I replaced my Weber grill with a flat-top griddle — here's how it went

Traeger Flatrock
(Image credit: Future)

My aging Weber grill finally met its demise last summer. And when I tell you my family and I got the most of that grill, we got the absolute most out of that grill. But when it came to choose a replacement for this upcoming season, we decided to gamble with the flat-top griddle trend, and try out the Traeger Flatrock instead of a traditional grill.

A flat-top griddle, popularized by the likes of Blackstone, features a metal plate with no grill bars. They come in a variety of sizes and prices, with some being small enough for a countertop and others like the Traeger Flatrock ($899 at Home Depot) taking up as much space as a regular grill.

The Flatrock’s carbon steel plate is heated by three individually-controlled U-shaped burners. Whereas the flames of our Weber suffered from some uneven heating, with only my dad knowing exactly the right spot to grill a given food item, the griddle experience promises more precise and consistent cooking.

When people think of griddles, meals like smash burgers, stir fry and pancakes might come to mind. I love all those things, but I also can’t have summer without steaks, corn on the cob and kabobs — food that we’ve only ever known how to prepare on the grill. I spent a few weeks experimenting with the griddle vs. grill, here are my biggest takeaways.

More maintenance involved

Traeger Flatrock

(Image credit: Future)

The biggest surprise about setting up the Flatrock griddle? The intensive seasoning or “break in” process. I’ve seasoned many cast iron skillets before, but the surface area on the griddle is eight times as large. 

Seasoning directions might vary brand-to-brand, but Traegar recommended smoking off a neutral oil 3-4 times until the Flatrock’s metal plate turned from matte gray to shiny black. This process is essential to establishing a non-stick surface, so make sure to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

By comparison, breaking in a new grill usually requires a one-time, burn-off process. From there, cleaning a grill is as easy as going over the grates with a brush between uses. 

On a griddle, you have to scrape grease into a grease trap, splash some water to get the residual bits of food, and then re-oil the surface after you cook. If you wait to clean up until the next time you want to cook, the plate could rust or deteriorate more quickly than it should.

Cooking is better together

One of my favorite things about the Flatrock griddle in particular is that the 71-inch wide cooktop provided plenty of room for my dad and me to cook simultaneously. For breakfast, he handled the pancakes on one side, while I scrambled eggs on the other. 

Cooking side-by-side turned dinner prep into a bonding activity that we never had with our Weber.

The Flatrock comes with collapsible prep tables on both sides, so we each had plenty of space to safely cook. Plus, we could control the temperature of our separate areas as needed. Cooking side-by-side turned meal prep into a bonding activity that we never had with our Weber. In 20 minutes, our teamwork resulted in a full breakfast spread ready for Sunday morning.

Over an open flame, having too many cooks in the kitchen (so to speak) always seemed dangerous. I’m sure there are large enough Weber models that could replicate the experience we’ve had with the Flatrock, so that’s something we’d look for if we were to buy a regular grill again.

A griddle can (mostly) replace a grill

Traeger Flatrock

(Image credit: Future)

I quickly realized that more things can be cooked on a griddle than on a grill, since there are things you should never cook on a grill. In addition to cheesy eggs and smash burgers with caramelized onions, I had no trouble getting the perfect temperature on marinated skirt steak and a good sear on chicken wings on the Flatrock. With the help of lots of butter, I even enjoyed my griddle-cooked corn-on-the-cob.

For proteins, there is something delectable about grill marks and smokiness from the fire. A griddle can’t quite recreate those flavors. Still, only having room for one large outdoor appliance, the griddle seems to be a more versatile option.

But if you want to talk about versatility, Weber recently came out with a griddle accessory for its grills. The inserts range from $199 to $299 depending on the compatible grill model. The Weber Genesis 300 gas grill costs $999, so it’s a higher upfront cost than the Flatrock to introduce the griddle accessory, but you do get the best of both worlds.

As for dedicated griddles, the Traeger Flatrock is one that seems built to last and big enough to feed a whole family. If you’re hesitant to dive into the griddle world, there are more affordable and compact models available. But if you’re sold on getting a griddle to replace your grill, the Flatrock is among the largest and full-featured models on the market. 

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Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She covers smartwatches, TVs and audio devices, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef. 


  • Reactive Light
    "plenty of room for my dad and I to cook" -- Would you say "plenty of room for I to cook"? I certainly hope not! So why do you think that adding "dad and" changes the object "me" to a subject "I"? I know that many Americans will say something like "He baked a cake for Jane and I", but that doesn't make it sound any less ignorant.
    Reply
  • Mark Doiron
    Thanks, Kate, enjoyed the article. I still have an old Weber grill. Over 25 years now. I bought cast iron grates for it years ago. And they're perfect for cooking certain things. Much better and more durable than the original porcenalized cast iron. But I also have a Lodge vegetable/fish cooker, a Lodge griddle and an Old Stone Oven pizza stone (after cracking my Pampered Chef one, found this one specifically rated for BBQ grill usage). I enjoy the flexibility in choosing the best cooking surface for the meal.
    Reply
  • jimvaughan
    We use one of these on our grill, best of both worlds? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WKY4DC
    Reply
  • Backcountry164
    Reactive Light said:
    "plenty of room for my dad and I to cook" -- Would you say "plenty of room for I to cook"? I certainly hope not! So why do you think that adding "dad and" changes the object "me" to a subject "I"? I know that many Americans will say something like "He baked a cake for Jane and I", but that doesn't make it sound any less ignorant.
    Ignorant?? For making a small grammatical mistake??
    Just an FYI, most people would rather seem a little ignorant rather than seem like a massive tool...
    Reply
  • Reactive Light
    This "small" mistake is ubiquitous among Americans, and if no one points it out it will just get reinforced.
    Reply
  • Backcountry164
    And?? You understand language evolves right??
    Reply