What's cooking on your FlatRock or Griddle today? 🥞🥓🍔

[MidwestSmoker]

Browned some 80/20 chuck for lasagna tonight on my griddle…..not necessary, but just wanted to do it outside and wanted to get some fat down on it. Probably will not post finished product as it’ll be cooked via the oven.

I do the same thing, as my Blackstone is such a champ at browning anything (try browning some onions for topping burgers!). Also, for the final baking step of lasagnas (or any casserole) I use my Weber grill in summer. Setting all the burners to low nicely maintains the temperature at around 350 degrees on my grill.

 

[CMTiger]

I do the same thing, as my Blackstone is such a champ at browning anything (try browning some onions for topping burgers!). Also, for the final baking step of lasagnas (or any casserole) I use my Weber grill in summer. Setting all the burners to low nicely maintains the temperature at around 350 degrees on my grill.

I cook lasagna covered for the first ~1.5 hours and then remove foil to let the cheese brown for like 15 minutes. Seems pointless to me to not use the oven. Plus….weather.

I’ve done onions a few times on my griddle when doing Smashburgers. I actually like to do them separately, move to the side, then after the initial flip top with onions before cheesing them. So far I’ve preferred this to smashing them with the burger

 

[RayClem]

I do the same thing, as my Blackstone is such a champ at browning anything (try browning some onions for topping burgers!). Also, for the final baking step of lasagnas (or any casserole) I use my Weber grill in summer. Setting all the burners to low nicely maintains the temperature at around 350 degrees on my grill.

Have you tried the lasagna on your Traeger? If not, consider doing so. It adds some smokey goodness. I love the taste of pizza cooked on the Traeger; I am pretty sure the lasagna would be great as well. Just set the cook temperature (not the controller) for 350F on the Traeger. For pizza, you need to go 400F or higher.

 

[MidwestSmoker]

Have you tried the lasagna on your Traeger? If not, consider doing so. It adds some smokey goodness. I love the taste of pizza cooked on the Traeger; I am pretty sure the lasagna would be great as well. Just set the cook temperature (not the controller) for 350F on the Traeger. For pizza, you need to go 400F or higher.

Haven't tried lasagna on the Traeger, maybe next time.

As for pizza, definitely not on the Traeger. I have an Ooni pizza oven that can comfortably and quickly hit 950 degrees and that's what I use. I also make all my pizzas doughs from scratch and you need a dedicated pizza oven if you are serious about pizza.

Chicago style thin crust pizza last week:

 

[EDC-Trainer]

Do we have any Flatrock owners yet?

Just found this. One week owner of a new Flatrock. Glad I found this.

 

[EDC-Trainer]

Is this the only running page for Flatrock owners? Was all I have seen so far.

 

[EDC-Trainer]

Going to throw some opinions/thoughts on my Flatrock out here to see how I compare to others. I bought mine through a local business, furniture and appliances and a lifelong family business. They are a Gold Dealer for Traeger and I bought a fully assembled Flatrock from them. Was a little surprised at the instructions in the owners manual saying to season using either paper towels or rags. Do not use paper towels as I used quality Bounty and the first group on the end of the tongs almost lit on fire. Rags were melting and burning as well. Finally had to really lower the temps to get some oil to spread and burn off. I then cooked 1.5 lbs of Kirkland Thick Bacon and like an idiot walked away to do something and by the time I got back they were burned beyond recognition. Finally got some to cook perfectly when I got some advice from a guy off Reddit. Funny thing is I called customer service about the seasoning issues and the guy said to not use paper towels. When I told him this is what it says one can use per the manual he was stumped. I've since learned they know more about the grills than the griddles. I store my griddle in the garage and I prefer to roll it out to the driveway which is asphalt. I can griddle in the garage at the open doors near the drive but prefer to go outside. There is a 1/2 in lip going down from the garage to the drive to help keep water out. A standard feature for most garages. When I try to roll the griddle back in the leading wheels hit the lip and stop the unit and I saw the legs bend in a little on one attempt. I have to wait for the griddle to really cool down and use my upper body with two bad shoulders and lift it over the lip. Traeger said they have no wheels to replace these that are larger and would do a better job. So now I am trying to figure this out. The Gold Dealer is also looking into it as well. The dealer has direct access to Traeger due to his status and he said he agrees that customer service knows nothing about the Flatrock as it is still so new. I give the griddle a B- for now until I can get the wheels figured out. I like what I am seeing cooking wise although I have done limited cooking for now. Tried Smash Burgers and I gave myself a C- on the job I did but my wife liked them, a lot.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Going to throw some opinions/thoughts on my Flatrock out here to see how I compare to others. I bought mine through a local business, furniture and appliances and a lifelong family business. They are a Gold Dealer for Traeger and I bought a fully assembled Flatrock from them. Was a little surprised at the instructions in the owners manual saying to season using either paper towels or rags. Do not use paper towels as I used quality Bounty and the first group on the end of the tongs almost lit on fire. Rags were melting and burning as well. Finally had to really lower the temps to get some oil to spread and burn off. I then cooked 1.5 lbs of Kirkland Thick Bacon and like an idiot walked away to do something and by the time I got back they were burned beyond recognition. Finally got some to cook perfectly when I got some advice from a guy off Reddit. Funny thing is I called customer service about the seasoning issues and the guy said to not use paper towels. When I told him this is what it says one can use per the manual he was stumped. I've since learned they know more about the grills than the griddles. I store my griddle in the garage and I prefer to roll it out to the driveway which is asphalt. I can griddle in the garage at the open doors near the drive but prefer to go outside. There is a 1/2 in lip going down from the garage to the drive to help keep water out. A standard feature for most garages. When I try to roll the griddle back in the leading wheels hit the lip and stop the unit and I saw the legs bend in a little on one attempt. I have to wait for the griddle to really cool down and use my upper body with two bad shoulders and lift it over the lip. Traeger said they have no wheels to replace these that are larger and would do a better job. So now I am trying to figure this out. The Gold Dealer is also looking into it as well. The dealer has direct access to Traeger due to his status and he said he agrees that customer service knows nothing about the Flatrock as it is still so new. I give the griddle a B- for now until I can get the wheels figured out. I like what I am seeing cooking wise although I have done limited cooking for now. Tried Smash Burgers and I gave myself a C- on the job I did but my wife liked them, a lot.

