Budget Flat Top Grilling

It seems like flat top griddles for cooking are all the rage these days. I perused the ads and saw the prices. Some are within reason as an add on to an existing gas grill, but the ones that are full time dedicated are pretty pricey.

Blackstone makes some really fine units, but I’m only cooking for myself on the cheap. I can’t see spending $1300 for something that I might not use every day of the week. These units are really super nice for grilling on the patio deck. Weber makes some really nice affordable slate table top grills as well for a little under $400.

Piling on the charcoal

So Ive opted for the Poor Man’s Flat Top instead. I scrounged a few old bricks that were laying around, and I spent $2 for a slab of slate. I piled 6 bricks in a half circle and poured it full of charcoal.

Heating up the flat top

I carefully washed and dried my slate and placed it on the heat. I warmed it up slowly for the first use so thermal shock wouldn’t crack the rock. After about half an hour I checked the rock by dribbling a drop of water on and listened to the sizzle.

Cooking on the stone

Once the drop of water danced and sizzled, I used a paper towel to coat it in olive oil and began cooking the steak. It doesn’t take a high heat to keep the rock hot once you get it going.

Steak tips

The rock holds heat for quite a while so you have time to cook multiple items. This was a first for me, so I’ll do something similar with a larger slab later on. The neat thing about this is that the slab is small enough to cook for one or two people, and I can’t break it down and move it around as I see fit. There’s nothing permanent with this set up.