Blackstone cooking and recipes

[jasin1]

I am new to blackstone griddle cooking and found this guy on youtube..one of many different griddle channels …this guy explains it simply and has many different videos for beginners like me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz1HoTLFsyg

[markcee]

Pretty new 'Blackstoner' myself and in looking at recipes and techniques on YT I was always surprised at the number of times fried rice shows up in the videos.

This week, I had a pint container of leftover white rice from Chinese takeout and gave a fried rice recipe a whirl on the Blackstone. I have to say, it came out fantastic - now I see why it's mentioned so often.

We usually end up pitching most of the obligatory container of rice that comes with just about every Chinese takeout order, now I've got a nice use for it that's super simple to make.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by markcee

Pretty new 'Blackstoner' myself and in looking at recipes and techniques on YT I was always surprised at the number of times fried rice shows up in the videos.

This week, I had a pint container of leftover white rice from Chinese takeout and gave a fried rice recipe a whirl on the Blackstone. I have to say, it came out fantastic - now I see why it's mentioned so often.

We usually end up pitching most of the obligatory container of rice that comes with just about every Chinese takeout order, now I've got a nice use for it that's super simple to make.

good idea for the rice!

This trip i can’t even pretend to be a seasoned camp chef because we left my plastic water and oil bottles back home….i see people walking by and shaking their head at me in disgust….i’m hoping some kind soul anonymously places an extra bottle or two by my camper in the middle of the night

[dutchmensport]

I don't have a Blackstone, but we've been doing griddle cooking for years and years. We use the el-cheap-o Presto flat electric griddles, but the cooking process is pretty much the same on any flat surface cooking device.

One thing I found that makes a huge difference, especially on meats, is to place a lid over the food item as it's cooking. This holds the heat "in" a lot, and circulates like an oven. You still get the fried, stir fried effect, but also get an even heat top and bottom on the food.

We started doing this many years ago simply by accident. We had an electric skillet with a deep lid. On the flat griddle, the wind outside was blowing and it was preventing the heat to evenly cook the meat. I decided to cover it with that lid from the electric skillet to shelter from the wind. It worked wonderful! For both the wind problem and it help aid in cooking.

I was hooked. From that point on, we used that lid. Eventually, the electric skillet died and we kept the lid to use JUST for the flat griddle. We purchased a new electric skillet (we also keep in the camper), and use that lid also. The old one is larger and we now have 2 different sizes of electric griddles. This is all we cook on, unless we need to boil water. We use flat griddles inside the house too.

We also found another electric skillet at a yard sale several years ago. However, it had no plug with it. I think they sold it for a nickel. I was ecstatic to get it! Not for the electric skillet part, but for the lid! It was nice and big and deep, perfect for covering those really thick and juicy chicken breasts and thighs on the griddle! I threw the skillet away and kept the lid!

Griddle cooking is absolutely great and fun. I hope this little tip give you more ideas!

And for what it's worth, we use the electric skillet for a number of things. Do you know you can actually bake a cake in an electric skillet? and bake cookies? Melt butter, and boil water?

You can probably "bake" on your Blackstone too. If doing a cake, put the batter in a normal cake pan, put the pan on the griddle.... really low heat and then simply put a lid over the cake pan. Of course, you'll need to experiment with the heat and time and temperature so the bottom does not burn, but it will work! Yes, lots and lots of things you can do with a flat griddle!

Enjoy!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by markcee

Pretty new 'Blackstoner' myself and in looking at recipes and techniques on YT I was always surprised at the number of times fried rice shows up in the videos.

This week, I had a pint container of leftover white rice from Chinese takeout and gave a fried rice recipe a whirl on the Blackstone. I have to say, it came out fantastic - now I see why it's mentioned so often.

We usually end up pitching most of the obligatory container of rice that comes with just about every Chinese takeout order, now I've got a nice use for it that's super simple to make.

Don't know if you've tried it but jasmine rice is the only way to go IMO. We generally buy Gold Star. The flavor and smell is so much better than plain white rice we think. Make up your rice in a rice cooker and just keep it around for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use it for fried rice as you mentioned, stir fry or a side (seasoned) with other things off the flat top.

