Barbecue on the Griddle? A Revolutionary Technique for Smoking on a Flattop

Why bother with outdoor griddles?   Well, there are certain foods you just can’t cook on a grill.   The short list includes pancakes, eggs, fried-rice, A5 wagyu steaks, and delicate fish.   More on those in a previous blog.   You can even use a griddle to cook steaks, chops, and kebabs.

But unlike a grill, the one thing a griddle can’t do is smoke.   As in smoking to make barbecue.   Or can it?   While writing Project Griddle, I came up with a revolutionary technique, for it turns out you CAN smoke on a griddle.   Not just one way, but two.

Smoke Griddling Method #1: Charcoal Grill with Cast Iron Griddle

I developed this technique during my first ventures with griddling on a charcoal grill.   I spread the coals in an even layer.   I set my portable cast iron griddle on the grate and heated it.   To check when it was ready, I sprinkled a few drops of water on the griddle—when they evaporated in 2 to 3 seconds, the griddle was sufficiently hot.    

Next, I added handfuls of hardwood chips (or a couple wood chunks) on the charcoal at the edge of the grill.   When I saw smoke, I placed the food—shrimp in this case—on the griddle.   I kept the grill lid closed to hold in the smoke.   My smoke-griddled shrimp were amazing, and so were the pork tenderloins, chicken breasts, and salmon steaks I griddled subsequently. 

No one was more surprised than I was.

Smoke Griddling Method #2: Smoking Directly on the Griddle Surface

Even more surprising was Smoke griddling method #2.   In this method, you smoke right on the griddle itself.

I was trying to make a griddled version of barbecued chicken with Alabama white sauce.   I heated one zone of the griddle to high and one zone to medium.   I mounded a handful of hardwood chips (you can also use hardwood sawdust or pellets) directly on the griddle over the hot zone.   When the chips started to smoke, I slid the wood to the medium zone and place the chicken next to it.   Then I placed a griddle dome on top.   I griddled the chicken covered, while wood smoke swirled all around it.   And damn if it didn’t taste like barbecued chicken I’d smoke on the grill. 

So before you dismiss outdoor griddles as being inferior to grills or smokers, try smoking on your flattop.

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