My husband had wanted a Blackstone Griddle from the moment we watched a chef use one at our first Teppanyaki dining experience. The large cooking surface, the ease of cooking multiple food groups on one surface and the quick clean up- we were sold! We haven’t regretted it yet, I’d even venture to say that we do half of our summer cooking on the Blackstone. I love watching the kids play outside while I’m making dinner- it is one of my favorite parts of summer. There is a slight learning curve that comes with cooking on flat top surface, but luckily there are tools that can make it so much easier. Let me show you my favorites!

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Must Have Tools
Of course you’ll need to have a Blackstone first, but if you haven’t gotten one yet, I highly recommend getting the biggest size you can. I’ve never heard anyone regret getting the largest size, but I have heard many people regret getting one too small. We love our 36″ Blackstone Griddle.
These are the things you really need to make your flat top griddle experience easy. Without them, things can get messy! I’ve found that there is a learning curve for using a flat top cooking surface but once you figure it out it is very simple to maintain. Our Blackstone fried rice is a weekly staple meal in our home, which is nice because Teppanyaki or Hibachi with the family can get expensive!
1. Blackstone Signature Spatula Set (or something similar)
- Why It Works: Flattop surfaces need wide and flat spatulas for flipping, moving and scraping.
- Pro Tip: You’ll use these just about every time you cook, so you’ll want a few!
- Price Range: $15-$30
2. Griddle Scraper
- Why It Works: You’ll need to scrape the griddle after every cook and often in between food groups.
- Pro Tip: If using one without a handle you might want to invest in heat resistant gloves, your fingers get pretty close to the cooking surface otherwise. If you are steaming while scraping the steam will get hot.
- Price Range: $10-$20
3. Squeeze Bottles
- Why It Works: We use these for a variety of reasons so having a few on hand is helpful. You’ll want to dedicate one forwater and one for oil. The water helps steam foods and it also steams the surface for easy cleanup and sanitization after cooking. You’ll use oil regularly on your griddle to keep it seasoned.
- Pro Tip: Don’t store these next to your griddle! The heat comes out of the sides of the griddle and we have ruined a few bottles keeping them close by.
- Price Range: $8-$15
4. Grease Cup Liners
- Why It Works: I’ll admit- I was opposed to these for a few years. I don’t like spending money on disposable items when I can avoid it. However, cleaning the grease trap wore on me and I decided I don’t like doing it! So now I spend the money on the liners so cleanup is easy!
- Pro Tip: Make sure you know the size of your grease cup before ordering liners. The older models have slightly different sizing than newer models.
- Price Range: $15

Breakfast and Brunch Favorites
Breakfast foods are my favorite to cook on the griddle. The large surface allows me to cook bacon, eggs and pancakes all on one surface. Cleanup is easy and breakfast is ready fast!
1. Egg Rings
- Why It Works: Egg rings help contain the eggs into a small circle, it is perfect for making breakfast sandwiches or even just keeping the eggs in neat shapes. You can also purchase other shapes as well!
- Pro Tip: Make sure to put some oil on the egg ring so it doesn’t stick!
- Price Range:
2. Basting Cover/Melting Dome
- Why It Works: The dome goes over the food and helps trap heat and steam to cook faster and melt cheese.
- Pro Tip: If steaming, squirt a bit of water onto the food prior to placing the dome on top. Keep and eye when melting cheese, with the dome it melts fast!
- Price Range:$18-$25
3. Pancake Batter Dispenser
- Why It Works: Hand mix the batter right in the dispenser and avoid messy pouring.
- Pro Tip: Skip the actual dispenser and get a mixer! We mix everything and pour out of the same container for ease.
- Price Range: $17-$30

