Semi-permanent camping has some obvious advantages. One of those is the expanded outdoor kitchen. You can see in the picture above that our camper has what is called an outdoor kitchen. This is in addition to the main kitchen inside. It contains a small refrigerator, microwave oven, slide-out stove, and even a seldom-used TV and entertainment center. The stove connects to the on-board propane tanks on the front tongue of the trailer. This would normally be accompanied by some type of outdoor grill. We had a Coleman Roadtrip grill that was large for a portable grill but small for any real grilling. Knowing that we would be here for up to six months and had secure storage space, we purchased a Webber grill. The Coleman was fine for a couple burgers or steaks, but even a half chicken would not fit under the closed lid without touching. Knowing that we would be spending Thanksgiving here, and knowing that I would want to bake a turkey, the Webber was our first semi-permanent site addition. I had been admiring some of the Blackstone griddles in the campground, but my thought was to keep the Coleman with its griddle attachment to supplement my outdoor cooking. One major purchase a season seemed more practical.
Enter the Blackstone:
After several tries at using the Coleman as a griddle, I decided it was too much trouble to clean up and was just not large enough. I decided to offer it to our neighbors who were using an old hand-me-down Blackstone. They tried it out and liked it. For them it was better than their old, rusty Blackstone. They offered the old griddle to me.
A NEW PROJECT!
The first step was to disassemble all the parts, clean them, and sand them. After painting, the griddle was reassembled. I replaced the control knobs along with their escutcheon plates and added a quick-connect propane connection, so I could plug it into the on-board propane connection. The next project would be to somehow refinish the steel griddle. I looked for a replacement but was unable to find the right size in stock. The reason the neighbors didn’t like the Blackstone was because it was hard to clean, but I thought it would be easy to clean, if properly cleaned and seasoned first. The surface and back side of the griddle were rusted and pitted. I tried a wire brush on my drill, then scraping with a chisel but neither worked. I got out my oscillating tool with a carbide saw blade, and that did dislodge some of the caked on grease (seasoning). Then I went back to the wire brush and sandpaper. I was able to get to bare metal, but pock marks from rusting remained. I could live with that. After several seasoning rounds, the surface was coated and usable. Now, it works like a charm. Even eggs don’t stick. The Webber is great for grilling things like chicken and ribs, but hamburgers are best on the griddle. Steaks can go either way. The griddle is a high heat, fast cook, searing device. I have also used it as an hibachi grill with great success. We love fried rice on it. I have decided to purchase a new one for home when we get back in the spring. I can see many family cook-outs in our future. The neighbors here used it to cook frozen french-fries with some success. I want to try that along with fried fresh potatoes and hash-browns.
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