Griddle Grill Combo
Level Up Your Grill Skills with a Fire Pit Griddle Grill Combo
The backyard grill has been an American staple since the late 1940s. As we grew more and more in love with outdoor cooking, the cheap, flimsy grills of years past have been continuously upgraded and improved. One of the improvements is the advent of the griddle grill combo.
Having outdoor cook tables that include both a griddle, or skillet, and a grill expand your overall cooking capability considerably. You’re no longer limited to preparing food that is large enough and dry enough to grill. Let’s get into the details of griddle grill combo products, their functions, and how some grill and skillet designs are better than others.
Grill vs. Griddle: What’s the Difference?
At first glance, this difference seems obvious. A grill has separated metal rods and a griddle has a solid metal, flat surface, right? The answer is yes, but there are also other differences between the two cooking methods.
Some foods you can prepare on either a skillet or a grill. Hamburgers, for example, are often cooked on one or the other. Hot dogs, bratwurst, and steaks can also be prepared on either device. But other foods are clearly one or the other. Try making scrambled eggs on a grill or getting crisscross grill marks on a griddle. It’s just not going to work.
On a grill, the metal reacts with the food, intensifying the heat and the flavor. It creates those classic dark grill marks we’ve grown to love so much. (That’s called the Maillard reaction, by the way.) But it can’t handle heavy liquids, fragile foods like flaky fish, or small or leafy foods like snow peas or spinach.
On a griddle, you never have to worry about shrimp or mushrooms falling through the rods. It can handle both grill-able foods like pork chops and grill-grate impossibilities like pancakes. Anything with a generous amount of sauce, often wasteful on a grill, finds a perfect home on the griddle. It adds a level of flexibility to outdoor cook tables, enhancing your cooking experience.
But another big difference between a grill and a griddle is cooking temperature. Grills can churn out some heat, up to 650 degrees, for super-high heat searing. Griddles, on the other hand, rarely need to go above about 350 degrees to achieve the desired result. So anything that you really want to give a good, hot sear is going to need to go on the grill. Anything too moist or small for the grill will do well on the griddle.
So why not just get a grill and throw a skillet on top of it? Why go for a griddle and grill combo instead of a regular hibachi grill for your home? Here’s why you’ll want the option to do both at the same time.
Skillet and Grill Tip:
Before you throw those hamburgers on the skillet or grill, push a small indentation into the center of each burger. This will help promote even cooking and prevent shrinking. Need to make a LOT of burgers? The Reunion from Gather Grills can cook up to 70 juicy hamburgers all at once.
Gather Grills Gives You Options:
Are your gatherings a small, tight group, expansive invite-the-neighborhood type events, or somewhere in between?
Gather Grills offers different griddle, grill combo sizes to fit your crowd.
Why You Need a Skillet and Grill Together
Once you start using a griddle grill combo, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Open up to a whole new level of grilling and griddling goodness from the traditional favorites to a hibachi grill for the home cooking experience.
Versatility
With both a grill and a skillet, there are now no limits on what you can prepare outdoors. Prepare steaks and sauté spinach? Absolutely. Cook sausage and fry eggs? Yes! Grill shrimp and cook up fried rice like you’ve got a Japanese restaurant style hibachi grill for your home? Why not! The versatility offered by cook tables with both a skillet and a grill is hard to beat.
Space Utilization
By having a griddle grill combo, you can make more efficient use of your space. There’s no need to have two devices when they are all-in-one. When you have top of the line combination cook tables like those offered by Gather Grills, you’ll also get the benefit of foldable and removable shelves. This helps make even better use of your space.Flexibility
You can use a skillet and a grill at the same time with combo units so all your food can get done at the same time. With the right kind of griddle grill combo, you can also do all grill or all griddle! With Gather Grills cook tables, you can swap out the interchangeable grates to be all grill for your hamburger-hungry crew or all griddle to prep bacon and eggs for breakfast events.Time Saving
Time Saving Because you can use a grill and a skillet simultaneously, there’s no need to switch gears in the middle of cooking. Time that would be wasted cleaning off the grill after cooking steaks to put on a separate griddle pan, heat it up, and then cook the skillet food, can now be used to catch up with your guests. Plus, your meat won’t get cold while you’re waiting for the griddle!Griddle Grill Combo Options: The World of Next Level Outdoor Cook Tables
When you’re ready to up your game by adding a skillet and grill your way into smoky perfection, you have a wide variety of choices. Let’s discuss styles, griddle materials, and fuel sources for your grill and skillet combo.
