Flat top griddles

[Shorerider]

But here's one badass grill you should seriously look at...
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/52409-new-bbq/

 
Why thank you kindly TB.
 
It's a shame no one noticed my "creativity" in cooking the onions in my last post.
 
 
SR.

 

[grantmichaels]

 

[organic pepper]

I bought this one 15yrs ago and it works like a champ! Heavy as hell though. Solid cast steel. I run it straight to 5gal propane tank. Had to modify the intake from natural gas to propane.

 

 

[texas blues]

Have mercy.
 
That's serious old school with the slotted sliding air vents for tuning the flame.
 
And love the flipper style controls.
 
Hell yeah!

 

[texas blues]

Like I've said before y'all.
 
Flattop's & plancha's are the new revolution!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

LOL!
 
Go to a diner. Everything is cooked on the flattop.

 

[texas blues]

LOL!
 
Go to a diner. Everything is cooked on the flattop.

 
Si senor.
 
And therein lies the epiphany.
 
For many joints it is the cooking heart of the restaurant.
 
After cooking on them for over 30+ years it only hit me in the last couple years....
 
Why don't I have one at home?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I only wish diners would know when not to use it, lol.

 

[Rymerpt]

Give me two spats. I used to be able to flap some jacks back in my Navy days.

Oh and we would time eachother cracking a case of eggs for scrambled egg mix. I could crack 4 eggs at a time. WHOOT

 

[texas blues]

Give me two spats. I used to be able to flap some jacks back in my Navy days.

Oh and we would time eachother cracking a case of eggs for scrambled egg mix. I could crack 4 eggs at a time. WHOOT

 
Your service is most appreciated swabby!
 
Crackin' 4 eggs at a time?
 
I can do 2 at a time.
 
That kicks my ass fo' sho'.
 
Too bad the new so called TV chef's have no clue how its really done.
 
Like them and most coming out of culinary schools these days....
 
They can't boil water without burning the pot.

 

[Rymerpt]

It was two in each hand

 

[SmokenFire]

I only wish diners would know when not to use it, lol.

 
What foods do you dislike when cooked on a flat top?  

 

[The Hot Pepper]

What foods do you dislike when cooked on a flat top?

Okay one example... omelets and scrambled eggs should always be cooked in pan. Especially omelets. On a flat top the egg spreads out and doesn't stop until it is too thin, and you have to use a spatula to form the omelet instead using good pan technique.
 
HATE flattop omelets. But you simply can't avoid them at a diner. 

 

[grantmichaels]

 
What foods do you dislike when cooked on a flat top?  

 
I thought hard when he posted that, myself ...
 
It's fish for me, though - and it would be anything else (that I'm not stressing my lizard brain to conjure up right now) where I don't want the heaviness or taste of 'grease' in it ...
 
Unlike well-seasoned CI, there's not equally effective non-stick capability on SS without lube, that I'm aware of ...
 
While nothing I have binds to the steel - in the sense that I can scrape it off once crisped - things definitely do stick in my experience. Stick badly, too, I''ll add.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

What's the worst is when you get an onion or garlic taste in your pancakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Yes and that grease. The flattop is not good for sweet, mostly savory. Unless you have one at home... you wouldn't dare make steak fajitas and then pancakes lol... you have time to clean it properly. But at diners you eat what's been cooked all day. 

I'm big into the right tool for the job, meaning the right pans and pots and grills for these foods. The flattop is used for everything at a diner. But that's why it's a diner. Diner food is its own thing. 

 

[grantmichaels]

The smell of breaking down the line and steaming the griddles is only mildly better than the smell of the trap in back ...
 
In all honesty, each time they try to clean the griddle during the middle of service the place stinks and people wring their noses for a few minutes ...
 
Griddles are awesome, and kind of nasty at once ... like deep fryers.
 
I love/hate them all.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

It's why diners are called "Greasy Spoons."
 
"Greasy Flattop" might be more appropriate.  

 

[grantmichaels]

Seriously, I'm almost gagging ...
 
Like an attack of PTSD from cleaning the brick color rubber mats in the stall shower in the alley ...

 

[SmokenFire]

 
It's fish for me, though - and it would be anything else (that I'm not stressing my lizard brain to conjure up right now) where I don't want the heaviness or taste of 'grease' in it ...
 

 
Ok so I just liked your and pookie's posts but I don't totally agree with you both.  A well seasoned and properly maintained flat top grill will cook any and everything as well as the person using it can cook.  At the right temp eggs don't run too thin, they hit the FT and spread only as far as they start to cook.  IMO over easy eggs are easiest on the flat top because there's no curve of the pan to get in the way of the spat.  I'll agree that omelets aren't picture perfect half circle awesomeness, but I'll take a burrito shaped 3 egg-er anytime, especially with grilled onions/shrooms and american cheese.  
 
The problem that I've experienced first hand on the line is the stack of weekend breakfast orders that really does overwhelm one's ability to keep the grill clean and fill orders in a timely fashion.  That's why you'll have pancakes redolent of onion or peppers, and that's why your potatoes or hash might come out greasy-er than would otherwise be the norm.  TB said it well; flat tops are the heart of most kitchens.  

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Not my favorite appliance. Omelets, I need from an omelet pan... and that is my biggest complaint, as posted. Also for the perfect scrambled egg, the flattop is going to be too hot unless you are at home like TB. From a pan for me, and diners don't do it. But good restaurants do. And they turn off the heat in the end. Just ask Danielle about her perfect eggs!
 
It may be a Swiss Army Knife but sometimes I need a tool that does one thing great, not many things good.