I cooked for 20 hungry mountain bikers using the Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle — here’s what happened

As a pro grill tester, I recently put Solo Stove’s Steelfire 30 Stainless Griddle through its paces. But while I was impressed by its performance, I found myself wanting a more portable version for car camping trips. To my delight, the latest Steelfire 22 has provided the compact solution I was looking for.

It’s small and light, but mighty. The racetrack burner produces consistent heat over much of the cooking surface, and cleaning the Steelfire 22 after use is super easy. I wish Solo Stove included an adapter for larger propane tanks, but otherwise, my experience with the Steelfire 22 has been overwhelmingly positive.

Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Price and availability

The Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle is priced at $400. It is currently available for purchase on Solo Stove’s website and includes free shipping. You can finance the purchase using Paypal as the checkout option on the website. The unit comes with “hassle-free returns” and a limited lifetime warranty.

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Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Design

Out of the box, the Steelfire 22 Griddle requires very little assembly. Simply screw on the lid handle, make sure all the packaging is properly removed, screw on the propane attachment, and you’re just about ready to cook.

The griddle itself is removable, should you want to clean it in the sink or otherwise remove debris that might have sneaked underneath where the burner lives. That burner features a ‘racetrack’ configuration that covers just about all of the surface area above in order to reduce or eliminate cool spots when you’re cooking. While the Steelfire 22’s larger sibling features two of these racetrack burners, the 22 only has one.

A single control knob is mounted to the front of the Steelfire 22. This is where you’ll light the stove and adjust the temperature. The Steelfire 22 has an integrated starter, but should you need to light it with a match or lighter, that’s possible too, using the ports below the griddle surface.

The entire cooking surface is made from triple-layer clad stainless steel. This, according to Solo Stove, leads to faster heat-up time (just seven minutes, according to the website), faster cook times, and better control over heat and cooking temps.

There’s no seasoning required. Stainless steel won’t rust, and just needs to be cleaned after use to preserve its usefulness. Cleaning is easy; simply dump ice cubes or water on the surface and scrub away the remnants of the cooking session.

Speaking of those remnants, the griddle surface features a grease hole at the back, where you can guide all the grease and detritus from cooking. Through the hole, that unwanted stuff falls into a removable grease pan that you can empty easily after use. It simply slides into place at the back of the unit and slides out when you want to empty it.

The propane connector is designed to be used with 1-pound propane tanks — the kind you’d use for your camping stove. That’s great if you’ll be using your griddle on the go for tailgating or camping. But at home, you’ll probably want to use the big 20-pound propane tank you use on other grills. You can use those with the Steelfire 22 Griddle, but you’ll need an adapter to convert the Steelfire’s included propane attachment to a standard 20-pound propane tank attachment.

Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Performance

No sooner was the Steelfire out of its box than I was toting it up to the woods to cook for a group of about 20 people. It was a gathering of hungry mountain bikers just back from a ride, and burgers of all sorts were on the menu.

Okay, so not quite that quickly. First, I fired up the Steelfire the night before to burn off any oils or dirt and dust left over from shipping, per the instructions. I ran it for about 45 minutes on medium heat, then the Steelfire 22 was ready for use.

I set up the Steelfire 22 in the back of my Dodge Sprinter van, where I have a slide-out table that also holds my refrigerator. The Steelfire fit perfectly there, about as much space as a large camping stove would take. It was set up and heating within a minute of arriving.

Solo Stove says the griddle gets up to cooking temperature in seven minutes or so. It took me a bit longer to get the griddle to a temperature I was happy with, around 10 to 12 minutes. Still, it was ready for burgers very quickly.

And with stainless steel, heat is your friend. It’s important to get the griddle good and hot if you want a non-stick surface. I use stainless steel pans at home, and it took me quite a while to get the hang of cooking with them, because food tends to stick to the porous stainless steel if you don’t get it hot enough before you cook. The same is true here with the Steelfire 22. Get the griddle good and hot, then adjust the temperature according to your cooking needs.

