Trying to figure out how to get your Blackstone Griddle Hotter? It’s a question we see all the time, and with all my personal griddles, I have learned a few things about how to get it hotter I would like to share with you.
So many people feel as though their griddles just take too long to get to temperature or just aren’t capable of reaching the high temperatures they need. So today we thought we’d address it.
Everything we say is going to be geared towards Blackstone griddles, but if you have another model, most of what we’re saying will equally apply to you too. Without further ado, let’s look at what we can do to make our Blackstone griddles even hotter!
Look For A High-Heat and Low-Wind Day
Most of you will know this already, but it’s good to be reminded. The hotter it is outside, the better. And the same applies to low wind.
Higher temperatures outdoors will make it much easier for your griddle to hit higher temperatures, because it won’t be competing with the cooler temperatures. It’ll also be able to retain the heat much better too, because it won’t be being cooled down by the natural chill in the air.
If it’s windy outside, it’ll also be more difficult to get your griddle nice and hot. Even if it’s a glorious day outside, a gust of wind can make it much more difficult for your griddle to get up to the right temperature.
That’s because the hot air and flames of the griddle can very easily escape through the sides underneath the cooking surface, and gusts of wind make this much more likely.
People have even reported wind blowing out a burner or two beneath the cooking surface without them realizing, and so they have continued cooking over a griddle that is working on only two burners instead of four, which will obviously result in lower temperatures. So, make sure you check all burners are on and working before jumping to conclusions too.
The number one thing to remember about making a griddle even hotter is that you want all of its energy to be focussed on heating the cooking surface, without any being wasted on battling cold temperatures or wind. That’s why cooking outdoors is at its best on a high-heat-low-wind day!
Avoid Cooking In Winter (Or At Least Be Patient)
We said at the start that ‘how to make a Blackstone griddle hotter’ is something we see a lot, but we imagine that search engines see this a lot more over the winter months.
We’re so used to our Blackstone griddles performing brilliantly throughout summer that we’re surprised by how much longer it takes to cook a burger over winter.
Now, we’re not saying you have to avoid cooking outdoors in winter altogether, but we are saying you’ll need a lot more patience. The cooler temperatures and less-than-ideal weather conditions will just make it that much harder for your Blackstone griddle to perform at the temperatures that it’s used to.
If you insist on cooking in winter, then go for it, but make sure you bring an extra dose of patience along with your winter coat! Read more here about using your Blackstone griddle in extremely cold temperatures.
Use Wind Guards
Even if there’s only a light breeze outside, a wind guard could make all the difference to you. In fact, there’s plenty of people who put a wind guard around their Blackstone griddle through force of habit, even if there’s not a gust around. It’s not a bad habit to get into either, because the extra protection from the weather just allows the Blackstone griddle to focus on its job of getting the cooking top nice and hot.
Wind guards are sold separately, so you’ll have to pay a few extra dollars for the convenience of them, but we think you’ll notice a difference straight away in the temperature of your griddle.
Of all the accessories that Blackstone offers, this has to be one of the best! There have even been some successful cases of individuals who have built a sort of make-shift wind guard for themselves, but whether you choose to do this instead is up to you.
In our experience, the cost of materials and the risk of creating something that doesn’t work quite right isn’t really worth it, but if you’re a dab hand at DIY, then there’s no reason why you couldn’t fashion a wind guard of your own for use with your Blackstone griddle. And hey, if it works, it works!
Make Some Modifications
This is a last resort situation. If even wind guards and warmer days aren’t helping your Blackstone griddle reach the temperatures you know it’s capable of, then you can make some modifications to your griddle to make it that much hotter.
⚠️ But be warned: Blackstone will probably void any warranties you have because you’ve made a modification to your product. You also risk making a mistake or damaging your griddle whilst carrying out the DIY, so that’s something else you need to think about carefully before jumping into a solution like this.
But, if you’re somebody who knows their way around a hardware store and can modify things with ease, then this point might be worth considering.
The key area you’ll be upgrading is the burners, because this is where the griddle’s heat is coming from. To start with, you’ll want to buy some replacement burners, such as a curved pipe burner, because this will allow more coverage to heat the entire cooking surface.
This will be an instant improvement on the Blackstone stock burners which are just straight burners that won’t provide as much heat to as much of the cooking top.
Before you begin, you’ll need the following items:
- -Replacement Burners (curved pipe is great, and make sure you check how many burners your specific griddle has so you replace them all)
- -Phillips Head Drill
- -Propane Hose and Regulator
- -Small Drill Bit
- -Marker
- -Grinder
- -Adjustable Wrench
- -Screws (to hold your burner in place)
First, disconnect the propane and use your wrench to disconnect the hose from the grill and remove it from the stand. Remove the cooktop and use your drill to unscrew all the old burners and remove them.
Your model may have carry over tubes at the back of the griddle, if that’s the case you’ll need to remove these to make room for the new burners. Use your grinder to remove the rivets that are holding them in place beneath the griddle and remove them.
Next, take your new burners and set them in place, fitting them over the orifice that the old burners came out of. Use your marker to mark where the new screws will go to hold your burners in place.
Remove the new burners again and then take your small drill bit and pre-drill the marks you have already made. Then set all the new burners back and screw them into place.
Now you need to install your new hose with the adjustable wrench and reattach it to the stand again before reconnecting it to the propane. You should now be finished, but test all the burners before setting the griddle top back in place.
If you want to watch a video on this particular method, there’s a great tutorial here that will show you the steps we’ve just outlined:
Final Word
Just to finish, we wanted to remind you to make sure you’re comfortable attempting DIY of this nature before you get stuck into it, and remember we’ve included this suggestion as a last resort if our other tips simply aren’t working.
Your first port of call should be to protect your griddle as much as you can from cooler temperatures and high winds because this really affects the temperature of your Blackstone griddle.