Beyond the grill

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‘A griddle is a culinary playground’

If you love barbecuing, you may already have discovered griddling. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

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Adding a griddle to your barbecue opens up new recipes and new cooking methods on your grill. You might even want to invest in a stand-alone griddle.

“The griddle’s popularity can be attributed to several factors, including its versatility of use and its ability to create all daily meals, from breakfast to lunch and dinner,” says chef Michael P. Clive, Weber Grill Master.

“A griddle offers consumers the opportunity to take nearly all meals outside and to the grill. A griddle offers endless versatile cooking possibilities. From pancakes and cheesy scrambled eggs with bacon and fluffy pancakes to toasted Italian paninis, crispy smashed burgers with caramelized onions and flavourful fajitas, a griddle is a culinary playground that allows users to make foods that wouldn’t traditionally be cooked outside. Griddles are also durable, easy to clean and fun to use.”

GRIDDLE ACCESSORIES

Griddle accessories offer consumers the ability to cook various griddle specific meals to perfection, Clive reports. “For example, Weber’s smash burger press will give you that flat, thin and crispy burger that is difficult to achieve without. Weber’s Griddle Essentials Kit is a five-piece set designed to help grillers create delicious pancakes, fajitas, paninis and more, and then make clean up simple.

“The Griddle Breakfast Set is also hugely popular – consumers can create a complete breakfast on the grill with the egg rings and batter dispensers. These accessories were thoughtfully created to allow consumers to make the most out of their griddle and fully benefit from the versatility of meals it can be used for.”

There are also accessories available that can transform your gas grill into a ‘new’ one in seconds, Clive reports. Weber Griddle inserts are designed to seamlessly replace the grates on a variety of gas grills like the Weber Spirit or Weber Genesis and leverage their burners to provide the unique griddling experience.

“If you’re not in the market to add another grill to your backyard, griddle inserts are a perfect way to experience the best of both worlds without buying a brand-new grill,” he says.

GRIDDLING TIPS

“Cooking on a flat top grill is different from cooking on a gas or charcoal grill, so different rules apply. Griddling is all about searing, sizzling or sautéing your food,” says Clive. He offers these tips:

• Once the griddle has preheated, scrape it clean with a scraper.
• Drizzle a small amount of vegetable or olive oil onto the griddle and spread it with the back of a spatula.
• Spread the food into a single layer when cooking. This promotes even cooking and great caramelization.
• Griddles are definitely worth it, say the folks at Barbecues Galore. Some people already have a barbecue and want to add a griddle insert or a flat top griddle, while others want to buy a griddle in addition to their barbecue, says director of marketing Robert Raymond.

“Many people do the grilling for dinner, but a griddle allows them to make breakfast outdoors, too. It gets people outside earlier in the day,” he says. “In Canada, our summers are so short that you want to spend as much time outside as you can. Why not grab your morning coffee, get outside on the deck and put some stuff on your griddle?”

Prepping your barbecue

Napoleon offers tips for getting your barbecue ready this spring:

• Clean the cooking grids and searing plates. Soak the cooking grills in warm water and soap before giving them a good cleaning to get rid of burnt on grease and food crust. While your searing grids are soaking, remove the heat shields and give them a good scrape as well so you can run your barbecue brush over the burners. Check your igniter and rear burner to make sure they’re in working order.
• Clean the grease cup. The more you use your grill, the more you’ll have to clean or replace your grease cup. Before firing up your grill, take out the old and put in the new.
• Scrape off the grease tray. All the grease and food remnants from past meals collect and char on the grease tray. Give it a good scrape with a spatula or putty knife to clean off all the bits.
• Check for leaks. Visually inspect all hoses and feed tubes on your grill. If you detect any crimps, scratches or punctures, it’s time to replace the hoses. Perform a leak test if your grill has been in storage for a prolonged length of time or when changing any components on your grill. Cover each hose with warm soapy water and look for bubbles, which indicate a gas leak that needs repair before using the barbecue.
• Check all ignition parts. For battery ignitions, it’s a good idea to replace the batteries with new ones. Check all electrode leads and ensure the tips of the electrodes are clean and have no grease or rust buildup on them. If they do, clean them with a fine grit sandpaper.