Cooking Accessories
There are not necessary accessories, but can make cooking even easier! However, wind guards might be a necessity based on where your Blackstone is kept and your geographical location. The rest of the items in this list can be helpful for cooking in general, not just on your Blackstone!
1. Burger Press
- Why It Works: When making smash burgers pressing the burger flat right away is essential and this product is the perfect size and shape to make it work.
- Pro Tip: Spray the press with cooking oil or place parchment paper on top of the meat and press.
- Price Range: $15-$30
2. Taco Holder Rack
- Why It Works: When making multiple tacos this helps speed up the process by giving the tacos somewhere to rest while you load up the fillings.
- Pro Tip: Keep a few racks on hand and you can serve the tacos directly on the rack to avoid the tacos spilling over.
- Price Range: $15-$40
3. Wind Guard
- Why It Works: If you have your Blackstone in a windy location, these are a lifesaver for keeping the heat consistent!
- Pro Tip: You’ll only need these if your Blackstone is regularly exposed to direct breeze/wind.
- Price Range: $20-$25
4. Infrared thermometer
- Why It Works: When searing it is helpful to know the temperature of your griddle surface. We use an infrared thermometer to know exactly when our Blackstone is ready to sear.
- Pro Tip: Use this for cooking inside too. Sometimes when it is just too chilly to cook outside I will heat up my cast iron skillet and use the infrared thermometer to know when the cast iron is hot enough to sear steaks.
- Price Range:$18-$22
5. Griddle cart or side shelf
- Why It Works: You’ll want a dedicated surface near your Blackstone for prep, holding ingredients and tools. Having extra prep space saves you time from going back and forth to the kitchen.
- Pro Tip: Keeping plastic items on the shelf next to the griddle can melt the plastic!
- Price Range: $50-$200

Cleanup and Maintenance
I clean my griddle before and after every use. After cooking, I heat everything back up on high, get the surface hot and then turn off the heat. I’ll scrape all the food particles off and then squirt water over the entire surface to loosen any stuck on bits. Be careful with this part- you’ll want to avoid steam burns! I give the surface another scrape once everything is steamed and if it was messy I’ll repeat this part (remember, the steam also helps sanitize). Finish with a thin coat of oil, wiping away an excess. Before I cook on the griddle again, I repeat the last steps: heat it up, squirt water to sanitize with steam, and a thin coat of oil.
1. Griddle Mat
- Why It Works: While the Blackstone cover does a great job of keeping things clean I’ve found that the use of a silicone mat gives it even more protection as the grease drain can give access to insects, rodents, dust and debris. The mat acts as a barrier and keeps the surface clean underneath.
- Pro Tip: If you only use your Blackstone seasonally use this mat to “close it up for the season”, give your Blackstone a very thin coat of oil and use the mat to protect it from rusting.
- Price Range: $22-$28
2. Seasoning oil or grease
- Why It Works: This works well for vegetarians or people who simply do not want to deal with the mess of pouring avocado oil on their griddle surface. Blackstone uses a formula of plant-based oils that come in a handy jar to season and condition your griddle top.
- Pro Tip: When we first got our griddle we seasoned with avocado oil and it was recommended by Blackstone enthusiasts that we cook bacon on it right after seasoning. The bacon grease gives great flavoring as well as helps ensure every part of the griddle was seasoned.
- Price Range: $22
3. Griddle Cleaning Kit
- Why It Works: This kit includes everything you could possibly need for cleaning and maintaining your griddle.
- Pro Tip: Small rust spots will generally scrape right off, but for bigger spots you made need to gently use a pumice stone, just make sure to re-season after.
- Price Range: $22
To get started with your Blackstone griddle you really only need a way to season it (you can use avocado oil or any high smoke point oil), a scraper and spatula.
Spatulas, squeeze bottles and scrapers are all standard. But you’ll want to check your model number before buying mats, grease cup liners, and wind guards.
Use a high smoke point oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil. or Crisco. If in doubt, Blackstone also makes their own seasoning oil. The key is to use thin layers of oil and completely burn off each layer until smoke is clear.
Try Some of Our Favorite Blackstone Recipes

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