Blackston Grill vs Electric Grill

[TomC1944]

I spend several months a year in a Florida RV park with full hookup. I took a Blackstone grill with me last time but am considering a small electric grill similar to the George Forman with temperature control. What are the advantages of the Blackstone Grill verses a small electric grill? The advantages I see for the Blackstone is size and it does not use electricity. The disadvantages I see are larger grill to carry and not as easy to set up. Am I missing anything?

 

[Phil-T]

Just bought a 17" Blackstone griddle with electric airfryer. Looking forward to a quality griddle over the little gas gril we've been using. Will use it this winter when we are hosting in SC. I don't see carrying and doing setup, etc. for the Blackstone when we are traveling. Small electric would be nice for that.

 

[Marine359]

Our Blackstone has a 17” griddle, griddle cover, and high btu side burner. It comes with a deep fryer for the side burner, but we don’t use it. Very inexpensive. Not heavy and fits easily into pass through. Will fit on most aluminum collapsible (roll up style) tables. Hooks up to 20lb propane tank or RV under body propane port and is ready to cook in a couple of minutes. We cook practically all our meals on it. And we set a kettle of water on the burner, so we can have coffee as soon as we get up. We don’t like cooking inside our small trailer, so the Blackstone is just what the doctor ordered. Perfect for boondocking when we use very little electricity. The best camping accessory we own. Oh, and it cleans up easily in seconds.

 

[Wayne M]

We have the 22" Blacksotne Adventure. At Walmart, $174 for griddle and portable stand with adjustable legs. The griddle comes off of the burner base and the burner base comes off of the stand -- exceptionally easy for both.

I "had" an outside kitchen which was a pull-out with refrigerator, 1 cu ft, and induction cook top. I personally felt that the cook top was to close to the paint for cooking bacon or other greasy items so I removed the kitchen and use the space a storage. I did some measuring and added 2 2 x 12's (what I had on hand) to each side and straddled it with 2 2x12's spanning to each side. I made the supports just a little higher than the griddle/burners. The griddle fits under the spanning 2 x 12,s with the burner next to it. I have a little space left over for utensils.

The stand folds into an almost flat surface and sits on top of the 2 x 12 spans. On top of that I have our lawn chairs and side tables.

I'm eventually going to change the 2 x 12's to something lighter.

I have used grills just like most RV'ers over the years. I purchased a 36" griddle for the patio and like it so much I purchased the Blackstone Adventure for the MH. There is very little you can't do on the griddle and for some small foods, better than a grill. Yes, I know that you can buy a piece of cast iron to put on a grill but let me say that cleaning up a Blackstone griddle is about a 2 minute job and you don't have to put anything in your wife's sink other than the utensils you cook with..(You could wash them in a bucket. )

My preference is a Blackstone Adventure for the RV and it is easy to set up.. Please search for it using Google or a search engine and watch some videos.

 

[Wyatt-WO]

I think the advantages of a gas grill vs, electric won’t won’t matter to you if you’re always hooked up so whichever you prefer.

 

[09busaman]

Like said above, if always hooked up no worries on the electric. I have not owned an electric, but I do have a 22inch Blackstone I absolutely take with me everywhere. I love that thing. Now, with that said, I took it with us to south Arizona over Christmas and it was cold. With the heater running at night and cooking all the meals on the Blackstone we burned through the propane rather quickly. So now I carry a dedicated tank just for the Blackstone. It pulls too much to use with the little 1lb bottles. It just too dang handy, smash burgers, carne asada, breakfast burritos, you name it you can fix it. As you can tell, it is my favorite for cooking outside.

 

[RocknRoll-WO]

I am/was so used to grilling, I acquired a Weber Q and it works fine.

However, reading here about the versatility of the Blackstone, I may now have to retire the Weber.

 

[Yoders2Go]

The Blackstone 22" is da BOMB!

 

[imnprsd]

I just bought the Coleman folding grill with wheels and I love the cast iron grill. I would not buy any BBQ except one with cast iron in the center... like this one!

This grill cooks steaks to perfection, much better that 5+ gas grills I have owned before!

Note: You want this model so you can roll it on to your basement rollout slide... and so it will fit underneath your frame rails!

I found it at Camping World.

 

[codgerbill]

I have Weber "baby Q", a blackstone 22 and a olddddddd electric griddle. I have taken the babyQ off of the coach and replaced it with the blackstone. The baby Q will take the place of the big Weber on the deck. If I am with me Winnebago club and we are going to do a "cookout), such as a breakfast I will bring the old electric griddle to supplement the Blackstone for pancakes or French toast for breakfast time. I have a 5 gallon propane tank for the Blackstone and usually will need to fill it once during the year.

