USA Made electric griddle

Positives:
cooks very even, don't have to spray (good nonstick coating), made in USA

Negatives:
The bottom is not finished out as much as it should be. There are sharp edges that can cut you when washing by hand (b/c it's not going to fit in many dishwashers).

This griddle heats EVENLY. All pancakes brown the same. I need to allow approx. 10 minutes for this griddle to preheat, but it holds its temperature well. It's heavier than griddles from cheap department stores. The nonstick surface is superior. This griddle is large enough to cook an entire pound of bacon, yet the right size to mount underneath my kitchen cupboards for storage.

Excellent griddle. The non-stick surface is very durable, and the size allows me to complete cooking of pancakes or french toast for a family of four in no time, allowing us all to eat hot food at the same time.

Broil King Griddle

Unit performs very well, as advertized. Cavil: units heats more on side away from control unit. Will cook a pound of bacon very well. The optional tilt on the unit allows the fat to flow towards collection box. When cooking bacon, load the unit from the control unit towards the opposite end.

The best electric griddle I have ever owned.

little pricey

i bought this quickly out of necessity for a party that requested fried green tomatoes for 150 people. i chose it because it was the largest available. it did the trick but i have seen griddles since for a fraction of the cost. in the defense of this product, i haven't tried the less expensive models to compare quality/efficiency/durability...so this may be an amazing value....but my guess is that i could have bought 3 griddles from walmart for the same price to cook twice as much.

I'd read reviews of the product both on-line and in magazines and the comments were right on. The griddle is large enough to cook plenty of food so everyone can eat together at the same time. The temperature is constant across the griddle so food cooks evenly. The only downside is that so far there is a cold spot near the temperature probe. Maybe it needs longer to achieve temperature? Anyway, the griddle does what I wanted it to do. I'd recommend it to others.

Works well, but some faults

My first few batches of pancakes cooked on this griddle burned because I did not wait for the griddle temperature to reach an equilibrium. I had set it on about 350degF and started cooking when the griddle felt hot rather than when the light on the temperature plug went out. The griddle gets very hot at first, then cools down to the set temperature, at which point the light goes out. Once I realized I needed to wait for it to cool down (about 4-5 minutes), my cooking was fine. However, the end where the plug goes in is significantly cooler than the rest of the griddle. I usually cook pancakes or French toast, and the griddle fits eight at a time, which is great, though the two near the plug end require about 50% more time to finish cooking.

The paddles that flip under the rear legs to tilt the surface when cooking greasy foods--I cooked a full pound of bacon at once--work well.

The plastic handles loosened within a few weeks and started to wobble slightly. They are are not easily tightened back, but after four more months they do not seem to have gotten any worse.

Overall, I like the large cooking surface. I purchased at a lower price than the current (2/20/2007) price of $72, and with the faults it does not seem a good value above $50.

great griddle!

The griddle is great for pancakes, bacons and eggs. It's especially great for bacons since the griddle comes with a oil drainer. It cooks the bacons crisply and less oily. I've been looking for a nice size griddle and this is perfect! It's not too small like all other griddles in the market. This can cook for 6-7 people easily.

CON: The metal edges look bit unfinished leaving the edges bit sharp if I have kids around.

PROS: Everything except 1 CON above!

fantastic griddle

This is a great griddle. It is very large and works great. I did not find any hot spots or cold spots on it. Very easy to wash as well - can even put it in the dishwasher.

I ordered this and expected to receive it in a week or two. To my surprise, within 4 days of ordering, the grill was delivered to my door.

Like previous reviewers, I opted not too season the pan since I was cooking bacon, and I felt it was a step that was not needed. The only thing I've cooked on this is a pound of bacon which fit nicely. Had I cooked this in a pan it would have taken more time and more pans. The bacon cooked evenly, though the strips of bacon that were at the ends (by the handles) did not cook as quickly and had to be moved towards the center though it is not a problem being that the grill is very large.

The grease container is big which was nice in that there was quite a bit of grease from the bacon. Using the legs on the front of the grill helped to drain the grease away minimizing grease splatter.

I planned ahead since reviewers said it took a very long time to heat to temperature (15 minutes) maybe it was because I only had it set for 350 degrees, but it only took about 7 minutes and it was ready.

I would have given this a 5, but since the temperature by the handles was lower I gave it a 4. I would definitely recommend this grill.

Great product

Even cooking across whole unit. Great for cooking my pancakes for all my fishing buddies. I can get 8 across instead of 6, and they all cook evenly.

The absolute best product that I have bought

I love this griddle. It is the best product around. Easy for beginner cooks.

this griddle is a must have... Had bought one from target ( black and decker) it had hot and cold spots it was terrible to cook on... I tried one made in the usa( Broil king) and it cooks like a dream, thankyou for carrying this griddle..

