Pit Boss has entered the griddle market to compete head-on with Blackstone who’s been the primary manufacturer in the space for a few years now. Today we’re looking at the Pit Boss standard griddle. It’s a four-burner griddle that gives you about 748 square inches of cooking surface.

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Is This A Portable Grill?

Pit Boss calls this a portable grill which means that the legs fold up and down. However, it does weigh a whopping 108 pounds. So hefting it into the back of the truck or the van is going to take a second pair of hands most likely. So while it may technically be “portable” I wouldn’t consider it a very practical portable option myself.

However, if you did want to transport this griddle, all you’d need to do is remove the bottom shelf (which are attached with a couple of little screw knobs). This will allow the legs to fold in under the unit.

The Cart

The cart underneath has a shelf that goes the entire width of the griddle, and we find it extremely helpful for storing all kinds of things under the griddle.

This unit has not just two, but four locking wheels which I absolutely love. These are the new and improved type of locks that you can kick with your foot to release rather than put your foot underneath to pull up.

We have successfully moved this griddle unit across a variety of surfaces without too much difficulty. Transitioning from the garage to the driveway and back is quite manageable with this wheel package.

Side Shelves

This griddle cart comes standard with two side shelves. While both shelves are easily able to fold down for storage, the location of the propane tank prohibits the right shelf from folding down while it is installed and in place.

Pit Boss also offers a deluxe griddle that provides a nice upgrade in that the foldable side shelves also act as a cover for the griddle. If you plan to store your griddle outside exposed to the elements, I would consider that decision to be a no-brainer since the deluxe unit is only $20 more than the standard. We’ve stored our griddle in the garage, so that hasn’t really been a concern for us. But for only $20 more, you can’t go wrong here.

Propane Tank Holder

This cart has been designed to securely hold and store your propane tank. There is a hook that holds onto the handle of the tank as well as a hook for the bottom lip of the tank to rest on. In fact, the cart is designed so well to hold your tank that we’ve found it to be a little challenging to get the tank back off when needing a replacement! It’s far from impossible, but it may require a little practice to get the hang of it.

The Cooking Surface

The actual cooking surface of the Pit Boss standard griddle measures 37 inches wide by 20.5 inches deep. This is very much like a hibachi grill in its size.

Now, it’s not stainless steel like you’d normally see at a hibachi restaurant, but it’s still nonstick, especially once you’ve done the right seasoning to the top. (Check out our video here about how to season your griddle).

This griddle is about 4.7 millimeters thick, and since us American’s aren’t exactly fluent in the metric system, let’s just say this griddle surface is heavy. I think it would be safe to estimate that the majority of the entire unit’s weight comes just from the griddle top itself.

It takes two of us to be able to lift the griddle top off and put it back on due to its weight as well as its large size.

Burners

Underneath the griddle you will find four separate burners. The three burners on the right are straight tube burners. The burner furthest to the left is a u-shaped burner.

While it might seem odd to have one burner different than the others, the reason for this is most likely the fact that the drip cup shares this same corner of the unit and they’re both competing for the same space.

We have found that the fourth u-shaped burner does not perform quite the same as the others. I estimate this burner runs about 30% cooler than the rest of the unit.

While that may frustrate some, I found it quite easy to adapt to and even appreciated it in certain situations.

Typically I used the right side of the griddle for my high heat cooking and searing and utilized the left side as more of a warm zone. With the impressive surface area of this griddle, I rarely found myself wanting for more high heat real estate.

Now, would I love to have equal control across the entire griddle? Sure, but at this price point, I’m actually okay with the idea of saying that on the right-hand side is where I can get most of my heat, and on the left-hand side is where I do most of my warming and lighter tasks. But if you’re looking for a griddle that is completely even all the way across the top for all 30 plus inches, this probably isn’t the one for you. (However, this price point may not be for you either.)

Knobs

The knobs on the front are actually really weighty, and I personally like that. They have a nice silver color on the front, and they are very easy to turn and know exactly where they are.

This griddle actually has a non-electric lighter, which I found to be fascinating since most of the grills you see today operate off of a small battery.

Drip Cup

As I previously mentioned, this griddle comes with a drip cup located in the front left side of the unit. There is a small opening in the griddle top through which you can drain grease or other debris straight into this removable cup. In my opinion, this comes in particularly handy when the cooking is done and it’s time to clean the griddle top.

What To Cook On A Griddle Top?

One of our family favorites to make on our Pit Boss standard griddle is fried rice and hibachi vegetables. We’ll chop up some zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots and cook them until just tender on the griddle, adding a splash of soy sauce at the very end.

We also love to make smash burgers while sautéing onions, and toasting buttered buns.

When our family makes homemade pancakes, we typically make however many batches uses up the entire 1/2 gallon of buttermilk. (I think it’s about 5 batches resulting in approximately 120 pancakes). We then freeze what we don’t eat that day and then pop them in the toaster whenever the kids want pancakes. (Off topic, but the best way to eat toasted frozen waffles is with peanut butter on top.) Anyway, all that to say, that having this massive surface area drastically cut down on the amount of time it took to cook that many pancakes.

The griddle is great for making grilled cheese sandwiches or any type of grilled sandwich for that matter.

Grilled stuffed burritos and crunch wrap supremes are awesome on the griddle.

Really once you have a griddle you begin to realize just how many of your favorite foods can actually be prepared on this unit.

We have found that 748 square inches is a whole lot of cooking space to be
able to bring your culinary art to life.

Question of the day:

Do you have a griddle in your outdoor cooking setup?

If you don’t, what would you be looking for in a griddle?

If you were going to be adding one to your collection, let us know in
the comment section below as well as your thoughts on the new Pit Boss line of griddles that are new to the market.