Having used the larger Steelfire 30 for quite some time, I immediately missed having two racetrack burners rather than one. It’s easy with the larger griddle to tailor the heat on two different sides, allowing you to cook meats, for example, on one side and potatoes or other veggies that require a lower heat setting on the other. But I also sure did like having the portability of the Steelfire 22, so it’s a trade-off I could live with.

Those hungry mountain bikers showed up all at once, so I threw on enough burgers (and veggie burgers) to cover the entire surface of the Steelfire 22. I used a hamburger steamer I already owned, which definitely helped speed up the cooking process without burning or over-charring the burgers. Turkey burgers took much longer to cook, but that didn’t have anything to do with the specific type of meat. I had those turkeys at the edge of the griddle.

Now, Solo Stove claims there are no cool spots on the griddle due to the racetrack burner. And that’s mostly true. But in the corners and along the edges, my infrared thermometer definitely registered a drop of 20-30 degrees from the center of the griddle. And those edges are where I had the turkey burgers hanging out. So while the racetrack burner certainly covers the vast majority of the cooking surface, you’ll still need to be aware of some cool spots.

Because this was an extended cooking session, I tossed aside the 1-pound propane bottle in favor of a larger 5-pound tank I use for car camping. This bottle requires an adapter, which, fortunately, I already had on hand. I was disappointed to find that Solo Stove doesn’t include the adapter for larger tanks, as I suspect a large percentage of consumers will end up needing one.

But otherwise, the cooking went smoothly, and none of the burgers stuck to the cooking surface, beyond a bit of char. It was a whirlwind cooking session, and I didn’t even have time to snap any photos.

Cleanup was quick and easy too. Just toss on some ice and scrape off the mess. A stainless steel scrubber works even better with the ice. The only problem is, all that water then gets funneled into the grease trap if it doesn’t burn all the way off. And that grease trap is quite small, so you may deal with some overflow.

After the hungry mountain bikers' trip, I used the Steelfire 22 at home for several meals. All of them cooked up nicely, and I got the hang of adjusting the temperature as needed for different types of foods. And I also got the lay of the land, so to speak, of the griddle and where the cooler spots were. I used those to my advantage, positioning vegetables and other foods that don’t require super high heat in those areas, while beef got positioned in the hotter areas.

The cooking experience is, overall, very easy, pleasant, and convenient. Clean-up is also super easy, which encourages me to use this unit more frequently. I suspect that the Steelfire 22 will live in the back of my van for summer camping trips, though.

Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Accessories

The Steelfire 22 Griddle Carry Bag ($50) was sent along with my test unit, and it’s a convenient way to store the griddle. It also has two slots for propane bottles. A minor drawback is the short handle straps, which necessitate two-handed carrying, making it somewhat awkward to transport.

Other accessories include the Steelfire Griddle Burger Kit for $100, the Steelfire Griddle Spatula Duo for $50, and plenty of other useful accessories for both the griddle itself and your backyard entertaining area. Notably, I did not see a propane tank adapter kit on the Solo Stove website, but you can buy these at your local hardware store or big box store.

Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Competition

Stainless steel portable griddle options are limited. Several accessories work with various grills and fire pits, but Solo Stove appears to be one of the only, if not the only, game in the portable stainless steel griddle market. The most direct comparison is the Steelfire 30, a bigger brother to the Steelfire 22.

Solo Stove Steelfire 22 Griddle review: Verdict

Overall, Solo Stove’s Steelfire 22 offers excellent cooking features in a small package that’s ideal for tight backyard spaces, car camping, or tailgating before the game. It takes some time to get used to cooking on stainless steel if you haven’t done it before; keep in mind that pre-heating the surface goes a long way toward preventing food sticking.

While Solo Stove claims there are no cool spots on the griddle, I did find some in the corners and along the edges. Still, the rest of the surface was remarkably consistent in temperature, and it’s possible to use those cooler spaces to your advantage.

Cleaning the Steelfire 22 is super easy, and the experience is low-maintenance overall. I wish it had a bigger grease pan, and I also wish Solo Stove included the adapter for larger propane tanks. But otherwise, I foresee this becoming a standard fixture in my camping van. It’s just so easy and produces great results.