Can You Use a Blackstone Griddle as a Stovetop?

Using Griddle As A Stovetop

The traditional griddle is a versatile piece of cookware that can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. Lately, there’s been this huge craze raging about flat-top grills or outdoor griddles such as the Blackstone griddle.

These griddles are getting popular because they are extremely easy to use and are capable of preparing delicious steaks, burgers, and grilled veggies alike. Surprisingly people also love to griddle in winter.

Some people have been wondering if it is possible to use the griddle as a stovetop. Yes, you read that correctly, not ON a stovetop but AS a stovetop.

Let’s take a closer look at this question.

The short answer is – The Blackstone griddles can be used as a stovetop because they have durable griddle tops. That means you can put cookware on them and use them to cook your food. The only exception is the electric griddles, which should not be used as a stovetop.

Now, unless you got one of the biggest griddles such as the Blackstone 36″ CULINARY GRIDDLE, the griddle top surface may not be as large enough. So you won’t be able to use it to cook for a large number of people but it’s definitely doable for smaller groups.

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Can You Use a Pan on A Blackstone Griddle?

Now that we know griddles can be used as stove tops, the logical next question is – Can you use a pan on a griddle?

The answer to this one is also yes! You can use most of your regular cookware such as pans and pots on a griddle. The only thing to keep in mind is that not all of your cookware will have a flat bottom.

So if you are using a pan with a rounded bottom such as the wok, it will not make full contact with the griddle surface which means your food might not cook evenly. In that case, it’s best to use cookware that has a flat bottom.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the griddle surface is usually a lot hotter than a regular stovetop burner. So you’ll have to adjust the cooking time and temperature accordingly.

You may be asking why would anyone want to use a pan on a griddle top. Well, there are a few reasons. One of the reasons is the fact that when you use a pan, the stuff that you are cooking in the pan is not gonna get its flavor compromised by the stuff you are cooking on the griddle itself.

Let’s you are having a BBQ and one person wants a pancake and another person wants a rib-eye steak. A pancake soaked with the fat juices produced by the steak is hardly a pleasant experience.

In this griddle situation, you can have one area where you are cooking the steak and another area where you are cooking the pancake in a pan. This way, both items will retain their flavors and everyone’s happy!

Another reason is that there may be times when you don’t necessarily want to fry or even deep fry food directly on the griddle. Maybe you just want to cook a quick dinner for yourself without having to deal with all the cleaning required after using a griddle. In this situation, you can just heat up a smaller portion of the griddle, throw a pan on it, and be done in a couple of minutes.

After you are done cooking you can just throw the pan in a dishwasher and won’t have to worry about any cleanup at all.

Can You Put a Pot on A Blackstone Griddle?

BBQ sauce

The answer to this question is the same as the one above. Yes, you can put a pot on a Blackstone gas griddle but you have to make sure that the bottom of the pot is flat. It might come in handy for example when you need to boil some water on your griddle.

You can even use one side of the griddle for cooking a delicious BBQ sauce and the other side to sear juicy steaks or cook veggies. The griddle is simply the ultimate versatile piece of cookware that every home chef needs in their outdoor kitchen!

A word of caution – if you are going to use the griddle this way, make sure it is perfectly level. Otherwise, the cooking oil and juices may flow towards the side where you are using your pots and pans and cause an unnecessary mess.

You might also want to avoid using pots and pans with plastic or wooden handles because they can melt or catch fire if they are not resistant to very high temperatures. Remember, the griddle’s surface may reach temperatures of more than 550 F or 290 C.

Tip: Some people like to use disposable aluminum pans for cooking on their griddles.

How About the Blackstone Electric Griddles?

The E-series of Blackstone griddles have a non-stick ceramic titanium-coated griddle surface. As such, they should not be used as stovetops.

The reason is simple. The coating is easy to scratch with inappropriate tools. Blackstone specifically mentions that these griddles are not to be used with metal utensils such as spatulas and scrapers. This essentially means you cannot use the griddle as a stovetop because the pots would scratch the surface.

Does that mean the E-series griddles are not good? Not all. In fact, the electric griddles are excellent and are a great choice for those not wanting to deal with propane tanks.

Can You Use Griddles By Other Manufacturers As a Stovetop?

This depends on the materials the griddle is made of. If it’s made of cast iron, rolled steel, or stainless steel, then yes, you can most likely use it as a stovetop. if in doubt then I would suggest contacting the customer support of the said manufacturer.

However, if the griddle has a non-stick surface such as Teflon or Titanium coating, you definitely shouldn’t use it as a stovetop.

The non-stick surfaces are not designed to withstand physical abuse. Therefore, you would quite probably scratch the coating if you placed a heavy pan or pot on it.

The scratched-up and chipped non-stick coating is not going to do its job properly. That’s pretty obvious, right?

Final Thoughts

So there you have it, everything you need to know about using a griddle as a stovetop.

Using griddles as stovetops is a great way to add an extra cooking surface to your outdoor cooking adventures. You can use most of your regular cookware on a gas griddle, but be sure that the bottom is flat. Also, the griddle surface is usually hotter than a regular stovetop and it’s also more difficult to fine-tune the temperature, so you’ll have to adjust the cooking time and temperature accordingly.

Be sure to experiment with different cookware and recipes and find what works best for you.

And as always, if you have any questions or comments, please use the contact form and I’ll be happy to answer them. Happy griddling!

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John Carder

John Carder is the founder of FreshAirChef.com. He loves to cook outdoors, especially over a campfire. John has a lovely wife and two cats who he loves dearly. In his spare time, he likes to play soccer and paint; he's not particularly good at either, but he enjoys the process nonetheless. He also has silly long hair which often gets in his way while cooking!