You really need to do research prior to doing things. You are likely to have seasoning issues. Better watch several seasoning videos and I would suspect cleaning videos are going to be helpful. Pro tip number one, use grape seed or avocado oil. Pro tip two, do at least 6 more layers to start. Pro tip 3 learn to cook on lower temps. You should almost never cook on high and much of your cooking should be on low to medium low.
Good luck!

 

[EDC-Trainer]

I did a lot of research in setting this up. Had already planned on 6 rounds of seasoning. I use Avocado oil. I was surprised at how rough the surface was of the carbon steel surface and how much of the rag was being left behind but it has improved already. I've seasoned my cast iron in the kitchen for years so was used to that. I look forward to cooking more on this Traeger. Just need to figure out this situation with the wheels and getting it in/out of the garage.

 

[RayClem]

Paper, such as towel paper, has a char point is somewhere between 424- 480F, depending upon the type of paper. Typically, it won't ignite until it gets to 480F.

100% cotton rags if untreated will char at a temperature similar to paper as both are essentially cellulose. If you use cloth treated with a flame retardant (such as that used for baby clothes), then the char point might be higher.

Another alternative is pure flax linen fabric that has a higher char point than cotton. Polyamide fabrics like Kevlar and Nomex have very high melting points. Nomex can tolerate up to 660F; that is why it is the fabric of choice for firefighter clothing. Kevlar is even more heat resistant.

While leather is often used for welder gloves and aprons, it cannot withstand temperatures any higher than cotton.

If your rags melted, it sounds like they were made of polyester rather than cotton. Many cleaning cloths these days are sold as microfiber which is cloth made of very fine strands of polyester. They are great for many uses, but conditioning a griddle surface is not one of them. Microfiber begins to melt at 140F; it cannot stand the heat.. Microfiber should not be used around a grill or griddle.

When seasoning a griddle, it is not necessary to have all the burners turned to high. You only need to heat the griddle to the smokepoint of the oil you are using. I use peanut oil which has a smoke point of 450F.The smoke point of Avocado oil is around 500F, which is above the ignition point of paper.

You do not need to apply oil to the griddle after it has already reached smoke point temperature. You can apply a thin layer of oil at a lower temperature and then raise the surface temperature until the oil starts to smoke. When the oil stops smoking, that layer has polymerized and it is time to allow the griddle to cook down to a more moderate temperature to apply another thin layer of oil.

 

[CMTiger]

I tell you what…..most of the instructions have you fire up the griddle on high and leave it there throughout the seasoning process…..I had the same issue as you when I tried this. They weren’t catching fire but were as Ray said….charring. What I ended up doing is putting a coat on, firing up the griddle till burn off, then shutting it down until it was cool though for me to reapply a seasoning to it. Then repeat that process several times. I was able to get a better and more even cost of oil on this way IMO. In webers defense, which is the griddle I have, they more or less suggested this method but I sided with YouTube nation like an idiot and went my own way. My griddle can get up to 600+ so it was destroying the paper towels…..I didn’t even turn it on high the last few rounds and it easily burned in the seasoning

 

[RayClem]

I tell you what…..most of the instructions have you fire up the griddle on high and leave it there throughout the seasoning process…..I had the same issue as you when I tried this. They weren’t catching fire but were as Ray said….charring. What I ended up doing is putting a coat on, firing up the griddle till burn off, then shutting it down until it was cool though for me to reapply a seasoning to it. Then repeat that process several times. I was able to get a better and more even cost of oil on this way IMO. In webers defense, which is the griddle I have, they more or less suggested this method but I sided with YouTube nation like an idiot and went my own way. My griddle can get up to 600+ so it was destroying the paper towels…..I didn’t even turn it on high the last few rounds and it easily burned in the seasoning

Absolutely, unless you have access to Nomex cloth, anything else you try to use is going to char or even ignite if your griddle gets up to 600F.

