Who wants pancakes?

June 4, 2012 10:03 AM

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be able to cook more than two pancakes at a time. Given that goal, I'm looking for recommendations for an electric griddle. What can you tell me about yours?

Looking for a countertop electric griddle that doesn't suck. My experience with them in the past is that they often have uneven heat across the surface.

Do you have one? Do you like it? Does it cook evenly across most of the surface?

Even heat and reliability are the main things I'm looking for. Easy clean up would be nice. Accurate temperature and not having to wait forever to achieve it are also important. Cost is less of an issue though I'm not sure I want to pay $300.00 for the All Clad model. Most of the rest seem to be < $100.00 or so.

Eight pancakes at a time! Can you imagine?

posted by bondcliff to home & garden (13 answers total)

If you are open to considering a stovetop model, I recommend the AllClad non-stick double griddle that fits over two stovetop burners. It works great on my electric stovetop but probably would be even better on gas. About $100. Size is 13x20, same as the countertop version.
posted by beagle at 10:19 AM on June 4, 2012

In 2009 Cook's Illustrated preferred this Broil King Professional Griddle, with perfect scores all across the board. They also liked something called the West Bend Cooltouch (which has been discontinued) and the Cuisinart Griddler (which is one that can close up for making sandwiches and such). They didn't test the All Clad, though—that's one of their go-to brands so maybe it just wasn't available then.
posted by bcwinters at 10:21 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

At the inexpensive end of the scale, I bought This Presto model from Target and really like it. I would stay away from the collapsible ones, all the floor models I saw were broken. I settled on this one because the heating element seemed to cover the griddle well when I flipped it over to take a look.
posted by Perthuz at 10:28 AM on June 4, 2012

I have the Griddler, which is great because I can use it to make pressed sandwiches, bacon and pancakes. I use it all the time. The heat seems to be even to me, the cleanup is easy, but it feels like it takes forever to heat up. This could be hunger distorting time measures, though.
posted by jeather at 10:29 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm with beagle. We've gone through a lot of countertop electric griddles, each one lasting about three years before the electronic control fried out. The last one, a leg broke off after about a year and so we kept a block of wood to prop up one end and kept using it until the control fried out. No more countertop griddles for me. I use a stovetop griddle and wonder why I didn't switch sooner.

Was tempted by the Lodge cast iron but went with this aluminum model for its lighter weight and maximum size. It heats up fast on my gas stove. It heats pretty evenly, now that I've learned how high to turn up the two different-sized burners underneath it. Easy to clean, easier to store than a countertop model. Heats up as fast as your stove does.

Just remember that the handles are actually part of the griddle and get hot. Doh.
posted by evilmomlady at 10:50 AM on June 4, 2012

Should have put it in the thread, but we've tried a couple of stove top models and they really don't work all that well with our stove.
posted by bondcliff at 10:58 AM on June 4, 2012

I've got a black & decker Waffle Iron from 10 years ago, and the metal plates that mold the waffles can be flipped over to the other side to make it a griddle, and you can, of course close it up to press sandwiches. It serves beautifully in waffle, griddle, and press "modes," but it's not quite perfect-- the heat is definitely a little weaker in the top element or plate compared to the bottom. I also live alone and tend to leave it in the cupboard until something calls it out, at which time I use the hell out of it for a few weeks and then put it away, so it's hard to say what its endurance and longevity are like exactly. I'm pretty confident that, if it broke, I'd get the same one or one just like it.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:28 AM on June 4, 2012

I just got the Griddler, and made my first batch of pancakes this weekend. It was fantastic! Both sides heated evenly, and clean up was a breeze. You can also get a waffle making plate for it, so then it's a griddle, a grill, a panini press and a waffle iron all in one!
posted by Arbac at 11:35 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was just going to say what Arbac said - we have the Griddler too. I think we tried it for pancakes once, then went back to the large shallow pan we have out of habit. But having the one tool for pressed sandwiches, waffles (yes, we got the waffle plates too) and burgers when it's not appropriate to grill outside.... very nice. Everything heats up evenly and has been doing so for the 4-5 years we've had it. We just gave one to our niece as a graduation/housewarming gift and she says it's amazing too. So this comment counts twice. :-)

As for Jeather's comment about it being slow... agreed, it's not instantaneous to heat up but it's reasonable.

Also, despite what it says in the instructions, don't use cooking spray on it. It's a pain to get it back off. I'm still scrubbing from the time I did it.
posted by neilbert at 11:46 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love my Cuisinart Griddler! I got it refurbished from woot.com or similar a couple of years ago. With three kids and a pancake-loving husband, I agree - making more than two at a time is a revelation! It definitely has some cool spots, but I am pretty good at pouring the batter where it needs to go.
posted by pyjammy at 11:54 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have the Cooks illustrated-recommended Broil King (or the current model, same same) and I LOVE IT. affordable (like, under $50 if I recall correctly), works beautifully, clean up is a snap. It does take a little longer than I'd prefer to heat up, but the trade off is great, even heat. We use it for pancakes, French toast, hamburgers, even the occasional steak. I highly recommend it and if you don't like it, it's not so expensive that you feel cheated.
posted by devinemissk at 2:24 PM on June 4, 2012

On review, I must have been mistaken about how much I paid for our Broil King, but it's still super affordable, especially if you have a coupon or wait for a sale on Amazon.
posted by devinemissk at 2:27 PM on June 4, 2012

Our family of 6 has been using the same Presto Tilt'nDrain for more than 5 years. It was reasonably priced and has held up to abuse by teenagers. The areas closest to the control knob are hotter than those further away but the heat is consistent enough for pancake-making purposes. It's easy to clean, too.
posted by 6thsense at 3:54 PM on June 4, 2012