Blackstone 22-Inch Griddle Side Slots and Lid Use

[Rene T]

Anyone have the above griddle. If you look at the griddle sides and all the way to the back, there is a slotted elongated hole and it’s right in front of the pivot for the hood. What is that slot for? It is on both griddle side wall.
I tried unbolting the pivot and seeing if it would fit in that slot but it doesn’t. The back of the cover hits the back of the griddle when I tried to open the cover or close it.
I’m hoping someone here has the same model

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

My 28" has those but not my 17".

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Rene T]

My 28" has those but not my 17".

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Do you know what they are for?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Mine did not come with a hinged lid so assumed it's an optional accessory feature. That's as far as my attention span went.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Rene T]

Mine did not come with a hinged lid so assumed it's an optional accessory feature. That's as far as my attention span went.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Well you’re not much help.
Thanks anyway

 

[Arch Hoagland]

According to AI Blackstone makes over a hundred griddles so I wonder if that part is used in several different models that may use something that fits in that slot.

 

[CharlesinGA]

It appears to be on all of the 22 inch and 17 inch models. There are no accessories that could be fitted into the slots. Possibly it is a manufacturing stress relief slot.

Charles

 

[Rene T]

It appears to be on all of the 22 inch and 17 inch models. There are no accessories that could be fitted into the slots. Possibly it is a manufacturing stress relief slot.

Charles

Thanks Charles.
I noticed that in some of the pictures, the cover is not bolted to the griddle at a pivot point. Instead it looks like it can be lifted off while cooking and can be stored off the back of the griddle. Maybe this slot is there to help realign the cover when putting it back on after cooking.
What I need now is to hear from someone who has the style griddle with the removable cover and see if the slot is used to help reinstall the cover

 

[Larry N.]

My 36" has those slots, and my lid has bolts that slide down into them, making the lid easily removable. Note the other holes, too, presumably for other lid types and/or accessories.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

My 28" has the lift off - hang on the back lid but in no way uses those slots.

Seems Larry N confirmed the suspicion it's for lid pivots. I think if I were to have a lid I would want the option to take it off conveniently. The lid that came with mine is useless for cooking and hanging off the back just invites grease collection. Only good for keeping the surface clean beteeen uses.

My current goal is to come up with adjustable leveling feet for my 17". The supplied ones can be screwed in and out maybe 3/8 inch or so, not enough for most outings. Not SAE threads so hardware store parts don't fit. Now I have an engineering project.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Rene T]

Looks like we figured out what the slot was for. I can’t use it on my griddle.
In my manual it says not to cook with cover closed, does everyone cook with the cover opened or closed?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

It's a big frying pan- why not? I sometimes use a cookie sheet over my 17" if it's breezy out, otherwise it cools down too much.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[CharlesinGA]

I have a 17 inch portable I've been carrying around. Only used it a few times. Doesn't heat evenly, Just not crazy about it, so I pulled it out of the truck and boxed it back up (I had saved all the packing) and am going to have my buddy put it up on the bulletin boards at work.

I do have a 22 inch Blackstone on my back porch. It works rather well, but I need to clean it up, hasn't been used in a while. Just went out and looked. My 22 inch does not have those slots. May get busy in the next day or so and give it a good cleaning inside and out and clean the griddle surface and redo the burn in on it.

I recently bought a Traeger Ranger tailgate pellet grill/griddle. Expensive but well made, we'll see how well it works. Looking forward to some smoked steaks or burgers.

Charles

 

[Larry N.]

In my manual it says not to cook with cover closed, does everyone cook with the cover opened or closed?

It depends- Mostly I cook with the lid open, sometimes putting a metal cover (aluminum basting cover) over the food to retain heat (grilled cheese, for example), but last night I cooked hamburgers with the heat around 350º (IR gun) and closed the lid to help them cook a bit better, as I do on the grill near the same temp.