 

[Wayne M]

Codger Bill, how often do you use the Blackstone with the 5 lb bottle. I have one also and would rather take it than the 20 pounder, although I do have an on-board 28 pound tank with external extension. Prefer not to use it.

Imnprsd, That Q is what I used since 2017 but just replaced it with the 22" Blackstone Adventure. I don't think there is a comparison. I now prefer the Blackstone Griddle.


Steaks, pork chops, fajita meat...all with a perfect sear on the griddle. For Fajitas, meat, onions, mushrooms, peppers - all at the same time on the griddle. Just my preference. To each their own. I say, just check out vidoes. The Q is a great grill.

 

[codgerbill]

Wayne,
My 5# tank will last a couple seasons or more. At home I use the 20# tank

 

[Wayne M]

Bill,
Thanks. Was thinking I needed to take the 20#'er but much rather have the 5 pounder for weight reasons. I also have the 1# bottles for emergency. Already used them a few times and worked well.

 

[imnprsd]

Wayne M: Thank for letting me know you like the griddle better vs. the cast iron.

Just to clarify, is that because you like to cook breakfasts more than steaks?

Why is the griddle better? I have never owned one.

===

Today I just found out I can NOT (according to Coleman) hook up this Coleman "Excursion BBQ" to my RV propane tank.

They tell me the Coleman regulator wants 15PSI and my RV pressure after the tank regulator is more like 12PSI. (I haven't tested it.)

I have tried to come up with fittings to hook up the Coleman to my RV tank despite what Coleman Customer Service told me, but that's easier said than done.

Can you tell me if the Coleman BBQ I now own will work well off my RV tank regulator... when I bypass the regulator that came with the Coleman.

I plan to do this by adding a 1/8" FNPT Elbow to the end of the burner tube and install a quick connect. However, I don't know what type of flame I will get running the Coleman "Excursion" Model #9406 off the RV tank? Can you tell me what to expect?

Note: It's not cheap to come up with a 12' hose and quick connect to run your portable grill, but I'm invested at this point, and I hope this Coleman with it's 15PSI spec will work off my RV tank regulator. As things are now, with 2 regulators "in line" I can barely get the flame to light and then it goes out.

So I am hoping that A) I can be successful coming up with some parts that will allow me to connect the Coleman "Excursion" BBQ to my RV tank (with the gas line plumbed after the RV tank regulator); and : That the flame will be normal and hot enough to grill my steaks to perfection.

The key to this Coleman grill is the cast iron grill and that the center is solid so it resists flame-ups.

In these reguards, I will never by a grill with metal rods or a thin grate again!

 

[Wayne M]

I ran my Q1200 off of my coach propane tank with a long extension hose without a problem.

Me thinks you can change the regulator out and then do it on yours, but then you are restricted to that service, or change the regulator out again to go back on propane. Not the best of both worlds.
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My Griddle: (Your question)

I like to cook all types of things. For some reason I didn't like firing up the grill to cook but I enjoy firing up my griddles to cook. Yes, plural, but not at the same time. I have a 36" on the patio and that inspired me to go with the griddle for the MH.

There are a few items that are limited, like maybe a pork roast or beef roast, etc., but pulled pork for instance can be spread on the griddle and heated and charred a little, along with any other items you may want to mix with it, for say quesadillas. Through cooking...move to the cooler side for warming and throw the tortillas on for toasting.

My go to is Hibachi style meal. Griddled beef, chicken and shrimp along with whatever vegetables you wish, mushrooms, all done at the same time on the griddle. I use the little throw away aluminum pans for warming..use a rack to raise them off the griddle.

Breakfast of any sort is easy. Shrimp of any size is easy to cook. Steak, pork chops, easy and searing is so easy. Smashburgers..great! Since there are no grates the food is cooked in its own juices and in my opinion makes it so much more delicious. Want to sizzle in butter, done.

There is so much versatility to the griddle. Yes, I know that one can purchase a griddle to fit on top of the grates of a grill, but just not the same. So much versatility with a griddle.

Cleaning a griddle is so much faster and easier than cleaning grill grates. Scrape the griddle clean with a scraper, squirt some water to create steam and lift any deposits, wipe with paper towels, let cool and apply a thin coat of vegetable oil...done in just a couple minutes or less.

Anyone that might be interested in purchasing a griddle should go to YouTube and in their search pane type in "Griddle," or "Griddle Cooking," or pick one that pops up when you type in griddle.

