I went through the same decision about a year ago when ordering my 36" Bluestar. I decided on the griddle, and am so happy I did, I love it, and use it just about every day. I might add that we live in a very mild climate that allows outdoor grilling all year long, if that wasn't the case, I may have gone the other way. As for placing a griddle on the grill, one concern I would have would be the smoke that comes of the grill from last nights steak or fish...which might not add to the enjoyment of something like pancakes or french toast ;)

Putting the griddle on two burners will not get you as even a temperature as a built-in griddle while putting them on the Wolf grill will get you only one temperature; extremely hot.

The Wolf grill is an infrared unit with on/off setting without the ability to modulate the temperature to low or medium.

Capital Culinarian has a hybrid grill that gets you most of the top end power of infrared grills with the temperature variability to grill veggies and shrimp at an easier lower temp. You can grill shrimp on Wolf grill and make pancakes on a very hot griddle but the time between done and burnt is extremely short. The Culinarian has superior burners to boot and unlike Wolf there is no history of the porcelain interior of the oven chipping.

If you have a built in griddle, they are usually steel and may be thicker than an overlay and will take some time to heat up.

With an overlay grill and you would have several options.

cast iron- poor heat transfer so has hot spots but holds a lot of heat. Some people like that it has cooler spots and leave cooked foods there to stay warm. It takes a long time to heat up and cool down so adjusting heat up and down takes longer. They are very heavy. Lodge and those that are newer have a grainy finish that may take longer to season. If you can find an older one, it might have a machined smooth surface.

steel like "Chef King"- The cooking properties are similar to cast iron but they are smooth. They will season nicely. Many on this forum have these and like them.

There might be a few stainless griddles but they would tend to stick more.

aluminum griddles--They are lighter weight and conduct heat very well so the surface heats very evenly. They will adjust quickly to turning the heat up and down. They will "season" to become nonstick, but it takes a little longer. I just gave my old well seasoned one to my sister. I used it over one burner and it still heated evenly but finally bought a big one. Most aluminum griddles are coated with nonstick. This is the one I have and it comes either coated or uncoated.

Some appliance manufacturers make griddles that fit the range. These may seat and be more stable.

If you choose an aluminum griddle, the burner won't matter. I can grill sandwiches and they are the same color top to bottom and side to side. If you choose steel or cast iron, the configuration of the burner would matter. If the heat is directed to the "center of the pan" as is considered by some to be a "superior" burner, that would mean more of a hot spot over the burner. A wider burner or the built in would provide a more even heat. The griddles are 14-15 inches wide.

Hopefully you have read about the chipping blue interiors in Wolf ranges and ovens.

"The Wolf grill is an infrared unit with on/off setting without the ability to modulate the temperature to low or medium"

This misinformation comes up from time to time from people who don't actually own or have used a Wolf Charbroiler. The temperature is modulated by a "blankoff" plate that can be altered to give different grilling heats. Having grilled on the Culinarian and the Wolf, the Wolf is hotter as it is fully IR. the Culinarian is adjustable and grills more like my gas Weber grill. For me the Culinarian is more flexible and does a good job, but will not give you the full sear that the Wolf or charcoal can give. Strictly a judgement call on how and what one grills as to which would be better.

Wolf does not recommend using a griddle plate on the charbroiler and my experience is that it would be way too hot, possibly hazardous and could damage the range.

This post was edited by teachmkt on Fri, Nov 22, 13 at 12:53

Ctcydm, Deeageaux, Wekick, Teachmkt, thank you all so much for sharing your insights, I very much appreciate it. For a variety of reasons it definitely sounds like not a great idea. It also sounds like I have some more research to do on a number of topics. OK, it's back to the fray!