I have one and I use it a lot! I also use it for thawing meat. It is heavy cast aluminum and absorbs the heat out of the air and meat will thaw much faster. I am not a microwave devotee. I use it more for pancakes than I do for grilling but have used it for that too. It fits over two burners. It is great for grilling sandwiches or making fried toast.

I've got an electric one that I love for pancakes.

I also have the cast-iron one that fits over 2 burners. I use it for grilling meats. I paid about 1/3 of what you're looking at, but if that's all you can find, I think you'll get a lot of use out of it.

I wish I had a gas stove. Truth to tell, I'm a little scared of using mine on the electric. That's why I haven't used the griddle side yet. I don't want the side I do grilling, in contact with the electric burners. Does that make sense? Might be overkill with worry, but I have no idea.

I seasoned mine in the oven prior to using it.

I have two cast iron ones. One for one burner, and one for two burners.

They are useful and they are easy to store away.

Flat side for pancakes, the other side grills with nice grill marks.

Cast iron should work for induction cooktop.

For show, you can preheat the griddle to burning hot and do a sizzling steak on the dinner table.

dcarch

jasdip

I don't want the side I do grilling, in contact with the electric burners. Does that make sense?

I'm not following you...what concerns do you have? I'm asking because I have friends w/electric burners who use their long grill/griddle pan on theirs all the time.

Regarding an accessory griddle, I am linking below to the winner of the Cook's Illustrated testing of stovetop griddles. I myself have the classic Lodge cast iron griddle that fits across my burners, and frankly, I wouldn't recommend it--it takes a long time to heat, and then if you need it to be cooler quickly (e.g. the pancakes are browning too quickly), the Lodge cast iron is not quick to cool. It is also heavy and therefore harder to clean. One reason why Cook's Illustrated liked the Anolon Griddle I am linking below is because they found that Anodized Aluminum griddles were superior in having even heating across the griddle. While it's heavy enough to maintain an even heat, it's definitely not nearly as heavy as a cast iron griddle.

Having said all that, I ended up buying an electric griddle and much prefer it (I need to sell my Lodge cast iron stovetop one on Craig's List, or give it to charity). The reasons why I prefer the electric griddle are: it is much more even heating. When you have a stovetop griddle spanning two burners, there is always a cool space in the middle. Furthermore, most ranges have different strength (btu's) burners, so if your two burners aren't the same btu's, the stovetop griddle will have different levels of heat over each burner. Another reason I prefer the electric griddle is that I can set it up anywhere there is an outlet, and leave the burners on my range free for other cooking. As to storage, it takes up about the same space as an accessory griddle - they're both long and rectangular. Actually, for me the electric griddle is easier to store since it is raised a few inches which allows my big carving board to fit perfectly underneath it for storage. I have a West Bend model.

Here is a link that might be useful: Anolon Advanced Griddle at Amazon

I have this one and I love how large it is and that it is electric. It doesn't fix the drip tray problem, nor can you store anything under it, but it's two appliances in one that I use. With it being big, I can cook bacon and pancakes at the same time without them touching each other! Or grill the veggies and the protein. But that's just me. Mine was free since it was a gift. Phooey that it's not less expensvie. Very easy clean up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wolfgang Puck model

Wow, what great responses. Shannon, I really learned a lot from your experience, thank you for sharing it!

Maybe I'll surf Craig's List to see if anyone is selling a used one.... can you buy things that aren't vacuum cleaners on there? I don't know I've never tried (unless you count the car :o) I guess I could get the 30 dollar one (it's a Lodge, they had two different models, both same price, one in a box, and the other just wrapped in a cardboard "sticker"), but it still seems a lot to pay for something so simple.

I have a cast iron one, that I use all the time. But, I use it 90% of the time under the broiler in the oven. Fantastic for chicken, fish, and pork tenderloin.

Great idea susy! I am always reticent to put my pathetic pans/skillets in the oven, and wonder what to buy. That sounds affordable and have a great outcome for the food. Thanks!

I have the largest Lodge that works great but it is very heavy! Thus getting less use.

I bought a cheapo one. I thought all cast iron was the same, but after a few uses, it put black soot on my stovetop that was horrendous to get off. It might be worth getting something recommended here or that has reviews.

Jessy, my concern with putting the grill side down on my burners, is that unless I get it spotlessly clean (there are still some charred bits that are really stuck) I'm afraid the heat of the burner will catch the griller on fire.

Since it straddles both my large and small burners, I have the heat of the small burner turned up higher than the large one.

Susytwo, it's weird. Another fear I have is I've read that the cast iron can crack/break under extreme heat. For that reason I don't put my burners on high, to avoid potential breakage. I have read that it should be heated slowly. The broiler aspect is pretty cool. I seldom use my broiler but maybe I could do my meat that way.

The grill side of my pans don't have high sides or a tray to catch the grease drippings and it splatters the whole stove.

It never even occurred to me that there might be a risk of cast iron breaking under high heat. I guess I always considered it indestructible. Mind you I wouldn't put a cold pan in a hot oven. I always heat up the oven with the griddle inside, because I assume that a drastic temperature change would not be a good idea at all. But I will be more cautious about the high heat now that you've planted that seed in my head. :-)

I do admit that I probably need to oil my griddle more often than others might, because the high heat does seem to break the seasoning down more quickly.

Both sides of my griddle pan don not have high sides, so I totally empathize with the splattering. For that reason, I don't use it on the cooktop for much else besides pancakes.

I just gave away my lodge large grill/griddle. It was so heavy I wasn't using it.

Personally, I find it more practical to have multiple cast iron skillets and grill pans than one long one. The only time I would enjoy using a larger griddle is when I make pancakes, but then I store pancakes that I am cooking in a warming oven and do not feel the need to have two of them finish cooking at the same time. For grill pans, I have one with wide deep ridges and one with narrow and shallower ridges that I use mostly for vegetables. I use the deep ridged one mainly for fish and sausage, but I tend to do almost all of that grilling outside. I wouldn't be able to do that today, however, because it is raining, but rain is fairly rare here. I'm thinking about getting a new outdoor grill - do you have room for one of those where you live?

Lars

I bought a reversible grill/griddle but now have a dedicated grill and only use the reversible one as a griddle. Even though I tried to clean the grill side well, I still got smoke when that side was in contact with flames. It's a nice dual purpose idea but didn't work for me.

Lars, can you tell me what grill pans you have and like. As noted above I gave up on my big lodge double but really miss a grill pan.