I really like the simplicity of the griddle, but like anything else it is a matter of personal preference. If you do decide on a griddle and want it to hook up to the on-board propane, check to make sure it is adaptable. The Blackstone Adventure 22" is not, but it is probably the better one for RV'ing.

Come visit and I'll cook you a meal. Hotdogs okay?

A few cookings


Ready to cook




Different one cooked and cooking.



p.s., After a while cooking the asparagas, or anything else including meat, cover with a dome and provide steam. Can even squirt a little water under the dome.

 

[Marine359]

I really like the simplicity of the griddle, but like anything else it is a matter of personal preference. If you do decide on a griddle and want it to hook up to the on-board propane, check to make sure it is adaptable. The Blackstone Adventure 22" is not, but it is probably the better one for RV'ing.

MSgt
When we were younger with kids, one of the things we hated about RVing was cooking in our motorhome. It would always get too hot, and setting up, using and then cleaning a charcoal grill. I was lazy, would rather go for hikes with them and feed them from my big stash of C Rations. The Blackstone was the answer to our prayers. Our grill surface is a bit small, but Just the two of us now, and but we haven’t cooked a meal inside since we got our MM, and probably never will unless it’s below zero outside. We still carry rations, a bunch of MREs my son absconded before leaving the Corp, just in case there’s a hard rain.

Our Blackstone Adventure connects easily to on-board propane using the 12ft hose we got from Amazon. With the pull down cover, I can shoot a little water in there and steam my veggies to perfection. My go to meal is bell pepper eggs and salsa with scrapple or andouille. Sorry about the inverted photo.

Praise the Lord and pass the hot sauce.

 

[codgerbill]

The "Blackstone" basic sizes are 17", 21" and the 36". You can buy them on Amazon or Walmart. Home Depot has a "Campchef but I dunno if they have the different sizes. My Blackstone is the 21" and it cooks almost everything great. We did Filet Megnon" the other day and they came out perfect. As Wayn said, they are so very east to clean up. If your interested look up Griddles" on you tube and you will have a real eye opening.

 

[Wayne M]

Bill, My Blackstone Adventure is 22 inches. After all, 1 more inch is a lot!

He Marine, Semper Fi! - I was in '60 - '84. Yep, agree with all you said. DW likes her bacon. Here at the S&B she would cook up a pound at a time and heat up what she needed when she wanted it. Smells up the house and since I cooked a pound on the Griddle..no more cooking it in the house. Well, maybe on occasion but she uses the oven.

I see where you have the burner with your Adventure. I didn't opt for that one, just the 22" griddle top. I can set a pan of water on the griddle top and it will come to a boil. Griddle top gets up to around 500 degrees. Biscuits and grave can be done on the griddle also. Biscuits on the griddle and gravy in a cast iron skillet set on top of the griddle, although I did see a video where it was all cooked on the griddle top. Can't do that on a grill.

My other go-to-cooking appliance is the Instant Pot. Just recently made some Oyster Stew in it and it was absolutely outstanding. How do I know? 'Cause DW said so.

I think we need to start a thread on "Preferred Cooking Method and Recipies!"

 

[Wyatt-WO]

As an ex restaurant owner and chef, if you want to cooks a steak right, you don’t want grill marks. The griddle concept will sear the teak evenly, not just where it contact the grates.

That’s what the best steak houses use, not like Ruth Chris...

In my opinion, since some of us are limited to space and weight issues, a griddle will work best for almost all of your needs.

Sure, I also have a souse vide, air fryer, all kinds of things in my war chest. Not one does everything perfectly, so you have to pick and choose what you cook, and what will work.

It’s liked a food processor. They work great for chopping onions, but they destroy mushrooms.

 

[RocknRoll-WO]

Great topic and ideas here.

Last year, I acquired a cast iron skillet to use on my large backyard grill (my home stove is a glass, electric top) to pan sear fish, tenderloin and cook veggies. Love it! However, I also like my grilled chicken and disposing my Weber Q for the Blackstone would mean no more cluck-cluck.

Unfortunately, the skillet does not fit on the Q1000.

I mainly travel solo (sometimes with grandson) and really have no need for a large griddle. After a little bit of searching, I may have found the best of both worlds by replacing one side of the weber with a griddle.

Amazon.com

Ordered it this morning for $25 bucks. I'll report back after I get a chance to use it. On another note, this U-tuber does a lot of grill vs. griddle comparisons and it seems they both have their place

Gallagher's Grub