How to select and buy the correct griddle for your restaurant.

A griddle is a flat metal plate of steel or cast iron which cooks food by conducting heat directly from the griddle surface to the food. Griddles are found in almost all commercial food service establishments, and are used to cook a wide variety of foods such as bacon, eggs, chicken, hamburgers and steak.

Types and Characteristics

Griddles are available as an optional section in many range tops, or can be purchased as a countertop unit with or without a mobile stand, or free standing unit.

Griddles normally have a metal splash guard surrounding all but the front of the cooking surface which prevents food from sliding off and minimizes grease splatter. A grease trough usually runs along each side of the griddle plate and deposits waste into a collecting pan.

If you want to achieve a “char-broiled” look and taste, without the smoke problems, char broilers with grooved or ribbed griddles are available. Grooved surfaces are designed to emboss food with charred grid marks, characteristic of broiled and grilled foods. Also, they allow the fat to run off and away from the product. Ribbed surfaces cook somewhat slower than flat surfaces because only the parts of the food in direct contact with the edges of the raised grooves are immediately exposed to full heat. Manufacturers usually install a grooved surface on a single section of the griddle surface only, while the remaining sections are equipped for the total direct-contact cooking of a flat plate.

Heavy duty griddles are usually free-standing. Heavy duty cooking surfaces typically range from 30 to 36 inches deep and up to 72 inches wide. In high volume establishments, you may find two or more free-standing units installed side-by-side, or back-to-back.

Countertop griddles are free-standing units, which can sit on a countertop. Manufacturers often offer an optional mobile work stand for these units as well. They range from 15 to 24 inches deep, and from 15 to 72 inches in width.

Manual Griddles vs. Thermostat Griddles

Griddles operate between 200° and 550°F. Most griddles offer controls for approximately every 12” of surface space, which allow you to set different temperatures for different areas of the plate to cook different products side-by-side. Manual controls offer less flexibility in cooking temperatures and are usually limited to low, medium and high. Thermostatically controlled griddles allow you to set specific temperatures, e.g. 375° per section.

Griddle Plate Thickness

Griddle plates come in ½” ¾” and 1” thickness. Thinner plates preheat faster and are more sensitive to temperature changes, but may warp over time. Once a griddle plate warps, hot and cold spots develop and the plate cooks less consistently.

Electric Griddles vs. Gas Griddles

This depends on personal preference. Generally, electric griddles may provide a more uniform temperature across the surface of the griddle, though both electric and gas griddles units offer thermostats. Gas may preheat quicker and fuel costs are less expensive than electric.

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