Blackstone makes a cover for use on their flat tops but it's sort of spendy. I have one but prior to that just took a rectangular cake pan, inverted it and placed a heat resistant handle on top. You can make fajitas on it but I like the skirt steak coming of a hot grill with smoking with a good hardwood blend, mesquite or oak. The veggies for the fajitas cook up well on the griddle.

Brian so you can look like the pro you mention just go get the squirt bottles at Walmart, or, if one isn't close I believe Dollar General sells them - seems there's one of them about every 3 miles.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Don't know if you've tried it but jasmine rice is the only way to go IMO. We generally buy Gold Star. The flavor and smell is so much better than plain white rice we think. Make up your rice in a rice cooker and just keep it around for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use it for fried rice as you mentioned, stir fry or a side (seasoned) with other things off the flat top.

Blackstone makes a cover for use on their flat tops but it's sort of spendy. I have one but prior to that just took a rectangular cake pan, inverted it and placed a heat resistant handle on top. You can make fajitas on it but I like the skirt steak coming of a hot grill with smoking with a good hardwood blend, mesquite or oak. The veggies for the fajitas cook up well on the griddle.

Brian so you can look like the pro you mention just go get the squirt bottles at Walmart, or, if one isn't close I believe Dollar General sells them - seems there's one of them about every 3 miles.

sounds good! i will look for a store near me

[Camping family]

Have two Blackstone’s 36 inch at home 22 inch in camper. Use them all the time. Nothing better to me than cooking on a blackstone. Fried rice number one hit smashed burgers number 2. Wife loves them. Everyone loves the fried rice. Steaks oh man what a treat. Get a good sear on both sides then slow cook to your liking. Add some onion, peppers n mushrooms. Cooked potatoes on griddle add a fresh green salad. That is heavenly. Anything can be cooked on a griddle and it all tastes great.

[dutchmensport]

Want a really different treat? Next time you fix spaghetti, make extra and put it away in the refrigerator. Later, take the spaghetti out. Put a little butter on your griddle and stir fry the spaghetti. Now, crack a couple eggs right on top of the spaghetti and mix it all up. Finish stir frying until the eggs solidify. Add a bit of salt, maybe some hot sauce if you like that, and enjoy! Absolutely marvelous!

[markcee]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Don't know if you've tried it but jasmine rice is the only way to go IMO. We generally buy Gold Star. The flavor and smell is so much better than plain white rice we think. Make up your rice in a rice cooker and just keep it around for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use it for fried rice as you mentioned, stir fry or a side (seasoned) with other things off the flat top.

Blackstone makes a cover for use on their flat tops but it's sort of spendy. I have one but prior to that just took a rectangular cake pan, inverted it and placed a heat resistant handle on top. You can make fajitas on it but I like the skirt steak coming of a hot grill with smoking with a good hardwood blend, mesquite or oak. The veggies for the fajitas cook up well on the griddle.

Brian so you can look like the pro you mention just go get the squirt bottles at Walmart, or, if one isn't close I believe Dollar General sells them - seems there's one of them about every 3 miles.

Danny....agree 100+%. Any time we make any type of Asian fare at home from scratch, jasmine is the way we go. It's outstanding!

[Weldon]

We have 2 grills each camping trip. My favorite use of the Blackstone is for breakfast. I bought the Blackstone silicone mold for 6 eggs, and the family absolutely loves eggs over medium with melted cheese. Then I also cook bacon and/or sausage (sometimes kielbasa), and finally onions / peppers / hashbrowns. We always have a bunch of fruit, but that doesn't get grilled. I have to cook this breakfast at least once each trip, sometimes multiple days.

Last Sept, for my daughter's 11th bday, she invited 3 if her BFFs to camp with my wife in our TT while my son and I tent camped across the park. The parents of the girls were also tent camping close by. I made the mistake the first day of cooking this breakfast for everyone and then had to do it every morning. I cook just about everything except hot dogs and chicken marinated in Italian dressing on the Blackstone. My family prefers those on a traditional grill. But my favorite thing to cook is breakfast.

