any, on Pit Boss grills.
These cookers can also be used for standard grilling in the same way you’d use a gas grill. Fire it up fast and use it to whip up flavorful burgers and dogs on weeknights. When it comes to cooking methods, the pellet grill tends to bring more to the table (quite literally) because it can cook food in so many different ways.