We are in the market for the BS and just looked at the grill. Boy, horrors of horrors! This thing is going to be pain in the neck to clean or keep in respectable manner. It doesn't even have porcelain grates! And half the burners are exposed and not covered by anything. Grills on cooktops are a bad idea to start, this one seems even worse! All this comes from someone who is perfectly find with open burners. And of course, the thing is so small.

On griddle, my family would not do without. My wife loves it for pancakes and such. And even the kids get into it since it doesnÂt have an open flame. Yes, you can get a plate and put it on the burners but, the griddle is temperature controlled. So once you set it, it will hold its temp. It also has more mass than the aftermarket ones so it performs better.

We personally never have a use for more than 4 burners so the griddle makes more sense to us.

We have a BS with Grill in our cooking school which is used at least 5 days a week.

We line ours with tin foil so cleaning is not a problem. Prevention is better than cure.

Hit the PDF file (Grill photos close up)

Hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: Grill Cleaning

I have a36" BS with grill. Love the grill, use it every week at least once.

The grids ARE porcelain covered, amrim is incorrect. Bluestar uses a textured porcelain, unlike the porcelain used on appliances. I take the grids and stainless pieces out periodically and run them through the DW. They are not totally clean, but I don't worry about it. If I did, i would get the cover. Simple.

I recently discovered that a pressure washer does an amazing job of cleaning the grids. I do not plan on using it every time I grill, but maybe quarterly. If you don't have a pressure washer, just use your local self-serve car wash.

Oh my, it really is a toss up. I love my grill, but I have a 48", so I have 6 burners and a grill. Originally, I was in the market for a 36" and I was going to choose 6 burners over the grill. It all depends what kind of cooking you do. I love having 6 burners and I do use them. Could I live with only 4...of course. Now that I have had the grill, it might be hard to give it up. Clean up isn't that big of a deal. I have mine lined with foil. After I use it, I let it run for a bit and then scrape off the excess...just like my outdoor grill. I also have a cover, so it really isn't that big of a deal. My range looks like I use it. It is clean, but it doesn't look brand new. I will also say that I am not fanatical about cleaning it.

cpovey, I see no logic in putting rough porcelain on the grilltop. Yes, it can prevent rust but what possible reason is there to not put a smooth version on it? It is sloppy design as far as I am concerned. Every other grill in the world which uses porcelain uses smooth coating so that you can use a brass brush to get it clean.

And how about the area which the grills don't cover? What is the sense in that?

Note that you are talking to a fan of Bluestar but I really think they have made a tough to clean part even worse.

amirm: I always find it amusing when someone who has absolutely no experience with a particular product component can so emphatically damn it. As an owner of said product with grill, I can emphatically counter that it cleans up just fine with no particular superhuman effort. I use the grill at least twice weekly and simply allow any residue to burn off before giving it a quick brushing.

Stuckintheberg, having people comment on something they don't own is nothing new on the internet. It happens all the time including here :) :D.

We are serious barbeque cooks. We have had indoor grills and got rid of and sadly so despite the pain it was to clean. And we have no less than three outdoor grills. One is gas. The other charcoal. And the last cerarmic cooker with computer control for 16+ hours smoking. So while I may not have any experience cooking on bluestar grill, as an engineer and serious BBQ owner/cook who has been studying intensively what to get for our next kitchen, I have something useful to say. Perhaps :). OP is free to disregard my comments at will as I was clear how I came about my finding.

Note that we would want to have an indoor grill if performance was there, but it simply is not. Our ceramic smoker can barbeque even while it is snowing outside or below zero. With computer control, I can sit inside my house and watch it cook and control its temp, etc. And make healthier food (with low temps) because there is no burned bits that have the potential health problems. Here is the link to the computer program I have written to control my smoker if anyone is interested: http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9270072103/m/9950027635. Yes, it is not as convenient as firing up an indoor grill. But if it is the labor of love, you work for it a bit :).

Of course, I appreciate that others love the units they own. And I am sure you and cpovey get good use out of it. So the OP has both sides of the coin and can decide what to do accordingly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smoker Control Program