Planning, preparing, and cooking meals is a major part of the camping experience. Make it all easier with the right gear. Blackstone Tabletop Griddles open up your meal options for camping and make the whole process flow smoothly. 

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Why Do People Take Blackstones Camping?

Camping meals for our family used to be limited to burgers, hot dogs, brats, and foil packs. That was until a few years ago when we bought a Blackstone griddle. I didn’t think it was necessary until we went camping with someone who had one. Now, we do camping differently. 

Here are all the reasons why people take Blackstones Camping:

1. More meal options. Have you ever tried to cook eggs over a fire? Don’t. It turns out disastrously (trust me, we tried it). With a blackstone, you can have perfectly cooked breakfast items like over easy eggs, bacon, and even pancakes.

2. Faster meal prep. Cooking on a fire while camping is a big ordeal. You have to start the fire and get it going, which can take half an hour or more. Then if you had plans to go somewhere for the day, you have to find a way to put it out that won’t hinder lighting it back up later. A blackstone is ready to cook in seconds after turning the gas burner on and can be turned off instantly after meal prep to set and cool on its own.

3. Consistency. Fire is unpredictable. It’s difficult to adjust the temperature and if the fire is too hot, you can end up scorching your food. Blackstones have knobs to adjust the temperature down to cook eggs and up to sear your burgers. Perfectly cooked meals, every time.

4. Portability. A Blackstone can be moved anywhere you want to cook since it runs on small propane bottles. We like to set ours on the end of a picnic table of our campsite and cover the whole table with our canopy. You could even take your blackstone down to the beach with you and have a tailgate meal. 

5. Drought-condition burn bans. Depending on where you are camping, and what time of year, you may not always be able to build a fire. Having alternative options to cook food becomes a necessity for safety and satiety. 

What Do I Need to Get Started with a Blackstone?

There are a few essentials you’ll need to get started.

A Blackstone Griddle. Obviously, the biggest thing you need is the griddle itself. There are many sizes and options to choose from. We started with the 17” Adventure Ready Griddle without a hood for our family of 4. It has proven to be just the right size when cooking for our family.

Propane. Blackstones run on propane as their fuel source. The default attachment is for the small green propane cylinders that you can buy anywhere that camping gear is sold. You can also buy a propane adapter hose so that you can use the larger 20 lb propane tanks that are sold at gas stations for grilling.

Grilling Utensils & Oil: Other than food, the last thing you’ll need for bare minimum to grill with a blackstone griddle is utensils and oil. You’ll need at least a spatula and preferably tongs and a cleaning brush. You can find a starter kit here. Oil, such as olive oil, is required to season your grill and keep it in good condition.

What Accessories Can I Get for a Blackstone?

• Travel spice kit
• Collapsible Stand
• Griddle Hood
• Carrying Bag
• Burger Press
• Silicone Egg rings
• Spatula & Scraper
• Foldable Tongs
• Grilling gloves
• Paper towels 
• Magnetic Grill light
• Aluminum Food Containers
• Aluminum Grease Catch Liners (drip pan)
• Oil & Water squeeze bottles
• Dome lids for steaming vegetables or melting cheese
• Cutting board set with knife
• Griddle seasoning & Cast Iron Conditioner
• Grill Light
• Silicone Mat Cover (Buddy Mats or 28″ vacuum mat with handles)

What Size Blackstone Do I Need?

Blackstone griddles come in multiple sizes, ranging from 17” up to 36”. The measurement refers to the width. Only the 17” and 22” widths are available in tabletop versions. The 28” and 36” come with built-in stands, making them less portable.

What size you need, depends on how big your group is and whether you mind cooking in phases. Another consideration is how much space you have for packing your griddle gear.

Here are the main options on the table:

17” Tabletop Griddle for individuals, couples, and small families

We have a 17” griddle that we use for our family of four. It is plenty big enough if you don’t mind cooking your meal in phases. We cook the bacon first, then the hashbrowns, then the eggs. These models come with a single heat zone, so you may want to turn down the heat before you start your eggs.

22” Tabletop Griddle for larger families and groups up to 8 people 

If you prefer to cook everything at the same time instead of in phases, you may want to go for the 22” griddle. It comes with multiple heat zones to allow you to cook eggs at the same time as your bacon.

28” or 36” Blackstone Griddles for larger groups and serious grillers

These models aren’t as portable as their smaller tabletop counterparts. These options are good for large gatherings or home use. We don’t recommend lugging these larger models around to campsites.

Things to Know Before You Buy A Blackstone Griddle

1. You have to season your Blackstone with oil several times before cooking on it for the first time. 
2. Don’t scrape too hard when cleaning! It’s made out of coated steel, not stainless.
3. Do not scrub your blackstone with abrasive metal scouring pads! It will damage your seasoning layer.

FAQ

Are legs necessary?

No! You do not need legs for your blackstone. We have always set ours on a picnic table at the campsite and it works out great. Legs can be bulky and make the griddle much less portable.

If you are going camping somewhere that doesn’t have picnic tables, collapsible stands are available. These fit both the 17” and 22” size tabletop griddles. They’re durable, powder coated steel, and the legs fold under like a folding table. 

This collapsible stand for blackstone griddles is a great space-saving way to store your griddle at home while you’re not camping so that you can use it for weekend breakfasts.

How do you Clean a Blackstone after each meal?

Cleaning your blackstone is quick and easy. Just scrape, wipe, season in 60 Seconds. 

Follow the 3 steps below to clean your griddle while it’s still hot after cooking a meal:

If light scraping doesn’t remove the debris, use the optional steps below: 

Optional for tougher messes: 

What type of oil can you use on a Blackstone?

Seasoning your griddle with oil keeps it non-stick. Any type of oil is fine, except low smoke point oils like flaxseed oil. We prefer to use olive oil on ours. Many people use canola, coconut, or avocado oil. You can also use real butter in lieu of liquid oil.

Why Propane?

There’s a reason people love Blackstones. The magic ingredient is the fuel source. Here are 3 reasons why propane works so great with these little cookers:

1. It heats up fast! Be ready to grill in seconds.
2. It’s readily available. Just about every gas station sells it.
3. It’s portable. No need for electricity. Take it anywhere.

What type of cooking surface is Blackstone Made out of?

Blackstone griddles are made of cold rolled carbon steel which is optimal for heat distribution.

Since they are made of steel,  it’s important to season them before use and after each meal for the best cooking surface and for avoiding rust. Some blackstones may have stainless steel cooktops for aesthetics.

Do Blackstone Grills come with a warranty?

Yes, Blackstone griddles come with a 1-Year warranty. Register yours with the manufacturer here. We’ve had our Blackstone for several years and so far so good! We did not have to use the warranty.