After 3 years of daily Blackstone use, here’s what I’ve learned: For griddles, a “hood” refers to a hinged lid that can cover the cooking surface. Griddle hoods or lids are a popular feature for both residential and commercial models.
But are they truly necessary for griddles to function properly? There are pros and cons to griddles with and without hoods that are important to consider.
Benefits of a Griddle Hood
There are several advantages that a hood can provide on a griddle:
- Heat Retention – The lid traps heat against the griddle surface, keeping it hot between cooking. This allows for quick preheating, saves energy, and enables consistent cooking temperatures.
- Splatter Control – Grease and food splatters are contained when the lid is down rather than making a mess of surrounding surfaces.
- Faster Cooking – More retained heat means food often cooks faster compared to an open griddle.
- Smoking Reduction – A hood contains smoke produced when cooking fatty proteins or charring vegetables.
- Protection from Elements – For outdoor griddles, a lid shields the surface from wind, rain, and other weather.
- Easier to Extinguish Flare-Ups – Dropping the hood cuts off oxygen and quickly smothers flare-ups.
- Provides Work Space – The flat lid surface allows you to place ingredients, utensils, and platters when not cooking.
- Component Protection – Knobs, handles, and other parts are shielded from grease buildup and damage.
For these reasons, many cooks appreciate having a hood on their griddle. It makes the cooking process more convenient compared to using an open-style model.
Downsides of a Griddle Hood
However, griddle hoods also come with some disadvantages:
- Access Limitations – A closed lid restricts your ability to access food and move it around during cooking.
- Moisture Buildup – Trapped steam from food can make the interior of the lid soggy and prone to dripping.
- Harder to Clean – With an open griddle, you can scrape debris directly off into a grease tray. A hood blocks easy access for cleaning.
- Limited Air Flow – An open griddle surface allows for air circulation and oxygen to fuel the burners/heating elements. A hood cuts off airflow.
- No Temperature Control – Once the lid is closed, you lose the ability to adjust temperature mid-cooking.
- Mechanical Issues – Hinges, latches and moving parts may loosen or break over time.
- Bulky Storage – Hoods increase the overall size and footprint for storing your griddle.
So griddle hoods aren’t universally better. Depending on your cooking style and needs, an open griddle may be preferable for some users.
Do All Griddles Have Hoods?
While common, not all griddles actually come with hoods. There are models available both with and without lids:
- Small electric countertop griddles often do not have hoods. They are compact in size and designed for quick cooking tasks.
- Many larger electric griddles include reversible hoods. You can open or close the lid as desired during use.
- Commercial gas griddles in restaurants frequently have hoods to aid high-volume cooking.
- High quality stove-top griddles typically do not have hoods and are completely open.
- Most outdoor griddles do not come with hoods since they are already exposed to the air.
- Camping style griddles may or may not include a hood based on the overall size and design.
So unless you purchase a griddle specifically marketed as a “hooded model”, it likely will not come with a lid. Hoods are common but still considered an optional feature.
Adding a Hood to an Open Griddle
If you find you want a hood for your open griddle, there are options for adding one:
- Buy a custom fitting griddle cover designed for your make and model.
- Use a sheet pan or large metal baking dish to tent over the cooking surface.
- Construct a hinged lid out of metal sheeting cut to size.
- Install an exhaust hood above the griddle for ventilation (though this does not directly cover the griddle surface).
Improvising a lid takes some effort but can be done. Companies also sell aftermarket griddle hood accessories if you want a properly fitted unit.
Using Your Griddle Without a Hood
Lacking a hood doesn’t mean you can’t still use your griddle effectively. Here are some tips:
- Use a splatter screen when needed to contain pops and splashes.
- Wipe the griddle between batches to control residue buildup.
- Keep an oven mitt nearby to quickly cover flare-ups.
- Turn on your hood vent fan to control smoke.
- Close doors/windows to retain ambient heat around the griddle.
- Cover food with aluminum foil if needing to finish cooking off griddle.
- Keep surfaces clean around the griddle to minimize grease stains from splatter.
- Use your griddle outside whenever possible for natural ventilation.
- Avoid overly fatty meats and super-high heat that cause more smoking.
With some adjustments, an open griddle can still be used cleanly and effectively even without a hood for cover.
Should You Choose a Hooded Griddle?
Whether you should opt for a griddle with a hood often comes down to your cooking needs and preferences:
Hooded Griddle Pros:
A hooded griddle makes cooking fatty meats and charring easier since the lid contains the splatter and smoke.
The hood also retains heat for faster cooking times compared to an open griddle.
When used outdoors, the lid protects the griddle surface from weather elements like wind and rain.
Another benefit is that the closed lid provides a usable flat work surface for resting tools, plates, and ingredients.
Hooded Griddle Cons:
The downside of cooking with the lid down is that you have limited access to the food for flipping and arranging.
Condensation and moisture can also accumulate inside the closed lid over time.
The hinge and latch mechanisms on hooded models provide more potential parts to eventually break with heavy use.
A griddle with a hood also takes up more storage space compared to a lid-less style. Lastly, having the lid closed means you lose the ability to adjust cooking temperature mid-recipe.
Open Griddle Pros:
Griddles without hoods allow full open access to the cooking surface for easily maneuvering foods.
The open design also permits air circulation around the griddle along with ventilation of smoke and steam.
An open griddle can be quickly scraped clean right into the drip tray after cooking. Hoodless griddle models also typically cost less than hooded options.
Finally, having no hinged lid eliminates the chance of mechanical lid parts breaking over time.
Open Griddle Cons:
The lack of a hood on an open griddle often means messier splatter of grease and smoke in your cooking area. It can also be harder to extinguish flare-ups without a lid to smother the flames.
Open griddles tend to lose heat more rapidly between cooking compared to hooded models. When used outside, an open griddle has no protection from rain, wind, and other weather elements.
Look at the benefits that best align with your needs and priorities. Griddles with and without hoods can both be great options whether cooking at home or operating a commercial kitchen.
Choose the style that best fits your space, budget, and cooking style for maximum enjoyment! This tip alone has saved me countless headaches.
Common Issues and Solutions
Based on my experience and helping others troubleshoot, here are the most common issues you might encounter:
- Problem not heating properly – Check your propane connection and regulator. I’ve found that a faulty regulator is the culprit about 70% of the time.
- Uneven heat distribution – This often comes down to wind exposure or a warped cooking surface. I always recommend using a wind guard.
- Rust appearing – Usually a sign of inadequate seasoning or moisture exposure. Re-season and store properly.