[spade117]

I 3rd the jasmine rice recommendation. That is our go-to as well when making stir fry.

The 17" is our main cooking apparatus while camping. I have the fold down cover as well. All of our meals are either cooked on the Blackstone or over the fire.

We also have the 28" for home use.

[notanlines]

We still use jasmine rice for things oriental, but use Ellis Stansel white long out of southern Louisiana for every day recipes.
I have enjoyed most talk of the Blackstone, up until the mention of steaks. Some things simply aren’t acceptable. Cooking ribs in a slow cooker and steaks on a Blackstone are two of them.
On edit: DW and I are pondering this left over spaghetti and egg idea and wondering if it could be improved upon. Just curious, you know.

[jxnbbl]

Can't wait for our April trip. Daily meals on the Blackstone. Thanks for the video will certainly go through it for some ideas.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by notanlines

We still use jasmine rice for things oriental, but use Ellis Stansel white long out of southern Louisiana for every day recipes.
I have enjoyed most talk of the Blackstone, up until the mention of steaks. Some things simply aren’t acceptable. Cooking ribs in a slow cooker and steaks on a Blackstone are two of them.
On edit: DW and I are pondering this left over spaghetti and egg idea and wondering if it could be improved upon. Just curious, you know.

LOL! IMO steaks are best off a grill or pit. I've eaten them lots of other ways including griddle/flat tops. My first steak as a kid was off a flat top in my mom's restaurant. The best steak I've eaten from the flat top was in San Angelo Tex. Their trick was to cover the outside of the steak with so many seasonings it literally had a thin crust of it on them (garlic was chief among them). Pretty good but still not as good as mesquite or oak.

My mom cooked ribs in a slow cooker in bbq sauce. Wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the 4" of clear grease sitting on the top of the food in the cooker. I like the smoker for a rack or grill for country ribs.

The Blackstone (flat top) is versatile and I use it for any number of things but it doesn't fit all scenarios - that's why I carry a plethora of cooking devices. I too am wondering about that spaghetti egg thing. I love spaghetti and eggs so there could be possibilities....

[DroughtBuster]

I received my first Blackstone for Father's day last year. So very new to me as well. I see in every video the "chef" squirting oil on the griddle before he adds food. What kind of oil do people use or does the oil change depending on what you are cooking? I like to cook breakfast (have always been the breakfast guy of our group), so I typically use butter with that. But want to start trying all sorts of things and need to know what oil I should be using. Thanks.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by DroughtBuster

I received my first Blackstone for Father's day last year. So very new to me as well. I see in every video the "chef" squirting oil on the griddle before he adds food. What kind of oil do people use or does the oil change depending on what you are cooking? I like to cook breakfast (have always been the breakfast guy of our group), so I typically use butter with that. But want to start trying all sorts of things and need to know what oil I should be using. Thanks.

You will find all kinds of recommendations for oil types but most any cooking oil works. I've tried several but Crisco cooking oil is what I generally use because it's available wherever we go and I don't cook for long periods at high heat. You can use Canola or EVOO but in rural areas you won't find Canola and EVOO will be iffy. Others will have their preferred oil/methods. I use butter a lot indoors but I don't use it on the griddle.

[DroughtBuster]

Originally Posted by sourdough

You will find all kinds of recommendations for oil types but most any cooking oil works. I've tried several but Crisco cooking oil is what I generally use because it's available wherever we go and I don't cook for long periods at high heat. You can use Canola or EVOO but in rural areas you won't find Canola and EVOO will be iffy. Others will have their preferred oil/methods. I use butter a lot indoors but I don't use it on the griddle.

Thanks so much for the response. I was thinking just Crisco would work, but the stuff I see people squirting on the griddle seemed to be less viscus. Crisco is pretty thick. I was thinking of looking for something high heat with a little butter flavor but wasn't sure where to look.