The 27x13 Black Electric Griddle by Broil King is a great investment for those who live alone to those with large families, as well as those with a large kitchen to someone renting a room. The up side of getting one of these grittles, is the ease of cooking as well as cleaning. Hungry? Simple, cooks best between 250 & 300 degrees (F), so many things, grill cheese sandwiches, fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, cornbeef hash, stir fry vegetables, even just warming up left over pizza. Then there is the obvious like, hot dogs and hamburgers, chicken, pork chops, all so easy to cook on this grittle. When you're finished cooking cleaning is a snap, a matter of a little soap and water, rinse, wipe down, and clean out grease trap, done. The up and down side of the griddle is it's size; great for the amount and variety of foods that can be cooked with this grittle, while finding a suitable place and space to store it (when not in use), so that the coating on the grittle doesn't get damage may pose a challenge. The down side is that while cooking, there may be some spattering to clean, so cooking where there is a lot of things; a toaster, can opener, food processor, and etc., is not recommended. Also years ago, my mother owned a grittle very simular to this one although this one has a grease drain/trap, and my mom's didn't, the older models had thicker, more durable handles then what is used today. Unfortunately, I fear that if I were to drop the grittle (of course by accident), that the handles would not endure the impact without shattering. That is just an assumption on my part, the lightweight handles used today may be space age material, able to handle such an impact, but I doubt it. Over all I rate this product a 4 out of 5, for it's ease of setting up, cooking with, and cleaning. It lost 1 point for the splattering potential, and the (in my opinion) lack of thought and material used to design the handles. I would definately recommend this product as a fine addition to anyone's kitchen and cooking wares.

This product should be a staple in every kitchen. My family uses it to cook almost everything. Everytime I think about using a skillet, I end up using the griddle instead. It is so easy to clean, heats up quickly and evenly, and best of all, you don't have to use anything to prevent sticking.

Cooks breakfast nicely, but rough on fingers

After making pancakes in a frying pan for years, I was tired of it taking so long. This griddle is a good size for a small family, and really cut down on the required cooking time -- I can make eight pancakes at once, or cook pancakes and eggs and bacon all at the same time.

The griddle sits on a countertop and plugs into a standard outlet. The heating element is underneath the cooking surface. I have not noticed any problems with the heat distribution -- everything cooks at the same rate.

One warning: The bottom of the griddle is "unfinished", and there are burrs on the edges that were not removed after the casting process. This results in sharp spots that can catch your fingers when washing up, or taking the griddle out of a cabinet. However, this is not a problem during cooking or if I'm very careful -- which I am after getting a few scrapes!

I ordered this griddle after reading all of the comments posted on the site. Mine does not cook at an even temperature, from edge to edge as many have stated, but other than that I really like it. Once I figured out where the hot/not so hot spots were it was great. Now I can cook things and push them towards the edges to keep them warm without overcooking and I have a lot more space than I do when cooking on the stove. It's perfect for doing things like philly steak sandwiches. I can cook the peppers and onions in one spot, the meat in another and toast the bread all at once. Then I combine them with the cheese before compiling the sandwich. Perfect for a quick meal.

Overall performance is good, especially for the price. Heating is somewhat uneven however. The end of the grill nearest the plug does not get as hot as the rest of the grill.

I now know why Cooks Illustrated recommended this griddle! This thing is GREAT! It cooks rapidly and cleanly. The control has clearly marked temperature setting although I have not confirmed the accuracy of these.

I have used this for sausage links and patties, bacon, pancakes, fried eggs, chicken breasts, grilled cheese sandwiches, paninis, and burgers.
The non-stick surface cleans up in a flash. Most non-stick cookware seems to need some help by adding some oil but this thing handled bonless, skinless chicken breasts with no additional oil and no sticking. I am impressed. The cleanup afterwords was basically wiping it off with a damp cloth. We could ahve stopped there but soap is a good idea! ;) Thus, we chucked the whole thing and the sink and washed it. No muss no fuss.

The ability to raise the rear legs to drain the grease is a plus but don't try this with eggs. Run like you had thrown them at a wall. Artistic but not easy to flip. The greas drain hole could be a little bigger and I think the front edge should slope towrads the center to channel the grease better but a spatula/turner can do that manually.

I am amazed by the lack of grease splatter with this griddle. I have to use this on my counter near our breakfst bar and was worried we would greas all over the place after cooking with the griddle. That has not happened. There is some but much less that you would ahve in a skillet on the stove. I have no idea why other than the grease draining off better and not sitting on the cooking surface.

There are only three drawbacks to this griddle and ithey are minor ones. First, it takes a LONG time to heat up. This is due to the heavy gauge aluminum. The heavy aluminum retains heat and heats evenly but takes a ling time to get to temperature, The second is the power cord. It is probably only about 16-18 inches long. I would prefer a longer cord. I understand the concern about a longer cord maybe getting caught and pulling the griddle onto the floor but I also have a two kids under 5 and am not the least bit worried about this happening. The last drawback is cooking bacon. I did not have great luck with this on the griddle and will probably go back to using a skillet or the oven. I am sure this problem is more a reflection on my technique, my impatience, or the temp setting than it is of the griddle.

I cannot recommend this griddle strongly enough. It is awesome. I would not even think of buying a different one.