Styles of Griddle Grill Combo Products
There are a few different approaches to a grill and skillet combination for outdoor cooking, but it primarily comes down to either a stacking technique or a side-by-side approach.
Stacking and Hacking a Grill and Skillet
This method is not a true griddle grill combo. Anyone with a traditional grill for the home can hack it to create a griddle simply by stacking a cast iron or other metal pan on top of the grill grate. While this technically works to turn a grill into a skillet, you’ll sacrifice all or most of your grill grate for the griddle. This space limitation is a major drawback for ceramic egg-style grills or old-fashioned hibachi grills for the home. “Stacking and hacking” makes it impossible to really use both functions at the same time, eliminating a prime benefit.
Side by Side Skillet and Grill Cook Tables
Most true griddle grill combo products are some form of a side-by-side approach. Many popular models have a grill on one side and a griddle on the other, offering the capability to use both functions at once. However, if you want to make the whole cooking area all grill or all griddle, you’ll be out of luck on most products. Gather Grills has solved this dilemma, offering complete flexibility in our cook tables by offering interchangeable grill and skillet grates.
Skillet and Grill Tip:
Before you throw those hamburgers on the skillet or grill, push a small indentation into the center of each burger. This will help promote even cooking and prevent shrinking. Need to make a LOT of burgers? The Reunion from Gather Grills can cook up to 70 juicy hamburgers all at once.
Different Types of Griddles
When it comes to a griddle for use on a grill, your primary options are cast iron, stoneware, and steel. Use and care are different between the three choices, as are the results. Here are the benefits and drawbacks of each type of material.
Cast Iron
Cast iron griddles are long-lasting and, after enough seasoning, reasonably non-stick. They generally produce great-tasting results on the grill, and skillet cooking in cast iron actually adds dietary iron to the food. However, cast iron must be seasoned properly before use and regularly maintained with on-going seasoning to avoid rust. They are also quite heavy.Stoneware
Stoneware is not exactly a traditional skillet material, and grill aficionados may not consider this an actual griddle. However, stoneware slabs are often used on grills to cook items that you can also prepare on a griddle. This includes dry-cooking items like pizzas, biscuits, and cookies. They are not non-stick, but can become stick-resistant over a long period of regular use as the stoneware becomes seasoned. They are not suitable for moist items or anything with a tendency to stick.Steel
Stainless steel makes a versatile and lighter weight skillet, and grill masters often find these preferable to other kinds of griddles. Stainless steel can handle any level of food moisture, from heavy sauces to dry goods, and they do not require any seasoning. Being low-maintenance and having generally simple clean-up, stainless steel griddles check all the boxes for an easy-to-use product for your griddle grill combo. Gather Grills uses 304 stainless steel for the grill itself and its grill and skillet grates.Griddle Grill Combo Fuel Sources
When it comes to fuel options for skillet and grill combination cooking, there are four primary choices: electricity, gas, charcoal and firewood. Let’s take a look at each.
Electricity
Electricity is generally the fuel source in outdoor cook tables that are only griddles or for small indoor griddle grill combo products for the kitchen counter. Use of an electric skillet or grill is limited to areas where outlets are accessible. While easy to use, their options are quite limited and you will not get that grilled food flavor you’re looking for.Gas
Gas grill and skillet models are very popular. You’ll find many side-by-side griddle grill combo units that fuel both sides using propane gas. Many home chefs like the relative ease of gas, but they do not deliver smoky, rich charcoal flavors. Propane tanks must be purchased separately and replenished regularly. It can sometimes be challenging to tell if you have enough gas left in the tank for all your cooking.
Charcoal
Charcoal is the original grill fuel and remains popular due to its ability to deliver authentic, delicious grilled food flavors and aromas. When cooking with charcoal, you don’t need to worry about access to electrical outlets. Charcoal also won’t run out on you unexpectedly in the middle of cooking the way propane might. Gather Grills proudly offers cook tables using charcoal to get that truly authentic, traditional grill experience. As we’ll see, there’s also one more benefit to cooking with charcoal.Firewood
For authentic, wood fired flavor nothing beats actual firewood. Different woods provide different flavors that can complement your food in incredible ways. When cooking with firewood, make sure to only use dry, quality wood that does not have mold or mildew in it. Many outdoor chefs also choose to use charcoal as a primary heat source, and then through on a couple smaller pieces of firewood to add that smoky flavor.
