Teach me stove top griddles

SWMBO tells me she's wants a stovetop griddle for christmas. Yep, she wants more time in the kitchen. This would be going on a gas cooktop.

This would get a lot of use in a family of 6 as well.

So, GRM on amazon I see options from $15 - $300 / Cast Iron or Aluminum / Handles - No handles / Nonstick coatings?

I just bought an electric griddle which is pretty slick. Previously I used an aluminum stove top griddle and it was good, but not great. Very uneven cooking but once you learned the hot and cold spots it was ok. I would probably do cast iron if I were to buy another.

Depends on how she likes to cook...

Alum; very reactive to temperature adjustment. Tends to have more trouble with hot and cold spots.

Iron; Takes a good while to change temps by comparison, less trouble with hot and cold spots.

I have a electric table-top griddle that I love because its temperature setting is spot on perfect and I am not left guessing at the temp I need.

Definitely do cast iron, and older is better than new stuff. As a cast iron lover, something like this Griswold #8 Griddle on fleabay is something I would absolutely drool over. Don't worry about the light surface rust, you can reseason it in an afternoon and it will be so much better than anything you can buy new. The iron used in older cookware is better quality, and often lighter and the surfaces are smoother than the newer stuff.

Good luck on your hunt!

I would go cast iron, but if you do, avoid nonstick. Cast iron, treated well, is an heirloom product. Nonstick, no matter how good, has a finite lifespan. Plus, some will say that cooking with nonstick means you'll die screaming, but I have far more likely deaths to worry about. It's just that the nonstick coating will give up far before the iron pan under it otherwise would have.

That being said, I have a Calphalon non-stick aluminum griddle pan. It works very nicely, is not as heavy or care-intensive as the cast iron, but is heavy enough to heat evenly. And it has a lifetime warranty, which means when the nonstick does inevitably peel, they replace it.

I am the youngest of 8 kids. I grew up on a griddle like that Griswold listed above. I wonder if my mom still has it? There will be few heirlooms in my family but I would like to have that. Lots of memories of lots of pancakes.

While you're getting cooking stuff, get her a nice coated dutch oven if she doesn't already have one. I have one that isn't coated, and it limits me from using it for really acidic foods. I have a cast iron dutch oven, but I wish the inside was coated so that I could use it with acidic foods as well.

my mom had a cast iron one. I prefer my electric!

lodge, cast iron. griddle on one side, grill on other. straddles 2 burners, cook lots at one time.

i would not consider anything else.

Here is an interesting article Ive been reading since my last post: http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp#seasoning

interesting tidbits on cast iron. I've never cooked on a cast iron skillet, but being told that it requires skill and is the cool thing to do makes me want to try it.

All the cool kids are doing it.

Holy timely topic batman! I just started looking for one of these, SWMBO requested one for our anniversary. That and a waffle iron.
I want a CJ-7.

install a waffle iron onto the hood of the cj so the engine heat warms it? if it has a fold down windshield she can cook while you wheel. No need to stop and make camp just to eat lunch! win win

andrave wrote: but being told that it requires skill and is the cool thing to do makes me want to try it.

I would argue that it requires less skill. The damn things are indestructible. I have cooked on the exclusively most all my life.

You can warp them and you can burn the seasoning off of them, so there is definitely some skill involved, but it's not hard when you know how to care for them!

andrave wrote: Here is an interesting article Ive been reading since my last post: http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp#seasoning interesting tidbits on cast iron. I've never cooked on a cast iron skillet, but being told that it requires skill and is the cool thing to do makes me want to try it.

If by "skill" you mean "intentionally never wash it" then I guess that I'm a pro. When it doesn't look too shiny, I wipe on a light coat of oil and throw it in the oven to season.

my wife bought one with some magic non-stock coating on it at Costco - She cooks all kinds of things on it.

Because of the coating it has to be hand washed - I complain as I am the dishwasher - I actually encourage her to NOT cook on it since I have to clean the giant thing and my sausage fingers won't go down the grooves very easily.

I know, first world problems......

For the enameled cast iron dutch oven...Walmart has the 5-6qt Tranotina (or something like that) regularly on sale for $35...but it's made in China.

patgizz wrote: lodge, cast iron. griddle on one side, grill on other. straddles 2 burners, cook lots at one time. i would not consider anything else.

I have one (lodge, cast iron, griddle/grill) and I'm actually kinda disappointed in it, because it doesn't heat evenly. It works OK on the BBQ outside, but straddling two burners I get massive hot and cold spots so it's not very useful for pancakes.