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Your Blackstone griddle can get amazingly hot, making it possible to cook all sorts of food for you, your family, and your guests.
Understanding your top Blackstone grill temperatures and the amount of time it takes to reach certain temperatures can help you plan your meals down to the very last second.
From eggs to pancakes to steaks, your Blackstone griddle is the ideal cooking surface whether it’s a scorcher outside and you’re cooking for a summer barbecue, or it’s snowing, and you’ve got everyone over for the Super Bowl.
Understanding how hot your griddle can get can help you cook different foods simultaneously for your guests.
How hot do Blackstone griddles get?
The very hottest temperature you’ll usually see on a Blackstone griddle is about 640 degrees Fahrenheit, but that maximum temperature may change under certain weather conditions.
If you cook in a country that uses Celsius, you’ll see your griddle get up to around 317 degrees Celsius.
Searing meat is one of the most common reasons you’ll want your grill to reach a high temperature. Sauteing vegetables and thickening a sauce also occur at high temperatures. As long as you use a cast-iron skillet, you can actually use a pot on your griddle to thicken a sauce.
How to get Blackstone griddle hotter?
The easiest way to get your Blackstone griddle as hot as possible is to cook when it’s hot outside with low wind.
Heating your griddle in the winter takes longer, and snowy temperatures can take a toll on the griddle’s ability to reach peak heat. Your griddle will always get to its hottest possible temperature on hot, wind-free days.
If you have no choice but to fire up your griddle on a frigid day, all is not lost. If you place your griddle in an area where the bitter wind won’t reach it easily, you’ll have a better time getting top temps out of your griddle.
Note that it’s not safe to use your griddle inside, so avoid pulling your griddle into the living room in the winter.
If you decide that you want to modify your Blackstone griddle to make it hotter, just be warned that you’ll void your warranty if you try any DIY projects like changing out the stock burners.
With care and good cooking conditions, you shouldn’t need to modify your Blackstone griddle to increase its temperature.
Is the temperature easy to control on a Blackstone griddle?
Temperature control on your Blackstone griddle means knowing your heat zones.
Blackstone griddles feature heat zones where the hottest area will generally be in the middle of the griddle, and the cooler areas will be at the outer edges.
When you know your heat zones, you can cook different foods at the same time. For example, you might sauté some vegetables at the center where it’s hottest and then move them over to the edge to the cooler area while you start cooking the meat.
A hand-held temperature gauge is great for pinpointing the exact temperatures you want to see on your grill. You can use the knobs on the front of the griddle to control the temperature.
Does wind affect a Blackstone’s temperature?
A strong wind can actually extinguish the flame on your griddle, which can waste your fuel and make it quite tough to finish cooking.
A cover on your griddle can help you maintain the temperature on the griddle’s surface, but it’s also helpful to orient the grill in an area that’s protected from wind gusts.
You might notice that the windiest times of the day tend to occur in the late morning through the afternoon.
Often, a windy day will turn into a rather placid twilight, so if you can hold off cooking until the evening, you might be able to avoid dealing with the wind while using your Blackstone.
Can you overheat a Blackstone griddle?
Blackstone griddles are designed to survive extreme heat as they cook your food, but even Blackstone griddles aren’t immune to damage if you use them improperly.
While it’s safe to cook at a Blackstone griddle’s top temperature, it’s usually best to avoid preheating the griddle for too long, particularly when you’ll be dropping frozen or chilled food onto its surface.
The extreme difference in temperature between the griddle and the chilled or frozen food can lead to warping on the griddle’s surface.
Don’t heat your griddle for 15 minutes before applying the food when it takes just 8 or 9 minutes to reach top temperature. The griddle will reach temperatures lower than 640 even faster, so it’s usually not necessary to sit back and kick your heels up, waiting for the griddle to get hot.
Final thoughts
Impressively, the Blackstone griddle can reach its top temperature of 640 degrees Fahrenheit in a tidy 8:30 minutes, but various weather conditions can impact the time it takes for the griddle to reach maximum temperature.
Using a timer on your phone can help you determine when your griddle has reached its top temperature. As always, experimenting with your Blackstone and getting to know its temperatures and cooking zones can help you make the best of every griddling experience.
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.