Everyone Needs a Griddle

I love my griddle. Flat, fun and easy to clean, griddle's make almost all cooking easier. In the past week alone, I have made bacon, pancakes, hamburgers, grilled cheese and fried eggs on the griddle. Grease rolls off, so bacon and other greasy foods cook without flaming up. Pancakes, burgers etc flip quickly and, if you buy the double burner griddle, you can cook a lot of product at one time. An aluminum griddle is also useful to defrost food quickly, as it evenly dissipates heat. So the decision to buy a griddle is easy but the better question is "which one?"

For the past 6 years I have owned the Chef's Design Model 4240. It is an inexpensive aluminum double burner griddle reinforced with stainless steel that includes a decent sized drip pan. It it easy to clean and can even go in the dishwasher occasionally. It does need to be seasoned, but this truly has helped its nonstick properties over the long term. The griddle has survived 6 years of heavy household use. All Clad makes a griddle as well, but its drip pan is small and why would you spend three times as much when you don't have to? It does have nice handles, however. Caphalon and Kitchen-Aide also make double burner griddles, both of which are reasonably priced. However, neither has a decent sized drip pan. Cast iron grills are cool as a concept, but weigh as much as a small car. You'll need to eat your creatine to use them regularly!