Deciding whether to buy a Big Green Egg or a Blackstone Griddle? Both are excellent outdoor cooking appliances that excel in different areas. Let’s take a look at each of their strengths to help you pick the outdoor cooker that best fits your needs.
Blackstone Griddle: A Brief Overview
Founded in 2008, Blackstone was one of the pioneering companies to create outdoor griddles.
Roger Dahle, CEO and founder of Blackstone, was dissatisfied with traditional grills as they prevented him from cooking everything and anything he wanted.
So, he decided to create a new type of grill—one that had a flat surface that could handle anything you threw at it, from pancakes and eggs to stir-fries and burgers.
Thus, the Blackstone was born.
Blackstone has since expanded from its original 36-inch flat-top design. It’s now available in 17, 22, and 28-inch models, and variations like electric table-top griddles, portable griddles, and griddles with air fryers.
All griddles share one thing in common: a flat top made from cold-rolled steel, which offers even heat distribution and controlled cooking.
Big Green Egg: A Brief Overview
The Big Green Egg is the first company to introduce kamado-style grills in the United States.
A kamado—also known as mushikamado (meaning ‘stove’ or ‘furnace’ in Japanese)—is a ceramic egg-shaped oven of Japanese origin. It dates back at least 3,000 years and was widely used in East Asia.
Around a century ago, American soldiers stationed in Japan discovered the flavors that can be achieved when cooking with a kamado. Some of these soldiers took a kamado home as a form of souvenir, inadvertently introducing it to American soil.
Kamado grills remained relatively unknown until Ed Fisher saw its hidden potential. He founded Big Green Egg in Atlanta in 1974, putting a modern twist on the ancient kamado.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The Big Green Egg is now the world’s most iconic grill, recognized for its high-quality, heat-resistant ceramic, superior cooking qualities, and precise temperature control.
It can be used for low and slow-cooker or high-temperature grilling, making it as versatile as it’s functional.
And unlike most conventional BBQs, the Big Green Egg comes in a variety of sizes, from the 13-inch MiniMax to the 28.7-inch 2XL Egg.
Big Green Egg vs. Blackstone: What’s the Difference?
Now that you have a general idea of what these cookers are, let’s take a look at the differences between the two:
Cooking Method
The biggest and most obvious difference between the Big Green Egg and the Blackstone is the cooking surface.
The Egg’s ceramic grates expose food to open flame, trapping heat for juicy, smoky results—perfect for slow cooking and searing.
Meanwhile, the Blackstone’s flat, non-stick surface makes it perfect for griddle-style cooking.
Unlike the Egg, you can cook nearly anything on the Blackstone, including pancakes, fajitas, burgers, eggs, and delicate items like fish filet.
The smooth surface lets you flip and stir food without the risk of falling through the cracks or getting stuck between grates, or tearing or breaking apart.
For fairness’s sake, it’s worth noting that Big Green Egg does sell a cast iron plancha insert that can be placed on top of the grates.
This accessory essentially turns your Egg into a flat-top griddle, allowing you to cook food similar to how you would on a Blackstone.
However, Blackstone’s dedicated flat top still offers better heat distribution across the entire surface, resulting in more consistent cooking, especially for larger batches of food.
Heat Source
The Big Green Egg uses lump charcoal as its heat source, while Blackstone utilizes propane gas.
Lump charcoal burns hotter than propane and imparts a smoky flavor to food.
On the other hand, propane gas offers precise temperature control and quick ignition with a simple turn of the knob.
No need to load the grill or manage the fire like you’d do on an Egg. This makes the Blackstone griddle a lot more convenient than the Egg but at the sacrifice of heat and flavor.
Temperature
Blackstone griddles typically burn between 250°F to 500°F (121°C to 260°C) but can reach over 650°F (340°C) under ideal circumstances.
Big Green Eggs excel at direct high-heat cooking and can easily reach over 842°F (450°C).
That said, there’s minimal reason to reach such high temperatures.
Cooking at high heat can produce cancer-causing chemicals like HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in food, so it’s best to keep temperatures at around 300 to 400°F (150 to 200°C) when grilling.
Final Thoughts
There’s no real winner in the battle of Big Green Egg vs. Blackstone Griddle since both excel at different cooking styles and needs.
If I had to choose, my vote would go to the Big Green Egg.
Its versatility allows for smoking, slow roasting, searing, and even baking.
Plus, charcoal as a heat source adds that beloved smoky flavor we associate with outdoor cooking.
And if you want to cook items like pancakes, burgers, and fajitas, you can purchase a cast-iron plancha griddle separately.
As for Blackstone, it’s your best pick for simplicity and user-friendliness. The flat surface is perfect for griddle-style cooking, plus the non-stick top makes clean-up a breeze.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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