Griddle Temperature Guide

Even though the speedometer on your car goes up to 140mph, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever need to drive it that fast. The same is true for your griddle. Just because it can get really hot doesn’t mean you need to cook at the highest temperature.

People are constantly asking us what temperature is the best for cooking everything from eggs and pancakes to fish and steaks on the griddle. So, we’ve put together this griddle temperature guide to help you determine what temperature is right for just about anything you plan on cooking.

How hot can a Blackstone griddle get?

Under ideal conditions, Blackstone’s gas griddles can reach over 650F, but there are very few instances where you would ever need to cook at this high temperature.

You can cook almost anything on a griddle between 300F (Low Medium) and 375F-400F (Medium-High) and have consistently wonderful results. This happens because of the Maillard reaction at temperatures where food tends to brown.

What is the Maillard reaction and why is it important for griddle cooking?

The Maillard reaction that browns food on the outside occurs when food comes into contact with temperatures between 280F-330F. To put it simply, food compounds begin breaking down at these temperatures, concentrating or forming new, more intense versions of themselves.

The Maillard reaction essentially makes food more delicious.

Browning happens when food contacts a heat source. Because the entire griddle surface is a heat source, you have the ability to spread the food out across the entire surface of the griddle allowing the flavors to intensify as it cooks.

The two most common griddle cooking methods are searing and sautéing

Although quite similar, there are some slight differences between searing and sautéing on the griddle.

Searing is when you cook the surface of food (typically a thicker protein) on both sides to achieve a browned crust. Seared food is not necessarily cooked all the way through so it’s a good method for foods you prefer on the rare side like steaks, burgers, and even some types of fish like salmon.

Sautéing also browns the meat, but unlike searing, it’s flipped often and cooks the food all the way through. You would use sautéing with thinner cuts of meat and vegetables. It’s a great method for dishes like chicken or steak fajitas, or smaller kinds of seafood like shrimp or bay scallops.

How often do you flip your food when searing or sautéing?

When searing thicker foods, it’s only necessary to flip or turn your food once. This can be a bit challenging because you want a flavorful crust to develop on the food while it cooks to your desired doneness.

Using an instant-read thermometer is the only accurate way to know how long your food will need to cook before flipping. When searing, it’s a good rule of thumb to cook the food to between 60-70 percent of your desired internal temperature before flipping.

Sautéing, on the other hand, requires a little extra effort. When sautéing, you want to flip the thinner pieces of food a few times during the cook. Let it initially sit for at least 45 seconds before flipping and then turn every 30 – 45 seconds until the food reaches the desired color and doneness. If you are sautéing thicker veggies that are also dense, like potatoes, they will require more time to cook from raw, and may only need to be flipped or turned every couple of minutes or so.

What is sweating food and can you sweat foods on the Blackstone griddle?

It’s simple to sweat foods on the Blackstone griddle!

Sweating is a technique where you slowly cook vegetables over lower heat to draw out flavors without browning. It’s a particularly useful technique for making dishes like fried rice on the griddle where the vegetables are on the team, but not necessarily the star player. Diced bell peppers, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, and shallots are some of the most commonly sweated vegetables.

How do I know what my preheated griddle’s temperature is?

The most efficient way to determine the temperature of your griddle is to use an infrared thermometer. Simply hover the thermometer over your griddle surface and within a few seconds, it will tell you the temperature.

Is there a way to know the griddle’s surface temperature without an infrared thermometer?

Kind of…

Some people think you can hold your hand a few inches above the griddle and the amount of time it takes for your skin to become uncomfortable, if not dangerously hot, will tell you the temperature of the griddle. This is not a good way to measure griddle temperature and should be avoided.

Although not entirely scientific, there’s a slightly better method for testing the temperature of the griddle without a thermometer. You can simply pour a teaspoon of water on the griddle surface and watch how it reacts until it eventually evaporates. If the water forms a small puddle and evaporates over about 10 seconds, the griddle surface is probably around 225F. If the water starts to dance on the griddle, it’s most likely about 350F. If the water hits the griddle and starts running, popping, and is gone in a few seconds, you’re looking at a griddle that’s most likely north of 400F.

Multiple burners mean multiple temperature zones

Depending on which griddle you own, it will have either one, two, or four individually controlled burners. Multiple burners mean that your griddle can operate at various temperatures allowing you to be cooking pancakes in one area while keeping bacon and breakfast potatoes, or other side dishes warm in another.

From sweating onions to sautéing shrimp and searing steaks being able to take control of the temperature of your griddle will make cooking food on the Blackstone even more delicious. Now that you’ve learned how different griddle temperatures affect cooking, the only hard part is deciding what to cook next.