[sourdough]

Crisco, EVOO (whatever brand), Canola...they're all thicker than water but it doesn't matter in my experience. Many folks worry/talk about smoking point but I don't cook that hot on the flat top - I use a wok for that kind of cooking generally. The oil sort of "stays" (leaves a residue) in the bottle even after it is emptied and cleaned to me so I don't mix oils in the same bottle..guess that's why I have a shelf full of plastic squirt bottles. I would suggest trying whatever you want to cook with and see how it works. I wouldn't invite the neighborhood as you experiment but you can see what works for you. Here's a link to a product that might work for you. I've used that website for other items and they were good in my experience;

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/pan...SABEgKxy_D_BwE

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Don't know if you've tried it but jasmine rice is the only way to go IMO. We generally buy Gold Star. The flavor and smell is so much better than plain white rice we think. Make up your rice in a rice cooker and just keep it around for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use it for fried rice as you mentioned, stir fry or a side (seasoned) with other things off the flat top.

Blackstone makes a cover for use on their flat tops but it's sort of spendy. I have one but prior to that just took a rectangular cake pan, inverted it and placed a heat resistant handle on top. You can make fajitas on it but I like the skirt steak coming of a hot grill with smoking with a good hardwood blend, mesquite or oak. The veggies for the fajitas cook up well on the griddle.

Brian so you can look like the pro you mention just go get the squirt bottles at Walmart, or, if one isn't close I believe Dollar General sells them - seems there's one of them about every 3 miles.

We like jasmine rice as well, but check out this brand, particularly if you are diabetic:
Parishrice.com

[oldnjrver]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

I don't have a Blackstone, but we've been doing griddle cooking for years and years. We use the el-cheap-o Presto flat electric griddles, but the cooking process is pretty much the same on any flat surface cooking device.

One thing I found that makes a huge difference, especially on meats, is to place a lid over the food item as it's cooking. This holds the heat "in" a lot, and circulates like an oven. You still get the fried, stir fried effect, but also get an even heat top and bottom on the food.

We started doing this many years ago simply by accident. We had an electric skillet with a deep lid. On the flat griddle, the wind outside was blowing and it was preventing the heat to evenly cook the meat. I decided to cover it with that lid from the electric skillet to shelter from the wind. It worked wonderful! For both the wind problem and it help aid in cooking.

I was hooked. From that point on, we used that lid. Eventually, the electric skillet died and we kept the lid to use JUST for the flat griddle. We purchased a new electric skillet (we also keep in the camper), and use that lid also. The old one is larger and we now have 2 different sizes of electric griddles. This is all we cook on, unless we need to boil water. We use flat griddles inside the house too.

We also found another electric skillet at a yard sale several years ago. However, it had no plug with it. I think they sold it for a nickel. I was ecstatic to get it! Not for the electric skillet part, but for the lid! It was nice and big and deep, perfect for covering those really thick and juicy chicken breasts and thighs on the griddle! I threw the skillet away and kept the lid!

Griddle cooking is absolutely great and fun. I hope this little tip give you more ideas!

And for what it's worth, we use the electric skillet for a number of things. Do you know you can actually bake a cake in an electric skillet? and bake cookies? Melt butter, and boil water?

You can probably "bake" on your Blackstone too. If doing a cake, put the batter in a normal cake pan, put the pan on the griddle.... really low heat and then simply put a lid over the cake pan. Of course, you'll need to experiment with the heat and time and temperature so the bottom does not burn, but it will work! Yes, lots and lots of things you can do with a flat griddle!

Enjoy!

I couldn't agree more!! We have a big square lid from an old electric griddle that works just as you described.. As for baking we put a cooling rack on the griddle surface and set the baking pan on the rack to raise the pan off of the griddle surface, and cover it with the deep lid. It works great!!
We make pizzas on the griddle as well. You can also use preformed disposable aluminum roasting or baking pans to cover your items as well..

It seems anything you can do in a frying pan works just as well on the griddle along with things like muffins and biscuits..

We still carry a small propane grill for some meats but use the blackstone for 90% of our cooking...

Safe travels and all the best...