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While griddles keep getting more and more expensive, the Performance Series Griddles offers great performance and features, but manages to keep the price down. At $399 (check price), it’s one of the cheaper griddles on the market. Charbroil sent us one to test out.
Features and Specs
- 36″ griddle surface, or 720 square inches
- 4-burners with 48,000 BTUs of power
- Tru-Zonal Separation for two different cooking zones
- Electronic ignitor for easy starts in any conditions
- Front grease management to make cleaning easier
- 61.4 inches wide by 37.4 inches high
If you’re looking for a griddle that has a few more features, Charbroil also released a Deluxe Edition of this flat top grill. For $100 more (check price), it has a hard cover, and redesigned side shelves for more storage.
The most unique thing about the Deluxe Edition is it has a Sear Zone, which is a plate dedicated to searing that can make grill marks. That’s a feature that you won’t find on other griddles.
Assembly
Like most griddles, the Performance Series Griddle went together pretty easily. You build the cart first, then put the fire box and griddle pate onto the cart.
It’s a heavy griddle, so get a friend to help with mating the cart to griddle top. If you don’t have any friends around when you’re doing it, you can unscrew the griddle plate from the fire box. Then you can put it together in pieces, which is much lighter.
Seasoning
Adding to the value of this griddle, it comes with an ignitor on each burner. Some griddles at this price point have one ignitor, then you light the burners off each other in series. Individual ignitors makes starting quicker and easier, which I really liked.
Before you start cooking on the griddle, you need to season it. This process helps with longevity, flavor, and keeps food from sticking while you’re cooking.
My process for seasoning is pretty standard. First, I clean the surface with a little soap and water. Then I heat up the griddle to get it ready for oil. Next, I take a high temperature oil, like grapeseed oil in a squeeze bottle and put some on the surface. I use tongs with crumpled paper towel to spread the oil over the surface, making sure everywhere is lightly coated, with nowhere too heavy.
After the griddle surface is lightly coated, I let the oil smoke off on high heat. Once it’s done smoking, I reapply the oil and do it again. I do this process three times, and then it’s ready to go. The corners and edges see less heat than the main surface area, so they’ll fill in after you’ve been cooking on the griddle for a while.
Cooking
The Performance Series Griddle delivers on cooking performance. It gets hot quickly and can handle any food you throw at it, and it has a really high max temperature of 700 degrees F for searing.
I’d recommend using an infrared thermometer with the griddle to know how hot the surface is while cooking. Compared to other griddles, it got hotter at a lower turn of the gas knobs. It also retains heat really well, so you don’t want to overshoot your desired cooking temperature because you’ll be waiting a while for it to cool down.
The griddle is designed to protect it from wind, so it won’t interrupt your cooking. To prevent warping from putting cold food on a hot griddle plate, there’s angled steel welded underneath the griddle plate.
Pros
Great Design with Lots of Storage
The look of the griddle has a fresh look to it, from the color scheme to the knobs and graphics. The two side shelves have a smooth coating to them that’s easy to clean after you’re done cooking. In addition to the side shelves, there are two shelves on the cart underneath the griddle. This gives you lots of space for food prep.
Sturdy Build
I noticed when assembling the griddle that Charbroil went the extra mile to make this griddle feel sturdy. An example is the corners on the top of the back of the cart have angled pieces that you screw on to give it extra rigidity.
The propane tank sits a little inside the cart, which I really like too. On other griddles it hangs off the side, which doesn’t feel as secure. This one sits right over the axle of the large wheels. It’s little details like that which add up to a quality feel overall.
Helpful Features
When you’re cooking on a griddle, you want all the amenities that make it easier. While I already covered the ample storage, this griddle has other helpful features.
My favorite is the garbage bag holder. Any griddle I’ve cooked on that doesn’t have one, I wish that it did. It makes cooker much easier having easy access to a trash, especially when cooking breakfast food. It’s also helpful for the paper towel used for cleaning.
There’s also no shortage of places to put cooking tools on this griddle. It has hooks on the side shelves, and a convenient belly bar in the front. Usually when I cook on a griddle, I put a prep table next to the griddle. I don’t have to do that with this one.
Cons
No Collapsing Side Shelves
If you store your griddle in your garage, you’ll notice this griddle is really long. Not too many griddles come with collapsible side shelves, but it would be a welcome addition to make the griddle more compact for storage.
No Paper Towel Roll Holder
This griddle doesn’t have a paper towel roll holder and it’s the one feature I miss. It’s hard to find a good place for paper towel when cooking, and it’s something I always seem to be needing.
Conclusion
Charbroil hit a homerun with the Performance Series Griddle. It has all the heat you need, and a super thought-out design that makes cooking more convenient. Add to it the fresh styling, and you can’t go wrong with this griddle.