I have seen one video that suggested that using a high smoke point oil is not necessary. What provides the non-stick seasoning property is the polymer that is left behind after the oil oxidizes. That video recommended using flax seed oil when has a smoke point of only 225F. It it not suitable for use as a cooking oil as it won't reach the temperatures needed for cooking. Flax seed oil also has a strong aroma which is not ideal for cooking. However, that does not mean that it cannot be used for seasoning the griddle surface.

Flax seed oil is also known as linseed oil, a dryng oil used for furniture finishing. However, do not use furniture grade linseed oil as a substitute for food grade flax seed oil for seasoning your griddle. As you cook on your griddle, pieces of griddle seasoning end up in your food, so you want to make sure everything used on your griddle is food grade.

 

[EDC-Trainer]

Paper, such as towel paper, has a char point is somewhere between 424- 480F, depending upon the type of paper. Typically, it won't ignite until it gets to 480F.

100% cotton rags if untreated will char at a temperature similar to paper as both are essentially cellulose. If you use cloth treated with a flame retardant (such as that used for baby clothes), then the char point might be higher.

Another alternative is pure flax linen fabric that has a higher char point than cotton. Polyamide fabrics like Kevlar and Nomex have very high melting points. Nomex can tolerate up to 660F; that is why it is the fabric of choice for firefighter clothing. Kevlar is even more heat resistant.

While leather is often used for welder gloves and aprons, it cannot withstand temperatures any higher than cotton.

If your rags melted, it sounds like they were made of polyester rather than cotton. Many cleaning cloths these days are sold as microfiber which is cloth made of very fine strands of polyester. They are great for many uses, but conditioning a griddle surface is not one of them. Microfiber begins to melt at 140F; it cannot stand the heat.. Microfiber should not be used around a grill or griddle.

When seasoning a griddle, it is not necessary to have all the burners turned to high. You only need to heat the griddle to the smokepoint of the oil you are using. I use peanut oil which has a smoke point of 450F.The smoke point of Avocado oil is around 500F, which is above the ignition point of paper.

You do not need to apply oil to the griddle after it has already reached smoke point temperature. You can apply a thin layer of oil at a lower temperature and then raise the surface temperature until the oil starts to smoke. When the oil stops smoking, that layer has polymerized and it is time to allow the griddle to cook down to a more moderate temperature to apply another thin layer of oil.

Wishing I had read advice like this prior to trying to season it. I definitely do not use microfiber towels. The rags were a bagful purchased from Lowe's so it likely had some poly in it vs all cotton. I believe the Traeger manual said to turn to high then to season but I've learned this is not very accurate. Living and learning here for sure. One thing I am trying to confirm is the need to always have the lid open when preheating or cooking (Flatrock) while Blackstone advises it is fine to close the lid for better heat retention. I realize it is two separate products but it's odd they differ here.

 

[EDC-Trainer]

Now for the big one for me. Testing this Flatrock out by next cooking a steak. I am a lover of Ribeye but the wife is not with all the marbling. Can't help her lack of good tastes. She likes a good Sirloin with the flavor and minimal fat. Would love to get a nice char with of course a hot pink center in the steak. I have a nice 8.5 in cast iron bacon press I can use for weight on the steak if needed. Suggestions?

 

[RayClem]

Wishing I had read advice like this prior to trying to season it. I definitely do not use microfiber towels. The rags were a bagful purchased from Lowe's so it likely had some poly in it vs all cotton. I believe the Traeger manual said to turn to high then to season but I've learned this is not very accurate. Living and learning here for sure. One thing I am trying to confirm is the need to always have the lid open when preheating or cooking (Flatrock) while Blackstone advises it is fine to close the lid for better heat retention. I realize it is two separate products but it's odd they differ here.

According to their web site, Lowes does sell some rags made of poly cotton. Polyester melts easily; cotton will not melt, but will char at a temperature similar to paper.

Some griddles are designed to allow the lid to be closed for short periods of time for such things as melting cheese. My CharGriller Flat Iron griddle comes with a double layer lid that supposedly allows this to be done. However, I do not think that trapping heat inside the griddle is ideal, so I always open the lid before igniting the griddle and close it again only after the griddle has cooled. I purchased an inexpensive heat dome to place over things like potatoes and vegetables while cooking to allow either an oven type chamber or a steaming type chamber. It also works great for melting cheese.

Cooking takes place quite rapidly on a griddle surface, so I cannot imaging trying to cook for even a few minutes without being able to observe what is occurring on the griddle surface.