Behind the Design: The Griddle

Carbon Steel is one of our most-loved materials. Though it may be best known in its birthplace, France, it’s quickly gaining popularity around the world, both in and out of professional kitchens. We decided it was time to give the carbon steel treatment to another beloved piece of cookware—the Griddle.

Chances are, you’ve had food cooked on a griddle before, but you may have never used one in your own kitchen. Griddles take many forms across different cultures, such as the Comal in Mexico, or the Girdle in Scotland. Beyond just diner fare, they’re great for making many things, including tortillas from scratch, scones, or pancakes. Here are three reasons our Griddle is special.

Carbon Steel Construction

Griddles can be made from all sorts of materials. Often associated with cast iron, we chose to make ours from carbon steel instead. This is because carbon steel offers superior heat conduction, it can safely reach up to 1200F,  as well as much better temperature control than cast iron, which takes a long time to heat up or cool down.

While carbon steel does get its heat retention from cast iron, the ability to shift between different temperatures easily without worrying about burning your food comes from stainless steel. As usual, carbon steel is the perfect blend of both. The iron content also allows our griddle to be used on an induction cooktop. Our griddle comes pre-seasoned with vegetable oil and is made in Sweden.

Sloping Sides

Another cooking concern when using a traditional griddle is the proximity of grease to your heat source, particularly if you’re cooking over an open flame. The last thing you want is to start a grease fire at home, so we gave our griddle protective, sloping sides like those of a frying pan. You’re still getting maximum heat contact but the sides hold in any liquid so it doesn’t spill over and ruin your whole dish and/or day. In fact, it holds over 40-ounces of liquid.

The sides are hand-welded together to prevent anything from leaking out. In addition to trapping grease, the sloped sides make it possible to boil a small amount of water on the surface of your griddle to loosen a particularly burnt or sticky mess.

Raised Handles

Many traditional, cast iron griddles have flat handles that are flush to their sides. These get hot easily and are both cumbersome and dangerous to lift up. Our griddle avoids this design pitfall by having a raised handle on either side fitted with a removable leather grip. Despite being nearly as heavy as its cast iron counterpart, these handles make our griddle easier to lift. This allows you to position your griddle vertically over two burners without getting burnt.

The leather handles are designed for carrying your griddle anywhere, whether that's over the stovetop or outside to the grill. They are fashioned from Italian leather and sewn in Massachusetts. Just remember, if you close your grill or place your griddle in the oven, slip off the leather grips. Direct heat can damage them.

Our Carbon Steel Griddle is a great addition to your cookware collection. It can be used on a grill in the summer but will be equally at home on your stovetop all year round.