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Blackstone Griddle Leaking Grease
Blackstone griddles come with either a rear grease management port or a front grease trough to help divert excess grease from the cooktop to a small collection cup.
Unfortunately, both of these grease management systems sometimes tend to leak grease.
If you don’t catch it right away, it can make a major mess on your deck or countertop. Not to mention being a potential fire hazard.
This is one of those times when a penny of prevention is worth more than a pound of frustrating cleanup.
Understanding how your Blackstone griddle’s grease management system works and why it is leaking grease will help you find the best method for preventing future grease leaks.
Should a Blackstone Griddle Be Leaking Grease?
Blackstone griddles usually do a good job of diverting grease from the cooktop to either a rear or front grease management system.
Though they are not perfect, sometimes simple fluid dynamics and the best intentions of engineers simply don’t get along in the real world.
It’s also worth noting, that just because your Blackstone griddle is leaking grease, doesn’t mean it is a manufacturer’s defect, or at least not a defect that will be recognized by the 1-year of warranty coverage that most Blackstone griddles come with.
Why Would a Blackstone Griddle Be Leaking Grease?
Just like water, liquid grease will sometimes adhere to a physical surface.
This can cause rendered fat, liquids, marinades, and grease on a griddle top to pour over the lip of the rear grease port or over the end of the grease trough. Instead of going into the collection cup as intended, the grease will leak down the front leg or over the back of the griddle.
Not only can this make a big mess on the exterior of your griddle, but it can also damage your deck, and create a serious slipping hazard.
It is also possible that the grease collection cup is not perfectly seated in place, which is a common issue with some Blackstone griddles with a rear grease management system.
If the grease collection cup is not fully inserted the rendered fat and other liquids from the griddle’s cooktop will hit the bracket holding the collection cup to the griddle body.
This will cause it to leak over the edge or run down the back of the base. It is a problem that is compounded by the fact that you can’t easily see the collection cup on larger models like the Blackstone 36-inch.
A grease leak on a Blackstone griddle with a front grease management system is usually due to the drain distance from the lip of the trough to the grease collection cup a few inches below.
Instead of pouring off the end of the trough, like a neat little grease waterfall, it curls over the end.
The liquid grease slowly flows along the underside of the trough until it reaches a vertical surface like the front leg of the griddle’s cart base.
At that point, the grease once again surrenders to the forces of gravity and pours down to your deck or countertop.
How to Prevent a Blackstone Griddle from Leaking Grease
Preventing a grease leak on a Blackstone griddle starts with making sure that you have every component of the grease management system properly installed and in place.
If your griddle’s cooktop continues to leak grease, then you might need to make some minor, temporary modifications.
If your Blackstone griddle has a front grease management system with a leak, you need to create a way for the grease to physically flow to the grease collection cup, rather than letting it pour.
This can be as simple as inserting a wood grill skewer or a chopstick at the end of the trough’s lip. The grease will then naturally follow the wood down to the collection cup, rather than rolling over the end of the lip.
Another way to prevent a grease leak on a front management system is to prop a simple empty soup cup at the end so that the lip of the cup is physically making contact with the lip of the trough.
This is the same method you used in high school chemistry class for pouring water from one glass beaker to the next.
If your Blackstone griddle has a leak in the rear grease management system, you can use the same wooden skewer or chopstick trick.
Though you need to make sure that the skewer is in the middle of the grease port. If it is off to the side, the liquid grease could find a way to pour or drip down the back.
Final Thoughts
Even a small grease leak on a Blackstone griddle can be a big problem.
Properly installing all the components of the grease management system according to the manufacturer’s specs in the owner’s manual is a critical first step in preventing a grease leak.
If everything is properly installed and you still have grease leaking off your Blackstone griddle you should try to create a physical connection between the grease port or the end of the grease trough and the collection cup.
This can be done by carefully placing a wooden grill skewer or a chopstick.
Careful placement of a soup can at the end of a front trough might allow you to eliminate the collection cup, while also shortening the distance that the grease has to go to be contained.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.