I've been happy for years with my charcoal grill, but we've moved into a new house and we had a propane stubout installed on the back patio so that I could have a gas grill, probably a built-in. After having taken care of some other projects around the new house, I'm now ready to address the grill. However, I have two major decisions to make:

1) Do I want to have it built-in, or just get something that can be moved out of the way when not in use? I like the idea of it being built-in, but we don't have a TON of porch/patio space, so I don't know if I want to permanently take up a chunk of space.

2) I can't decide whether I want a grill or a griddle. I've always cooked with the charcoal grill, and I know I'd like the convenience of a gas one, but I also really like a lot of what I see people doing with griddles like the Blackstone models. I will probably end up getting either a grill with a griddle attachment of some sort, or getting a griddle with a grill grate attachment of some sort, so that I can hopefully enjoy the best of both worlds.

I just don't know the practical pros and cons to either of these pairs of choices in order to be happy with a decision yet. Any advice on either choice?

I love cooking with my 36" Blacksyone, but it's a pain to clean up, keep seasoned good, and really it's bigger than I need. If I had to do over, I would get a gas grill and a griddle plate to swap out for some of the grill plates. Something removable that I can rinse off in the sink, season in the oven, and replace if needed.

Go gas grill. And as precious guy mentioned, get a griddle plate or a plow disc cooker and portable burner for your griddle needs.

Built in or portable....that's like asking should I marry a chick or just date a chick. One is permanent and expensive the other is temporary and can be upgraded later

TdoubleH said:

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Go gas grill. And as precious guy mentioned, get a griddle plate or a plow disc cooker and portable burner for your griddle needs.

Built in or portable....that's like asking should I marry a chick or just date a chick. One is permanent and expensive the other is temporary and can be upgraded later

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Thanks, buddy! You're a peach.

I'll try not to use the spouse analogy with my wife.

I've only used my gas grill once or twice since I got my Blackstone about a year ago. It does so many well and so much more than I thought it would when i bought it. My most recent favorite is lobster tails. As for cleaning, I just use the Blackstone scraper and sometimes a rag (with olive oil if it's really dirty). Never anything more. I haven't had any issues keeping it seasoned, but maybe that is because i use at least a couple times a week.

Watching this thread. I need replace my 19 year old grill and have been looking at the Blackstones.

Yeah, it stays good if you use it regularly. It doesn't like sitting a month.

I rarely use the built in gas grill. Use the blackstone all the time. I would do a built in griddle assuming it had a good way to clean and deal with the water/steam required.

Found this with the search function.

OP what did you end up with?

Im in a similar situation & am leaning hard to the griddle. Building an outdoor kitchen; seems like the combination of my pellet smoker & a griddle would be a good setup

For what it's worth my Primo XL and 36" Blackstone has completely replaced my gas grill and stick burner. Zero reason for either. Gas grill went to the road and stick burner isn't used anymore. Honestly, the two produce superior products to the ones they replaced in every metric I've attempted to concoct.

And portable is my preference because you can move it.