I just ordered an outdoor gas stove and a flat top griddle, kind of on a whim. This is partially so I can have a portable foodie-worthy stove for car camping and parties, but the griddle part is just because it looks like fun to cook on. Overkill? Sure, but I love to cook. And we car camp out of a full size pickup, so room and weight are non-issues.
I bought a Camp Chef Yukon stove. I wanted something portable after struggling with my old Coleman propane stove on my last trip.
And their accessory griddle:
Along with folding side shelves and an outdoor cover. This gives me the flexibility to cook on the griddle, fire up a low country boil, or use my cast iron while camping, etc. Plan is to leave it setup on the deck next to my kettle grill so I have the best of both worlds. This is partly because we're redoing the outside of the house and eventually the deck, so it's kind of an excuse to spend more time out there. Camp chef also offers other add ons like a grill box or pizza oven too.
I also ordered a set of griddle spatulas, egg rings, bottles, and a dome lid too. Those seemed like necessary tools.
Anyone else cooking on a big flat top? Want to share tips, tricks, recipes, inspiration?
After going to a few backyard parties last year and watching their use, we bought a Blackstone around Christmas. We struggled to learn all the nuances at first, but now we use it more than the grill. One important thing was to properly "season" it first, and then keep it from rusting after uses. We use it almost like a wok, vegtables, etc. Salmon doesn't crumble and fall through the grates. Nice tool.
Looks awesome! I’ve been thinking about one, as we have been cooking more and more outside and this would make things easier.
It was actually after Sunday’s bacon fire incident on the grill that prompted me to start thinking about it again.
Nice! We often use the cast iron on our grill for burgers.
You still get some of the hardwood charcoal smoke, but you get a nice crust across the entire burger instead of just where it touches the grates.
I picked up a 22" Blackstone before our last camping trip. I used it to make bacon and eggs every morning, and chicken fajitas one night. I liked it enough that I'm in the process of reconfiguring the trailer's outdoor kitchen so that I can mount the Blackstone there semi-permanently in place of the (mostly useless) cooktop and sink that were there.
I love my blackstone griddle. I had the 17" portable with 1 burner, i just upgraded to the 22" portable 2 burner. I put the "hood" on both of them and use a 20lb tank adapter. The hood is great for basically baking some while cooking on the griddle surface. Good for throwing some water in and steaming. Its a breakfast making machine but i do chicken, burgers, steak, about anything on it. Keeps the kitchen clean too. I keep mine in the garage on a cheap stainless table for easier clean up.
i plan on welding up a replacement for my griddle top that is more like a regular grill grate. That with the hood will let me use a pizza stone for homeade pizza. 
thats my homefries on the griddle in the pic. Florida red potatoes cubed, sweet onion, chorizo and some spices. Comes out so good.
Up until the last few years, this is what most Aussies thought of as bbq's. It's only been the last 10 years that people have started getting into smoking and grilling here. It's kinda funny that we're getting into American style BBQ here as you guys are discovering "Aussie BBQ".
Personally I don't find them a great deal different to a frypan, just bigger, so if you can make it in a fry pan you can make it on a hot plate for the most part.
daeman said:
Up until the last few years, this is what most Aussies thought of as bbq's. It's only been the last 10 years that people have started getting into smoking and grilling here. It's kinda funny that we're getting into American style BBQ here as you guys are discovering "Aussie BBQ".
Personally I don't find them a great deal different to a frypan, just bigger, so if you can make it in a fry pan you can make it on a hot plate for the most part.
Grilling is not BBQ'ing.
BBQ is low slow cooking over indirect heat that takes hours.
Griddle cooking definitely isn't grilling. Or BBQ. It's outdoor Waffle House. Or possibly Beni Hana. Definitions of grilling and BBQ differ in the US, but exposure to some sort of combustion without an intermediary boundary seems to be a common thread.
I guess that's why I think Outback cooks a horrible steak. 
