I have the griddle on my Bluestar, and absolutely love it! Granted, I've never used a Wolf gridddle, but I believe they are both cold rolled steel, so I don't know how they could differ much? I was pretty much set on a Wolf, but the open burners, cast iron grates and bowl design, along with being able to choose a color, are what tipped the scale for me on the decision.

ctycdm, thank you!
i had the same journey! almost got the wolf but then read about BSâ¦

ctycdm, thank you!
i had the same journey! almost got the wolf but then read about BSâ¦

I went with the griddle option on the BS RNB48 model. I seasoned it carefully but found that my fried egg stuck, the first time I tried it. I think it is a matter of getting used to it and experimenting. My boys are coming home shortly and I had the thought , earlier this week , that it will be fun trying out pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches on it. On a separate note, I deliberately avoided the grill as I feared it would make smoky mess and I knew I had the infrared broiler option.

I wouldn't get a grill. We charcoal grill outside throughout the year even in the winter so I don't see much use for it. If the weather is that terrible, we'll braise!

I'm not sure about the griddle and would like to hear other BS user experiences. I do make eggs, toasted cheese, and other foods that could be easily made on a griddle, but I'm not convinced a griddle in the center of the range top would be ideal. Perhaps BS will come out with a Platinum version of the 36" where you can interchange grill, griddle and burners?

Any thoughts on advantages of the griddle over having 6 burners and a separately purchased griddle placed across two burners when needed?

Love my 36" with grill. I especially like having the grill in the middle. It gives me room to spread out my pots and pans on the four burners and nothing escapes the hood when the grill is in the middle. We don't have an outside grilling option so having the grill is absolute heaven!

I have the griddle. It is nice, but I do not use it a lot. It takes awhile to heat up. It's faster in a pan on top of the range and less cleanup. Maybe I'm lazy. However it's great during parties...I use it as a warmer...on low, and it's awesome.

Should i get griddle in the middle? Or on one side? what is more convenient?

thank you all, i really appreciate all the advices!

I considered getting it off to one side briefly, but decided on the middle. I'm very happy with it in the middle, as it allows for very large skillets to over hang a bit without bumping into each other. Also, it puts the griddle centered under the vent hood for the best capture of smoke and grease.
Good luck, and keep us posted when you get it!

thank you, that's what i thought! Griddle in the middle it is!

I have a 48" with the double griddle in the middle (lol I'm a poet). I use it everyday sometimes twice a day and I love it. I use it for breakfast, sometimes lunch and I sometimes throw dinner on for things like fried rice and tacos...

Chicken1020, perhaps I am doing something wrong, but I don't seem to be having the great success you describe with the griddle. I recently made pancakes and they took forever to brown, even though the griddle appears hot. Would love to hear more about your experience. I've been regretting the upgrade decision, even though I do love the rest of the range.

Like chicken, I too use my griddle just about daily, and sometimes two or three times a day, and love it.
caree, you can tell when your griddle is ready for pancakes by tossing a few drops of water on it. If the droplets "dance" and turn to little balls before evaporating, the griddle is ready... a hint I learned from my Dad in the '50s :)

Carree, what temp are you setting it at?

Ctycdm and chicken1020, I used it at the highest level of output ...and I used the classic water drop test trick....so while the drops sizzled, the food just didn't sizzle. For example, it is no where near as powerful as using my old lodge cast iron double griddle. I cannot imagine searing chicken breast on the griddle and getting a nice brown crust. Mine is the twelve inch griddle and does take a while to heat up.

Placing a cast iron reversable grill/griddle across two burners burnt my stainless cooktop!

Carree, I set mine to 400 and food definitely browns. It sounds like something is wrong with your griddle output. I'd call bluestar and get somebody to check it out.

Ok, I will do that. But maybe fry up a piece of chicken first to be sure. Thanks.

Ctycdm and chicken1020, I did the griddle experiment in the highest heat setting. I let the griddle preheat for about 10 minutes, maybe more, and tossed in some thin chicken cutlets onto the griddle. I had dried the meat carefully and added some olive oil to coat the surface of the beat. And while I picked up some brown bits, it definitely did not produce the same results that I did tonight with my cast iron skillet and the chicken over a different burner. The griddle produced meat that was nonetheless really moist, just not crispy or crusty anywhere. Do you think I have a true issue? Btw, it does seem to make a huge mess :)

I have a 30 RNB and have used a lodge griddle pan on top of the burners. It works fine. I don't use it often. If I were getting a 36 range I would choose 6 burners rather than the grill or griddle.

``Placing a cast iron reversable grill/griddle across two burners burnt my stainless cooktop!"

OMG! Was the burn caused by thingy dripping from the underside of the reversible grill / griddle?

I just decided to get a 30" RNB and use a grill pan across two burners, and now I see this... Maybe I should go back to my original idea of getting 36" RNB with a grill in the middle?

This post was edited by ILoveCookie on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 18:22