Blackstone griddles are versatile tools for grilling and cooking outdoors. They are incredibly popular among the outdoor cooking community. One thing that people are often curious about is whether or not you can deep fry on a Blackstone griddle. The answer to this question is both yes and no.
You cannot deep fry directly on the griddle itself, as it is designed to prevent large amounts of oil from pooling up around the edge. However, you can deep fry on Blackstone griddles if you use a pan or a pot to do so. It is a great way to get the deep-fried flavor without having to invest in a separate deep fryer.
Is it the best way to deep fry anything? Certainly not, but if deep drying isn’t something you do every day, it’s an easy way to get the job done.
On the other hand, if you love frying, you may want to look at one of the Blackstone combo griddles that come with a deep fryer or with an air fryer.
Let’s get into the details.
Table of Contents
How to Deep Fry on a Blackstone Griddle?
If you visualize a Blackstone griddle, then the first thing that usually comes to mind is a flat-top grill with only one cooking surface – the flat top, or griddle top.
Deep frying requires a fairly large amount of oil so that the fried food is submerged in it completely. There’s no way to do that on the flat top alone as the griddles are designed with a draining system to prevent the oil from pooling.
There is a workaround though, and no, you don’t have to fill the drip tray hole. Fortunately, gas griddles with steel tops can be used as a stovetop.
Therefore, you can simply put a pan or a pot on the griddle top and pour in oil to fry food. There are some caveats here and we will discuss them later on.
Step-by-step guide
Here’s how to deep fry on a Blackstone Griddle:
- Place a pot or pan of your choice (more on that later) on the griddle and fill it with oil. The amount of oil depends on what you are planning on frying. Larger pieces of food will need more oil so that they are fully submerged.
- Turn the heat on. To get the oil hot enough, you will likely need to crank it up close to the maximum heat setting.
- Allow the oil to reach its desired temperature before adding food. To check, drop a small piece of bread or a pinch of batter into the hot oil and see how it reacts. If it starts to sizzle and fry, then it’s ready. Or if you want to be 100% sure, use a cooking thermometer. Around 350°F or 175°C should be hot enough for most deep-frying needs.
- Toss in your food and let it fry.
- Profit. Enjoy your delicious deep-fried treats. When you are done, let the oil cool down completely before pouring it into a container for storage or disposal.
What cookware to use for deep frying on a griddle?
The choice of cookware for deep frying on a griddle is vast. You can use almost anything, from an aluminum foil pan to a cast iron skillet. You should probably avoid non-stick pans as the high heat transferred from the griddle’s cooking surface may be too much for the non-stick coating.
- Premium quality foil pans
- Suitable for baking, roasting, and even deep frying on your griddle
- Multiple sizes available
Here are a couple of tips to help you choose:
- Don’t use tiny pots and pans. A large surface area that comes into contact with the griddle is important to get the oil hot and keep it hot.
- The pot or pan must have a flat bottom. Something like a steam tray will not work very well as the bottom is slightly curved.
- Cast iron cookware works great as it holds the heat better, although it may take a bit longer to heat up. A cast iron pan with higher sides or perhaps a cast iron Dutch oven works great.
- Baking pans like those used for baking brownies work well too. Ideally not a non-stick one.
- If you want to go the cheap and easy way, disposable aluminum foil pans work pretty well too. They are difficult to move once filled with oil so be careful and don’t burn yourself.
- Avoid pots with plastic handles that are not designed to withstand high temperatures.
- Avoid glass. It may shatter.
Problems you may encounter
Deep drying on a griddle comes with its share of problems you may encounter. Here’s an overview of issues you may expect.
- It’s not a speedy process – It will take quite a long time to get the oil up to temperature. Although Blackstone griddles can get extremely hot, it takes time for the heat to transfer through the cookware into the oil. If your griddle has a lid you can pop it down to trap some of the hot air and speed up the process.
- Oil cools down quickly – Once you toss your food in the oil, especially if it’s frozen, it will cause it to cool down below the best temperature for deep frying. Not much you can do about that other than frying smaller portions at once.
- Not good for cooking for a crowd – The amount of food you can deep fry at once is limited by the pot you are using. And also by the point above. Forget about serving deep-fried food to 10 people at once.
- Not efficient – It’s not really efficient usage of propane when you deep fry on a griddle as a lot of the hot cooking surface area will remain unused. Yes, you can cook on the rest of the griddle but it may be too hot and a bit messy with the pot sitting there.
Alternatives
So, as you can see, a simple griddle is not exactly the perfect tool for deep frying. If you love deep-fried food, here are a few alternatives to consider.
Blackstone Rangetop Griddle With Deep Fryer (#1963)
- Gather your family around the Blackstone rangetop stainless steel griddle and cook up a feast; Make burgers with fries, surf and turf with steamed lobster tails, or make donuts for dessert all on the same cooking station while enjoying the outdoors
- Side burner deep fryer with a thermometer and a stay-cool handle; This is a one-of-a-kind outdoor griddle that lets you cook, bake, saute and fry for ultimate versatility; Let the burger patties sear while you throw in a batch of fries in the deep fryer.
- Spacious cooking surface: The extra-large 613 sq. inch cooking surface is big enough to feed a family of 10 and as many friends as you invite over; The individually controlled burners of our heavy-duty griddle let you cook several foods at once and not burn a thing! Burners are evenly spaced to prevent hot or cold spots.
This is a special 28-inch griddle or perhaps even a cooking station, that is equipped with two side burners offering 15,000 BTUs each and a deep fryer that goes over them. Since the deep fryer is heated directly by the flames of the burners, it is much quicker to heat up.
Thanks to this solution, you can easily cook your burgers or steaks on the griddle while your french fries are frying away in the deep fryer. Of course, you can use the side burners for anything you like, not just deep-frying.
As a bonus, there are also two side tables for you to keep your Blackstone bottles with condiments or utensils. also, instead of being hanged on the side, the propane tank is stored inside the bottom cabinet.
There’s one downside and that is the price of this bad boy. You would spend less by getting one of the basic 28-inch griddles and a separate deep fryer. But that would not look as cool, right?
This griddle can be bought on Amazon or Walmart.
Blackstone Griddles With an Air Fryer
Now another alternative is to ditch deep frying and switch to air frying. Air fryers are pretty amazing because they produce much healthier food while still giving it that crispy yummy texture. But I have to admit, deep-fried food tastes a bit better. Could be subjective though.
Blackstone has several models that come with an integrated air fryer.
The smallest and cheapest one is the Adventure Ready 17″ Griddle with an electric air fryer. If you’d prefer something bigger, there are 28″ and 36″ griddles that come with two or three air fryer drawers.
Separate Deep Fryer
The most sensible way may be just getting a separate deep fryer pot, like the Presto GranPappy that works great and is pretty inexpensive.
Final Thoughts
Although a basic gas griddle is not the ideal tool for deep-frying food, it can be used successfully. However, any standard electric deep fryer or griddle cooking station with an integrated deep fryer will make the job easier and quicker.
The good thing is that with Blackstone there are plenty of options to choose from, depending on your needs and budget.
Happy cooking!
FAQ
Can you deep fry on an electric Blackstone griddle?
You should not be putting any metal cookware on an electric griddle with a non-stick coating. However, using a disposable aluminum foil pan could make it work.
Can you deep fry in a wok on a griddle?
A wok pan is a bad choice for deep frying on a griddle. The reason is that it has a very small flat surface at the bottom or none at all, making it very inefficient or outright unusable. A better option is a pot with a wide and flat bottom.
Last update on 2024-01-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
