How To Buy The Best Commercial Electric Griddle?
Have you ever tried to count how many cooking appliances do you have in your kitchen? I guess most of you would own at least some of these items: pan, glass top stove, smoker and grill combo, commercial pasta cooker or commercial soup pot or commercial fryer. They are all the very essential cookware but don’t you think that something is missing? If you don’t notice, I must say that your kitchen is missing the Best Commercial Electric Griddle. The reasons why are about to be shown right now when you roll down to the next parts.
What is a Commercial Electric Griddle?
A Commercial Electric Griddle is a convenient kitchen appliance that allows you to plug in and set on the countertop to cook with a smooth, large and nonstick cooking surface and temperature control. Electric griddles can be used to cook a variety of food for multiple people at the same time so they are quite portable and easy to use.
What Factors Make A Good Commercial Electric Griddle?
Maybe you are wondering how to know to buy a good one when you don’t even fully understand what common factors that a griddle often has. Therefore, this part will answer your questions about what factors you should care when purchasing your own cooking tool.
#1 Cost
Pricing range of commercial griddles can fluctuate from about $300 for a classic model with a smaller size to over $5000 for a higher standard model with additional features, better material, a larger surface area. If you want to run a commercial restaurant, you might consider Drop-in or Teppanyaki griddles. But for family use, a countertop may be the better choice, especially if your budget is low.
#2 Size
Of course, you must ensure that how much space available for a griddle in your family kitchen or in a commercial kitchen. Suppose that your restaurant’s main dishes are not cooked on griddles so you have to spend more spaces for other cooking appliances such as stovetop, oven than for a Teppyaniky griddle. You can choose a built-in or countertop griddle for saving more space and this also guarantees that you will not pay a large amount of money for unnecessary griddles.
#3 Plate thickness
Think about if you get a commercial electric griddle for cooking items that will take time to warm up, such as frozen meats, so you might invest in a griddle with a thicker plate. Griddle plates often have three sizes of thickness from ½ inch, ¾ inch and 1-inch thickness.
However, for the purpose of cooking breakfast items, brunches or snacks such as eggs, pancakes or only to warm up foods (commercial food warmers may be more ideal to purchase than griddles), the thinner plates may be the best choice for your kitchen. I recommend you to buy a thick-plate griddle because it can handle to cook special foods better and store more heat than a thin-plate one, less time and perfect result.
Top 5 Commercial Electric Skillet in 2022
#1 Waring Commercial WGR140 Electric Griddle
With up to 77% of customers vote 5 stars for Waring, it is so easy to understand why I put it in the first place of the list. Waring is a countertop griddle that is constructed of stainless steel material. This material guarantees the durability and reliability of a commercial electric griddle. Not even one customer complains about whether its plate is sticky or not due to the reason that nothing seems to stick and you just need a soft cloth to remove the grease when cleaning the griddle. As well as, the even heat distribution of Waring’s cooking surface is great for from eggs, toasts to vegetables and chickens or pancakes. The ⅜ inch thick cooking surface is very nice to cook evenly and fairly your breakfast foods and will not take so much time.
An additional advantage of Waring griddle is that it has an extra tall splash guard with a tapered front end that protects against grease and spills. This function is highly appreciated because it reduces your cleaning work around the griddles if grease is not be spilled out your cooking area. Moreover, the Waring griddle is equipped with an 11-inch completely removable grease tray that can be easily dumped and cleaned up independently.
#2 Presto 07061 Electric Griddle
Presto brand has some electric griddles showed in the list of customers’ favorite griddles and one of the highlights is Presto 07061. This griddle has a premium nonstick surface that helps your cooking and cleaning time be easier.
Comparing to the size of Waring, Presto has a larger surface area (much larger than commercial baking pans) so you can cook more foods at the same time for the entire family. This griddle also is designed with a slide-out drip tray and handles that are easily removed, cleaned and stored. Besides, a control master control maintains temperature automatically but not completely even, you might find the hot and hotter areas in the plate for cooking food perfectly. With a one-year warranty, your commercial electric griddle will be newly replaced if there are any broken parts because of the manufacturer’s fault.
However, during the using time, some customer complain about the nonstick malfunction of the surface and warp coming off. It’s a bit troubling. With the removable handles as well as the grease tray, maybe they can go in the commercial kitchen sinks, but the cooking plate will be a challenge for you because it is quite large. And due to this type of size, this plate does not fit a cabinet that is under 18 inches, so consider to store your griddle in an 18-inch cabinet and beyond. Another disadvantage of Presto griddle is the material of the drip tray. It is made of plastic and seems to be cheap and easy to break, so it had recognition of the broken tray after some uses from customers.
#3 Hamilton Beach 38518R Ceramic Griddle
Hamilton Beach Griddle has a very large cooking surface, 200 square inches that make enough room for all your favorite foods at the same time. This surface is equipped with a ceramic nonstick coating so it is more durable than the traditional coatings up to 4 times, don’t worry about cracking or peeling. I have to compliment the intelligent design of Hamilton Beach griddle with the removable drip tray under the cooking plate, it saves more spaces and will make you feel the griddle cleaner than the tray that is designed on the two sides of other electric griddles such as Preston or Waring. The temperature range is from 200 to 400 degrees F and you will see it simple to adjust and get used to.