Skillet and Grill Tip:
Before you throw those hamburgers on the skillet or grill, push a small indentation into the center of each burger. This will help promote even cooking and prevent shrinking. Need to make a LOT of burgers? The Reunion from Gather Grills can cook up to 70 juicy hamburgers all at once.
Why a Fire Pit Griddle Grill Combo?
The advantages of having a grill and skillet in one are clear. But what other add-on would make that pairing a match made in heaven? How about something that would make the after-dinner activities just as memorable as your epic meal? The answer is a fire pit, and you can easily turn charcoal-fueled Gather Grills cook tables from a skillet and grill right into a toasty fire pit.
There are several advantages to using a fire pit griddle that burns charcoal and wood instead of gas. Gas can get expensive, and if your tank runs out halfway through the night, your fire pit is done. A wood-burning fire pit griddle will deliver a real fire pit experience. The crackling fire, gentle popping sounds, and the comforting smell of wood smoke all come together to create a traditional fire pit experience. As long as you’ve got logs, you’ve got fire; there are no abrupt or unexpected evening enders with a wood-burning fire pit griddle.
When your skillet and grill is also a fire pit griddle, your entertainment options just get bigger. After dinner, the griddle grill combo becomes a fire pit to keep the celebration going. Break out the marshmallows and settle in for a relaxing after-dinner beverage by the fire pit with no need to start from scratch. Your fire pit griddle delivers dinner and a show.
With cook tables that turn into a fire pit, you don’t need two separate areas to entertain your guests outdoors. All the action happens in one spot, keeping your company close and offering space saving if you need it. While a fire pit griddle/grill combo cook table already sounds pretty epic, Gather Grills has taken this concept and made it even more innovative.
The Gather Grills Solution: Your Ideal Fire Pit Griddle Grill Combo
Gather Grills has combined all the best parts of outdoor cook tables into a single epic charcoal cooking device. It is a grill and skillet, smoker and fire pit, plus a cook table where your guests can actually sit. This all-in-one, multi-function product is more than just another skillet and grill. It’s a one-stop entertainment center for all your outdoor festivities.
Gather Grills will give you unmatched cooking flexibility with its smoking, grill, and skillet capabilities. Our grills feature rotating cook tables, so you can move your food around to different heat levels without having to shuffle it around on the grill grate. You can also rotate the food in front of your guests, lazy Susan style, without them having to get up or pass food around in front of each other.
Gather Grills offers a distinct advantage over other types of skillet and grill combination products, and that is its unique all-around table. This table is created with foldable, removable shelves that give extra work space to the grill master. More importantly, these shelves create seating right up at the cook table for you and your guests.
Not all cook tables can also convert into a fire pit, but Gather Grills stands out from the rest with this crowd-pleasing feature. The end of cook time is the beginning of fire pit face time with its fire pit griddle advantage. The night doesn’t end until you say so, something a regular hibachi grill for the home just can’t compete with.
Grilling Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner When you have a griddle grill combo as inspiring as Gather Grills, you won’t want to limit your outdoor entertaining to special events. You’ll be ready to fire up your new friend any day of the year and any time of the day. Don’t be surprised if you’re inspired to turn to your grill and skillet for any meal of the day – even breakfast! The flexibility of our fire pit griddle and grill allows you to do fast and hot direct cooking or low and slow indirect heating. Larger models also include a warming rack, so you don’t have to interrupt your flow and leave the grill to add more steaks, burgers, kabobs, or pork chops.
Committed to Excellence
In addition to a love for joyful celebrations, Gather Grills has a commitment to quality. From the fire bowl to the table shelves, our grills are constructed from 304 stainless steel and finished with powder-coated paint for maximum durability and weather-resistance. Don’t settle for an average quality hibachi grill for your home. Your friends and family deserve the excellence of Gather Grills.
Skillet and Grill Tip:
Gather Grills: The King of Fire Pit Griddle Grill Combo Cook Tables
It’s not just a hibachi grill for the home. It’s more than a griddle grill combo. When you bring home Gather Grills all-in-one cook table, smoker, fire pit, griddle, and grill combo, you are embarking on a truly epic cooking adventure. No other product offers all these cooking and entertainment options with a built-in table to bring your friends right into the mix with you. With four sizes to choose from, you’ll find your perfect fit. Get ready to become famous for your gatherings as you level up with Gather Grills.