Q: What is the proper way to clean my Blackstone?
A: For most meals, you can just scrape the crumbs to the back of the griddle and then lightly oil.
If there is a little bigger mess on the griddle you may need to add some water to loosen up the debris before scraping and oiling.
The only time you need to use soapy water is before you season it for the first time. After that, you won't need to add any soapy water unless you are reseasoning it.
Here's a great video about 3 levels of cleaning.
Q: Tips for cooking the best steak?
A: It depends on the steak, but these tips will apply to any steak.
1. Pat your steak dry before you season it. Removing the excess moisture will help you develop a better sear.
2. Use the Blackstone griddle press to ensure that the entire steak makes contact with the griddle top.
3. Remember to always allow your steak to rest before cutting!
Q: Best way to cook pork chops?
A: It comes down to preference! For thick-cut pork chops, we recommend using a marinade and then searing them on both sides of the griddle. Here's a great recipe for marinated pork chops.
For thin-cut pork chops, you can cook them southern style by soaking them in buttermilk, battering them with flour, and shallow frying them right on the griddle top!
Q: What would cause my griddle to warp and how do I fix it?
A: Because our griddle tops are manufactured from sheets of steel only a few millimeters thick, they are influenced more by changes in heat than their thicker commercial counterparts. Due to how many BTUs our griddles can produce, the griddle top can warp slightly when it is getting used to the heat—especially if it experiences a substantial heat shock.
In most cases, continuing to use the griddle will help it flatten back out. Repeated heating and cooling cycles get the griddle more used to the heat, and it will flatten out naturally.
Some ways to prevent warping are:
- Do not add large quantities of very cold or frozen food to a hot griddle top
- Do not pour water over a hot griddle top. When you need to use water for cleaning, use small and concentrated amounts of water to prevent heat-shocking the griddle surface.
Q: Is this rust on my griddle or did I overseason it?
A: It is possible to overseason a griddle. The excess seasoning that hasn't bonded with the cast iron is brown and looks just like rust. To remove, heat the griddle, apply a little oil, and use a scraper or cleaning stone to remove the excess seasoning. See video here
If your griddle does happen to rust check out this video here on how to remove it.
PRO TIP: The easiest way to keep your griddle from rusting is to use it frequently (at least weekly).
Q: When should I reseason my griddle?
A: There is no exact answer for this, but after cooking on it for a while (8 months, one year, two years, etc), the seasoning on the griddle will start to become uneven and have a rough-like texture. That is when you know it's time for a new seasoning. Check out this video from Todd as he explains the process more in-depth.
Q: Is a new pizza oven coming out?
A: Yes!! We recently launched our 22" Pizza Oven Conversion Kit on our site and have a standalone pizza oven in the final testing phase - no official release date has been announced as of yet.
That's it for this week's "Ask Blackstone Anything" - we'll be back every Monday to share more tips and tricks from questions submitted by you.