Though it has some highlight pros, there still have complaints about the true quality of Hamilton Beach griddle. After a specific time, maybe not beyond 1 year, the nonstick surface needs to be replaced due to some serious cases of the sticky plate. This is considered to change the initial color of the surface.
#4 BELLA 14606 Copper Titanium Electric Griddles
Bella electric griddle is definitely a good griddle with a suitable size for your little family that has a smaller surface than the three griddles above. The Bella uses a nonstick coating like others but it is reinforced with titanium that is stronger, faster and more durable than typical cooking items.
Moreover, the griddle also has excellent temperature control which is tested by the thermometer. The temperature range can reach up to 850 degrees in a short time which allows your burnt food to release easier and cleaner than the original nonstick coating. For cleansers, you just need soapy water with a soft cloth to remove grease and to be easier, heat up your griddle in 450 degrees in 5 minutes and then let it cool, your grease will be eliminated.
However, the heat distribution of this Bella griddle is recorded to be uneven. Not the way I explain about the hot and hotter spots on the plate, the center is always the hottest but sometimes, when you cook the same kind of food like bacon on two opposite edges, one will be fully cooker sooner and one is later, may bother you a little.
#5 Broil King PCG-10 Portable Griddle
Broil King Griddle has a simple design with a nonstick coating as usual and it is covered by a stainless steel backsplash behind the griddle to avoid fat spilling. This brand also has a removable grease tray, immersible base with a temperature probe removed like others. This very sturdy drip tray will catch liquids perfectly. The Broil King griddle allows you to turn up the heat up to 400 degrees F while the stainless steel handles are still cool to hold, avoid burning your hands. Its dimensions are 13x29x6 in so it has the largest surface in the top 5 commercial electric griddles.
May some customers find the backsplash guard is helpful and necessary but some illustrates that it is very unstable and does not completely attach to the griddle. If you are not careful, you might get burn when touching to it. A minus point of Broil King griddle is that the surface is not totally flat as others, seems to be challenging especially if you pour the pancake batter into the plate. As well as, when using a thermometer to test the actual temperature inside the surface, there appears a temperature range between them.
What Benefits can a Commercial Electric Griddle bring?
Before you decide to buy something, it must bring to you some benefits that you need or meet your demands, therefore, in this part, I will mention the advantages of using a commercial electric griddle.
#1 Completely Flat and Large Surface
Like I said earlier, this electric griddle has a very flat surface and a large surface area so you can cook larger amounts of foods with different types for many people at the same time which might not be available in other cooking items. The flat surface also makes some particular dishes such as egg roll easier than ever.
#2 Even Heating
Comparing to frying pans or glass top stoves, they usually have some cooler or hotter spots in their cooking area, the commercial electric griddles have nicer and more even heat allowing your food to be processed perfectly.
#3 Freeing up the stove
How is it the best if you can plug in the electric griddle on the counter so this could free up your stovetop for preparing and cooking other foods for more people. This advantage plays an important role as a commercial food warmers for a big meal like Thanksgiving when you have to warm up many side dishes.
#4 Easy to clean up
The electric griddle is equipped with the nonstick coating that keeps food from sticking, you can simply soak the item and wipe off the grease with a soft clean cloth. This appliance is considered not taking so much effort or tools for you to clean, so don’t worry if it may bother you. You may need a commercial kitchen sink to make cleaning easier.
How to Classify Commercial Electric Griddle?
Commercial Electric Griddle is divided into 3 main types of griddles. They are classified mainly according to using purposes for family or business.
#1 Commercial Countertop Griddle
This countertop griddle is a convenient choice for any family’s kitchen that firstly didn’t have the intention to buy a griddle and also doesn’t have any special space to place it. With the countertop commercial griddle, you can place it on spots such as a countertop or table or anything that close to the power outlet. Besides, its portable design can allow you to bring to some outdoor events without difficulty. It also has a more affordable price than the two remaining types.
#2 Commercial Drop-in Griddle
Drop-in griddles are suitable for people who have a relatively large kitchen. People choose to buy are who initially design a specific space for the griddle. A built-in version is more highly-priced and requires a more complicated process for installation than the countertop one so it will not be moveable. If you have a high demand for cooking on the griddle, it would be a necessary tool that fits a constant space in your kitchen.
#3 Commercial Teppanyaki Griddles
Commercial Teppanyaki griddles are mostly found in restaurants, especially Japanese restaurants because they have a variety of food that will be cooked perfectly on griddles. Teppanyaki griddle is a larger version of the drop-in one. In the center of the griddle is the heating element so the middle is always a bit hotter and the edges are a bit cooler. That is considered to be useful if the chefs want to keep some foods on the edges warm while others in the centre are fully cooked.
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