How to Care for and Use Your Carbon Steel Griddle

For many, a diner may have been the first place you experienced the magic of griddle cooking. The types of dishes that can benefit from this cooking method and the flavor that the pan imparts make griddle cooking something special. Now, you can replicate those diner perfect pancakes and more without having to leave your house.

Enter the Griddle, the newest addition to our line of premium Carbon Steel Cookware. We have collected and answered a series of frequently asked questions to walk you through everything from setting up your griddle to what you can cook with it. Find out more about our whole carbon steel line in general here.

What Is a Griddle?

A griddle is a wide, flat plate that is used to cook food. They are typically quite heavy and are at least partially composed of iron, which helps with heat conduction and retention. Griddles are perhaps most frequently associated with diners, where they are built directly into the stove. The most ubiquitous griddles are cast iron, but they can also be constructed from carbon steel, non stick (usually Teflon), aluminum, or chrome.

What Makes Your Carbon Steel Griddle Unique?

We chose to make our griddle from carbon steel for its superior heat retention and temperature control. Carbon steel is the best hybrid material around, combining the heat retention of cast iron with the temperature control of stainless steel. We make our griddles in Sweden, where they can be pre-seasoned with vegetable oil before their first use. The edges of the metal are hand-welded rather than done by machine to ensure that they are leak-proof. This is yet another example of the commitment to detail that our artisans possess.

In addition to its carbon steel structure, our griddle also comes with two leather handle covers. These help protect your hands when cooking over high heat. The handles should not be left on while in the oven or a closed grill and should never be exposed to direct flames. The leather handles are made from Italian leather and are sewn in Massachusetts.

Our griddle is ½ inch tall and has a cook surface that measures just over 19 ½-inches long. With its two handles included, it’s 24-inches long. In other words, it will fit over two burners on a standard-sized cooktop. The handles have a height of 1 ½-inches. It is 4mm thick and weighs just under 10 pounds. Carbon steel cookware is typically 2mm thick, but we increased this to decrease the risk of the metal from warping. If the metal does warp during high-heat cooking, it should return to its original state once it cools.

While it may seem heavy, most cast iron griddles weigh the same amount but have handles that are flush to the side. Our raised handles make this griddle both safer and easier to carry. Because of the taller, angled sides, you don’t need to worry about grease spilling over onto your stove and causing a fire. In fact, our griddle can hold up to 40-ounces of liquid.

Where Can I Use This Griddle?

Designed for indoor, outdoor, and even dual zone cooking, our carbon steel griddle is as versatile as any other piece of our carbon steel collection. If using it indoors, our griddle is compatible with gas, electric, or even induction cooktops. Carbon steel can scratch the surfaces of both electric and induction cooktops if you’re not careful, so be sure to use those handles when moving it around your stove. To set it up, simply lay it horizontally across a front and back burner. If being used outdoors, it will fit on most small, two burner grills as well as many of the larger four burner ones as well.

How to Use Your Griddle

While your griddle will come pre-seasoned, we recommend wiping it down with a wet cloth or paper towel before its first use. Make sure you dry it throughly before you continue to build up its seasoning.

Cover your griddle’s surface with a thin layer of neutral oil that has a high smoke point and heat it to create a polymerized reaction. This helps fill in the tiny pores in the metal, which will give your griddle a naturally non stick patina.

The more you cook with your Griddle and the fattier foods you make, the more non stick it will become. So there’s your justification for making bacon every day for a week—don’t say we never did anything for you. A more in-depth seasoning guide can be found here.

How to Care for Your Griddle

Caring for your griddle follows the same procedures as the rest of our carbon steel cookware. You can watch the video below or read through a more thorough guide here but these are the main things to know:

• Do not clean with soap
• Only use water when absolutely necessary
• Never attempt to put your griddle in the dishwasher
• For small messes: wipe down the surface with a cloth or paper towel, blotting up any excess grease
• For slightly more tricky messes: carefully boil a small amount of water on the cooking surface and scrape up the residual food using a Wooden Spoon
• If the leather handles get dirty, wipe them down with a damp cloth
• Make sure to dry your Griddle either by hand or by placing it on the stove over low heat before storing

What Should I Keep in Mind When Cooking with My Carbon Steel Griddle?

Carbon Steel is a very durable material, but there are a couple considerations when cooking with it. While it has a heat tolerance of up to 1200F, medium heat is usually sufficient for cooking your food evenly. Avoid using acidic ingredients as they can strip away the seasoning you worked so hard to build up.

Another thing to remember is that your Griddle will need to build up that non stick patina before you use it to cook more delicate foods. Wait until you’ve been using your griddle for a little while before you jump into cooking eggs or flaky white fish.

Finally, remember that Carbon Steel does not like moisture. While you can store your Griddle either inside or outside, make sure it’s protected from the elements. If you live in a humid climate, you may notice rust begin to form but it can easily be cleaned off.

Now that you have all the information about our Griddle, it’s time to start cooking. To jumpstart your imagination, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite things to cook here, in case you don’t know where to start.