I'd suggest you take a look at this website where they have many, many, many recipes, as well as some instruction and help for folks new to using griddles, even to seasoning and cleaning them: Blackstone Recipes

I learned a lot from that site and I still look occasionally to see if there are some new ideas. When I looked a few minutes ago I saw that there are several new ones from just this month. Some of the recipes are in text (often with pictures, but a lot of them are videos with verbal explanations, and still have text. It's one of my favorite bookmarks.

 

[meierjn]

I have a little retirement money coming my way and have been thinking of the 22" model for the trailer. I'm not convinced yet though. These Blackstone's seem like a lot of high maintenance.

 

[Larry N.]

These Blackstone's seem like a lot of high maintenance.

Well, once they are seasoned, it's mostly a quick and easy job of cleaning the cooking surface- takes maybe 30 seconds on my 36". I used to have a 17" for travel, and it was similar in maintenance, not much but cleaning the cooking surface and emptying the grease cup. Of course you'll want to wipe the outside down occasionally because of grease splatter, but there's not as much of that as many would think.

The main problem I had with the 17" unit is the heating was too uneven, with only that single burner.

You might check:

-- this one is about cleaning

The Beginner’s Guide to Cooking on a Blackstone Griddle

The first step in using your Blackstone Griddle is knowing HOW to use your Blackstone Griddle the RIGHT WAY. So, step-by-step, here you go!

griddleking.com

 

[PancakeBill]

I have the earlier model 17” with front grease tray, I find it cooks pretty evenly, I have wind shields and maybe that helps? as to maintenance, once seasoned, just give it a squirt of water, helps lift off anything stuck, the a scraper. Keep it covered.

My 22” is at home and had the cover, no slots.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I got my 17" as a gift so went with the notion I'd give it a try. It was not a remarkable experience. It struggled to reach 450 on a calm day. I tried the wind shields which helped but it was bareley usable. Thought about a different regulator, but as a first try I experimented with enlarging the gas orifice. I reached a point where the flame size was noticeably larger amd starting to get orange tips (rich). No different than drilling out a jet on a carburetor. That did the trick, now it has plenty of heat when you want it and I say fewer bad words about it. The 28" I got at costco last year did not have the same issue, it'll do 600F+ out of the box. I'd like to find some wind shields for the 17" that the magnets don't give up, and feet I can level with instead of using rocks but at least I can count on it getting hot enough now.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[meierjn]

Well, once they are seasoned, it's mostly a quick and easy job of cleaning the cooking surface- takes maybe 30 seconds on my 36". I used to have a 17" for travel, and it was similar in maintenance, not much but cleaning the cooking surface and emptying the grease cup. Of course you'll want to wipe the outside down occasionally because of grease splatter, but there's not as much of that as many would think.

The main problem I had with the 17" unit is the heating was too uneven, with only that single burner.

You might check:

-- this one is about cleaning

The Beginner’s Guide to Cooking on a Blackstone Griddle

The first step in using your Blackstone Griddle is knowing HOW to use your Blackstone Griddle the RIGHT WAY. So, step-by-step, here you go!

griddleking.com

If its as easy as the video, that's not too bad. My concern was that you had to clean it immediately after cooking while the food you cooked got cold.

 

[Larry N.]

If its as easy as the video, that's not too bad.

It is that easy -- I just keep a small bottle of water handy, usually something like an old-style restaurant ketchup squeeze bottle (was 97¢ at Walmart). Our food doesn't have time to get cold,

In this pic on the "top" row is some spray canola oil and three containers of water (sometimes one is handier than another). On the "bottom" row, right to left, is avocado oil (I mostly use it), grapeseed oil, olive oil and liquid crisco. And the gray thing above the paper towels is an infrared gun, great for getting griddle set to approximate temperatures - approximate because there will be some amount of variation across the heated area, but that variation doesn't seem to affect the cooking; you only know the variation because of the reading.



This shows my setup at home with the 36" unit, which I got on a special deal at Lowe's a few years ago. The utility cart was included for just the price of the griddle.