Sizzle-Q from Little Griddle

A few months ago, I received a Sizzle-Q from the Little Griddle company in exchange for placing a link to their site on this blog. They didn't ask me to write any kind of product review, but after using the griddle, I knew that I had to let you all know about it.

As a "bbq guy," I've been gifted griddles in the past and, as many other cooks probably agree, I've found them to be pretty useless. The vast majority of the griddles on the market are flat, cast iron griddles made to go on the stovetop or the grill. They are very uneven in cooking and you never use one enough to get it properly seasoned like your trusty cast iron skillet. I won't even mention the ones with the slots that try to resemble grill marks. So, even though the Sizzle-Q had a different design and was made from stainless steel, I was still a little skeptical. But I decided to give it try on my outdoor gas grill.

Over the past several years, I have been cooking my proteins primarily in a cast iron skillet and my twenty-year-old DCS gas grill has been very neglected. The exterior of the grill is still very pristine, but it is time for some new grill grates. It seemed like perfect timing to just remove the grill grates and slap on the Sizzle-Q.

The Sizzle-Q fit perfectly on the grill and I used all three burners to get it going. I used just a little oil to season it up, then the burgers went right on. Just like a nice commercial griddle, it produced immaculate crust on both sides making for a perfect juicy burger (note: to make this perfect burger, use Bear Creek Farms beef). I was even able to use the Sizzle-Q to cook 36 burgers for a party over the weekend and it handled the task with ease as it can cook about twelve full-sized burgers at once. Whether cooking two burgers or twelve, the results were the same.

So what makes the Sizzle-Q so great? In my opinion it is all in the design. The griddle is lifted off the heating source and has a vent for air flow. This creates a much more even heating surface, which is especially important when working in volume, and it allows you to more easily control the overall temperature. Adding the little bit of oil to the surface allowed me to lift and flip the meat without the any of the common sticking issues that can cause problems when cooking in multiple batches and make cleanup difficult later. Overall, I was very impressed.

So, I'd say that if you are tired of trying to fool with your old griddle, or if you want to cook a burger on the grill - you already know you're not supposed to cook your burgers directly on the grill grates, right? - then it is time to get a Sizzle-Q.

You can find the Sizzle-Q and other Little Griddle products at Bass Pro Shops, your local specialty grill shop, or online at littlegriddle.com.