What's The Difference Between A Flat-Top Grill And Griddle?

With many grills and griddles out on the market, the decision of which to buy for your backyard or kitchen can be a bit overwhelming. One of the types of grills you might see is a flat-top grill. A flat-top grill surface is similar to a griddle you make pancakes on, but there are a few key distinctions between the two cooking appliances. Overall, a flat-top grill's surface is a type of griddle, a flat heavy-duty metal surface that has the capacity to cook a lot of food at once. However, griddles represent a larger category of cooking surfaces, including stovetop or countertop electric griddles, or a removable standalone griddle pan – all of which can vary in the heating mechanism and heat distribution.

Many stovetop griddles, like those in professional or home kitchens, utilize burners as the heat source under the griddle. (Some flat-top grills function like this, too.) Compared to cooking in a skillet over electric or gas burners, griddles also result in even cooking and consistent heat throughout the griddle. Yet, the large and often rectangular shape is handy for cooking lots of pancakes or French toast evenly in your kitchen, without the surface area space constraints of a pan. On the other hand, some of the highest-rated flat-top grills function like electric grills, with varying heat intensities and zones of heating across the surface. This provides a bit more flexibility, useful for cooking a variety of foods on the same grilling surface.   

If you're deciding whether to try out a flat-top grill for outdoors or buy a griddle for your kitchen, there's not necessarily a superior option. Which one you choose will largely come down to your cooking habits and what types of food you want to cook. For instance, flat-top grills provide the allures of grilling with a large surface area for cooking, without food falling through the grates of a gas or charcoal in the process. So, if you love to grill but the versatility of being able to chop tender, cooked meat right on the same flat-top heating surface is enticing, a flat-top grill could be for you. There are also smaller outdoor griddles or portable flat-top grills perfect for full camping dinners and breakfasts.

For those who like to cook in the kitchen as opposed to outside, a breakfast griddle or cast-iron griddle pan for the stovetop (or a griddle pan for the grill) could be your best bet. If you're a pancake aficionado, you can buy a pancake griddle for making ample quantities of evenly cooked flap jacks. Among the absolute best uses for your griddle are cooking applications like searing steaks or stir-frying veggies. As mentioned, griddles are extremely efficient for making large breakfasts or a weeknight burger dinner for family or friends, all on the large cooking surface — without dirtying lots of pans.