Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Blackstone Griddle Thread

Dr. Teeth

By Dr. Teeth
in Kitchen Consumer

 Share

Recommended Posts

&roid

&roid

Posted
Posted

Wow! This thing is great fun! So glad I picked one up. 
 

smash burgers with onions and mushrooms for our first cook:

 

 

IMG_9773.jpeg

IMG_9774.jpeg

IMG_9777.jpeg

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
  • Delicious 2
&roid

&roid

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, TdeV said:

That looks delicious!

 

Pardon me, but how is a smash burger different from a hamburger?


Just a slightly different way of cooking - grab a ball of ground beef, place it on the griddle and smash it really thin with the flat of a spatula. Try and get as thin as possible, even a few little lacy holes appearing in the patty. It gives a great crust and is probably my favourite type of burger. I much prefer a stack of a couple of those over a single thicker number. 
 

In the picture above, the two on the left had just been turned so you can see the crust, the others are just about to flip. 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 2
Dr. Teeth

Dr. Teeth

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Made a round of Oklahoma smash burgers last night.   Failed to take pictures due to chaos caused by an empty propane tank.

 

Will say, whatever else the Blackstone cannot cannot do, it churns out Smashburgers.   No problem making dinner for 9.

 

Having played with it I have maybe 2 comments: it’s difficult to visually confirm the flame is on/see how high it is and it’s underpowered, particularly compared to a commercial flat top 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Dr. Teeth said:

Made a round of Oklahoma smash burgers last night. 

 

What makes it an Oklahoma smashburger?

  • Like 1
weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

What makes it an Oklahoma smashburger?

 

I think it's the fried onions smashed into the burger. When Hamburger America opened here, Pete Wells covered it in his review:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/dining/hamburger-america.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RE8.WDiL.8GboIBekKFrA&smid=url-share

  • Like 1

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted

And Helen Rosner, reviewing the same restaurant for the New Yorker, took it a step further:

 

Quote

 The signature George Motz’s Fried Onion Burger uses an Oklahoma technique of covering the beef with a heap of sweet onions sliced paper-thin, and smashing the onion-topped meat into the griddle. After the burger is flipped, the onions caramelize and char between the meat and the griddle, all but disappearing, while giving the patty a haunting sweetness. It’s served with no condiments, no dressings—just a slice of American cheese, as both lubrication and salt, and two salutatory pickle rounds on the side.

 

George Motz is considered, by some (many?), to be the authority on the American hamburger in all its guises...

 

image.thumb.png.5f7c525c0b1947607cf968684eeaff67.png

 

Book(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

  • Like 1

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, weinoo said:

And Helen Rosner, reviewing the same restaurant for the New Yorker, took it a step further:

 

 

George Motz is considered, by some (many?), to be the authority on the American hamburger in all its guises...

 

image.thumb.png.5f7c525c0b1947607cf968684eeaff67.png

 

Book(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

A subtle difference from the White Castle method.

  • Haha 1
&roid

&roid

Posted
Posted

Beef fried rice with mushrooms tonight. 
 

this thing is amazing! So quick and easy doing a big meal like this, super tasty and clean up was a doddle. 
 

 

IMG_9795.jpeg

IMG_9796.jpeg

IMG_9797.jpeg

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 2
YvetteMT

YvetteMT

Posted
Posted
On 6/22/2025 at 9:07 AM, &roid said:

Got the beast setup and seasoned. I did ten coats of flax seed oil as I have with my carbon steel pans. Took my time with it, tiny thin layer each time, barely visible but it’s built up to a lovely smooth 

 

and after:

IMG_9766.thumb.jpeg.f3ee3c3fbbdbc8baff790aa1498037d4.jpeg

@&roid are you willing to share your seasoning method?

I pulled the trigger and my Blackstone will be here Friday and I'm dying to get the same gorgeous finish!  

  • Delicious 1

Hunter, fisherwoman, gardener and cook in Montana.

Dr. Teeth

Dr. Teeth

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Sausages with peppers and onions.   Done rapidly before it started to rain.   Even got the thing cooled down and the cover on.

 

Serves with corn on the cob and tater tots.

 

Fast dinner before kid activities 

IMG_5248.jpeg

IMG_5247.jpeg

  • Like 4
&roid

&roid

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, YvetteMT said:

@&roid are you willing to share your seasoning method?

I pulled the trigger and my Blackstone will be here Friday and I'm dying to get the same gorgeous finish!  


No problem at all:

 

It’s pretty straightforward, just takes a bit of time (about an hour in total)

 

1.    ⁠Wash the griddle with warm soapy water, dry it thoroughly


2.    ⁠Heat on high until any leftover packing grease has burnt off and the colour changes in the spots over the burners, they tend to go brownish


3.    ⁠Keep the burners on high. Use an old tea towel to really lightly rub in about 2 tbsp of flax seed oil (needs to be food grade with no additives). You want the thinnest coat possible, almost like there’s nothing there. Work quickly so you don’t get any thicker parts, just spread it out across the whole surface and then lightly polish it so there are no streaks. It’ll start smoking right away.


4.    ⁠Let that burn in, after a few minutes it’ll stop smoking and the colour of the top will start to darken slightly.


5.    ⁠Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as you like. Work the oil into the corners and on the inside and outside of the upward facing edges of the grill.  Once it’s all black and smooth looking you can let it cool down and it’s done.

 

The main thing is keeping the coats as thin as humanly possible, you really don’t want to see any streaks or pools of oil. I’ve seen a load of videos on YouTube where they put tons on and you can just tell it’s going to be a mess. Much better to do 8-10 really thin coats than 3-4 thick ones as thicker seasoning won’t bond well to the grill and will just chip and flake off.

 

Once it’s done regular cooking should keep on top of it but you can always top up with a few coats of flax seed if needed. I’d avoid doing anything acidic on it for quite a while until it’s really set in well (so no tomatoes, vinegar, wine, etc). If you need to, washing up liquid is fine to use to clean it but in reality just plain water and a good scrape should do the trick if you clean it while it’s still hot after cooking.

Edited by &roid (log)
&roid

&roid

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, IndyRob said:

I want to know how one cleans it.


It’s really quick to clean up. Just squirt on a bit of water while it’s still warm. Use a metal spatula to scrape any bits left on to the back and into the grease trap. A bit more water and wipe down with paper towel until it’s clean. You can use a bit of washing up liquid if needed but generally plain water will do. A good seasoning coat helps massively with clean up - it makes it like wiping out a non stick pan. 

 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...