Depending on your menu, the griddle can be one of the most important pieces of equipment in your kitchen. It is used for heating up and preparing most of the dishes, except for the occasional salad or frozen desert. Sure there is always the oven, but for most commercial kitchens, the griddle is one of the most frequently used tools. So, whether you are looking at commercial griddles for the first time or replacing an old one, you have a big decision to make. The right griddle needs to provide you with enough space to meet your daily output, just the right heat, and be easy to maintain and clean.
There are three types of commercial griddles, each coming with different specification to match different needs.
Commercial Counter-top Griddle
These types of griddles are great if you don’t have a lot of space to work with as they can be placed on top of any surface that fits them and is close enough to your electrical or gas source. They are perfect for kitchens that weren’t designed with a griddle space in mind and are the most affordable version out of all commercial griddles.
Commercial Drop-in Griddle
Drop-in griddles are designed to fit in seamlessly into your kitchen. This type of commercial griddles is a bit more expensive and they require special installation, but it all pays off in the long run for kitchens where a griddle is to be used constantly.
Commercial Teppanyaki Griddles
These types of griddles are most often used in Japanese restaurants. They are designed with the heating element in the middle, meaning that the ends of the griddle are always cooler than the centre. This allows for the grill to be used in many different ways. For example, while something is cooking in the middle, other foods can be kept warm on the edges of the griddle.
Factors to Consider When Buying a Commercial Griddle
Size
In order to determine the size of the griddle, you need to take into account how many people your restaurant can serve when at its full capacity. This way you will know what size griddle to get in order to be able to serve every customer without too much delay.
Fuel Type
Like many kitchen appliances, there are two types of fuel sources to choose from – gas or electrical. Gas appliances cost more upfront but are cheaper to run and are preferred by chefs. Electrical ones, on the other hand are cheaper and easier to install but are more expensive to use.
Controls
You can find two types of controls for commercial griddles, manual and thermostatic. As you can imagine, the thermostatic heat regulation is more expensive but it allows you to set your griddle at a specific temperature, whereas with the manual controls, you get the standard low medium and high settings.
