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Blackstone is well known for creating and dominating the griddle segment. Griddles are great for having a large surface area that you can cook a variety of food at once. That’s why restaurants often have a griddle as the main cooking instrument in their kitchen.
While Blackstone is known for propane powered flat top grills outdoors, there’s also Blackstone indoor grills. Called the E-Series electric griddles, they have two different products in the line. One is a single zone, 17″ griddle and the other is a 22″, dual-zone griddle. We tested the 22″ to see if it can stack-up to their outdoor counterparts.
Summary
The Blackstone electric griddle works well for indoor cooking, but you have to know it’s limitations. Electricity doesn’t offer the power of gas for griddling, so accept that going in. The E-Series offers a large surface to cook on, which is much easier than using pans on a stove. That makes it worth the money, in my opinion.
Features and Specs
- Retail price of $399 (check price) – Blackstone often heavily discounts this, so definitely check.
- 1,600 watts of electric power for indoor use
- 22″ griddle surface area (307 square inches)
- Grease management in the back for easy cleaning
- Two zones, with an LCD display that tells you the temperatures
- Glass hood for heat retention
- Non-stick ceramic titanium coated griddle surface
Overview
Operation
The E-Series offers many of the benefits of Blackstone’s outdoor griddles, but for the kitchen countertop. It’s really easy to use with the good looking LCD display that’s front and center.
You use the control knobs to set the temperature of the griddle, and there’s a indicator below the selected temperature to let you know when it’s reached the selected temperature. Paying attention to this is important for a good experience, which we’ll get to later.
Non-Stick Surface
The non-stick surface works as advertised and is simple to clean, much easier than an outdoor grill. On the middle of the back of the griddle surface there’s an opening for grease management. This is helpful when cleaning, because then you can just push food bits the back, throw them out, and then pop the cup in the dishwasher.
The griddle top is removeable for cleaning, but it’s easy enough to clean with just a soapy paper towel, and then washing it off with a little water. No seasoning is needed since it’s a non-stick surface.
Assembly
There’s pretty much no assembly with the electric griddle. You just slide the griddle top and the hood into place, and you’re ready to go. I’d recommend cleaning the griddle top before using it to get off any packing materials or dirt from the factory.
Pros
Large Surface Area
The biggest pro for the Blackstone electric griddle, is that it offers a large surface area for cooking. That’s exactly why you want a griddle in the first place. I used it for a variety of foods, but mostly for breakfast.
I don’t enjoy cooking breakfast on a stove very much because you’re struggling to fit pancakes and a variety of other foods in pans. You have to do it in batches, and it takes way too long.
The E-Series solves that by having one large surface to cook on, and then subsequently clean. You can fit a bunch of pancakes all at once, or any number of different food. It’s sized well for 4-6 people, but even with more than that, it’s going to be easier than using the stove.
Cleaning
Back to the pain of cooking a variety of food on the stove, you’re going to end up with a ton of dishes. It also means there’s going to be tons of clean-up after you’re done cooking because of all the grease and supplies.
The Blackstone electric grill makes cleaning a breeze. All the grease gets pushed into a cup, and then it just takes a gently cleaning. The non-stick works really well, as advertised.
Easily cleaning one griddle is so much better than a stack of pans and a greasy stove and counters that you get otherwise. That alone makes this worthwhile, because I’ve bussed enough tables and done enough dishes in my life.
LCD Display
I think the 22″ E-Series griddle is a good looking product overall, but the LCD display really shines, literally and figuratively. Without the power of BTU pumping gas, it’s extra important to know your surface temps.
The display is really easy to read and tells you what you need to know. It tells you the temperature that you set it at for both zones, and where it is in the heating process.
Cons
Lack of Power
If you’re an avid outdoor Blackstone griddle fan, don’t expect this to work exactly the same. Electricity just doesn’t have the same kick to it for pre-heating and dealing with temperature drops from food.
This is painfully obvious if you throw some frozen hashbrown on the surface, and you watch the temperature indicator drop. It will never be the same as an outdoor gas griddle, but you can minimize the effects.
I found it helpful to pre-heat it to hotter than I want in anticipation of that temperature drop, spread the hash out across the whole surface on max, then as it cooks and recovers push it to one zone. Also, make use of the hood to lock in heat, just be aware that it’s also locking in moisture and you don’t want to steam your food.
There’s no way around it though that it just doesn’t have the power, and know that going in. It think some of that is just using electricity, but also because you’re using a kitchen plug that has a bunch of other appliances on the circuit.
When I tested the Char-Broil EDGE electric grill at first, it just wouldn’t get to the claimed temperatures. Then I realized what I was doing wrong, I had an extension cord, and my garage fridge was running and drawing power.
When I plugged it right into the wall and unplugged the fridge, it had a dramatic power improvement. It think that’s the case for the E-Series, the only problem is you’re in the kitchen, so you aren’t going to unplug everything else.
Too Non-Stick
As I said before, the non-stick surface is amazing for cleaning. The only problem is it’s almost too good, especially if you’re used to cooking on a steel griddle.
The surface feels almost frictionless, which can be annoying because you go to flip things and they just gently push with your utensils. I resorted to using one hand for flipping and the other for holding the food in place.
The griddle surface also has a gentle dome shape to it, which again, is nice for cleaning, but can be annoying when using oil. All the oil ends up immediately going to the sides if you don’t have food there to catch it.
It also means if you’re cooking eggs, or anything with a liquid texture use a ramekin. If you don’t it will bleed everywhere like my eggs in the picture above.
Cold Spots
Like many other griddles, the E-Series has cold spots at the edges and corners. They’re probably a little more pronounced on the electric griddle because it’s a smaller surface area with less power. It’s not the end of the world, but you have to plan for them when cooking and place your food accordingly.
Tips and Tricks
Don’t Use Metal Utensils
The most important thing to keep in mind with the E-Series is that since it’s non-stick, that means no metal utensils. I’ve been using a silicone set from Amazon that have worked well, they are heat-resistant to 600°F, and are dishwasher safe.
Use the Hood Early and Often
Optimally using the heat is important for this electric griddle. It’s nice that it has a hood on it, which helps for keeping heat in.
Make sure to use it when you’re heating up the griddle to save time, and also when you are recovering from a temperature drop. The manual says not to use it for more than 15 minutes at a time though, so keep that limitation in mind.
It Will Take Longer
By having less power than a gas griddle, it takes longer to cook. Keep that in mind when you’re cooking a meal. It saves you the stress of telling your family a time for a meal and being completely wrong, or rushing your cook.