We recently bought a new 36" range and although we also use a griddle quite a bit wanted the verstility of having 6 burners and just putting the cast iron griddle on when we used it. Actually we often just leave it on if we do not need those 2 burners.

I only have 4 burners but still leave our 14x23" Griddle covering 2 burners because we use the griddle so much.
I just take it of when I need more than 2 burners for something.

I have a grill and a griddle on my 48" bluestar. I would go with the others here so far, and get a portable griddle.

If I were you, I would get a 36" with 4 burners and a grill. Omg, I love my grill.

We have a 36" CC & I got a cast griddle - wife does not like it. She found an aluminum griddle at Costco that she like a whole lot better. If you use a griddle a lot then the built in might be the ticket. How many pots do you need to heat at once?

Good suggestion on the steel griddle because of the size. We really like the cast iron one we have now but with a 36" range it is to small compared to using it on a 30" and the handles get too hot.

I have a Thermadore rangetop with 4 burners and a griddle that is removable and interchangeable with a grill pan. I use the griddle alot (French toast, pancakes, etc,) and find the heat is much more even than anything that I have placed across burners.

I have the 48" BS with 6 burners and the griddle and I don't know that I'd get the griddle again. DH likes it, but it's actually kind of small - you know - like, the width of a burner ;-)

Anyway, it also seems to have a cool side vs. warmer side (front to back) in addition to the edges being a different temp than the center. This would probably be great in a big griddle where you move mostly cooked food to the side, but on such a small one you can't find two patches with anywhere near the same temp.

And yes, I do let it heat up for the full 20 minutes - another reason it's lost favor with me. It's a lot quicker to just pull out a pan.

Lastly, the side of my stove that has the griddle and the main oven (and broiler) got so hot it melted the white caulk looking stuff out of the grease tray glides. I'm not sure what combination of griddle/oven/broiler heat managed that, but it froze the tray shut until it finally melted all the way through the stove and fused with the floor tile.

That is just too much heat. And it did not happen over the little oven.

But like I said, DH loves it, so part of it might depend on how much of a griddle person you are and how much a really even temperature and quick response time matters to you. Pancakes are probably going to frustrate you; burgers and hashbrowns aren't that big of a deal.

Have four burners and separate griddles -- a one burner Lodge and a two burner lighter weight griddle. The flexibility is very handy. And easy to take the griddle to the sink for cleaning.

We have a 36" Viking with 4 burners and a grill. Viking makes a heavy non-stick griddle that fits over 2 burners. It's great because it's easy to clean.

Our last range (Garland) had a griddle. It took 20 minutes to heat up, and was difficult to clean.

That Chef King griddle is great on our CC, and very substantial. The Loge one is too small (although I love their other cast iron cookware).

Billy

Exactly, for a home stove the Chef King is way better.
Much larger, better sides to keep grease at bay, better handles, very non stick.
The Lodge cast iron was actually designed and sized for a 2 Burner "Camp Stove" which it fits perfectly and that is where I use mine.

Bacin0 - I recently gave away my cast iron griddle with relief. The thing weighed a TON, was very difficult to clean, and it was hard to make pancakes on it, because cast iron is slow to heat, and once hot, slow to cool down. I think the other suggestions for ChefKing are preferable. Another suggestion is the stovetop griddle that won a Cooks Illustrated magazine test, the Anolon Advanced Griddle. Cook's Illustrated 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 not nearly as heavy as a cast iron griddle.

Another alternative: I ended up going a completely different route, which was to get a separate electric griddle. Here's why: I didn't like using up two burners on my stovetop to dedicate to the griddle, the electric griddle heats evenly, and I can place the electric griddle anywhere I want, even outside, freeing up all my range's burners. Also, if your burners are not the same btu's, an accessory griddle won't have even heat across the two burners. And its super easy to clean. Takes up the same storage room as a stovetop griddle. Just my $.02!

I had the largest Lodge grill/griddle (20X10 1/2) and loved the perfect heating but it is heavy for me. A relative has a built in griddle and does use it for obvious cooking but also finds it handy as a warming plate.

Only thing wrong with Aluminum griddles is the non stick on ALL of them is junk, not a one will last 5 years and the more you use the worse it gets.

Exactly the opposite of the Steel Griddles, the more you use it the better it gets, can hand it down to children and grandchildren. Will be as good or better with your 80 year old grand child cooking it 75 years from now.

I use my griddle probably 6 days a week, cooked eggs on it this morning.
It takes about 2 minutes to heat up for a couple eggs.
I just come down and turn on the griddle first thing, by the time I have gotten what I need out of fridge the griddle is ready to go. In fact I just turn the heat off by the time I crack the egg on it.
With pancakes, again I turn on griddle first thing on low front and back. That gives the center time to heat evenly without the back and front end being too hot.
Takes about 6-8 minutes which is how long it takes to get everything else ready.

By the time I get everything out, bowls, pancake batter, mix it all up, get everything ready then the griddle is perfect temp and evenly heated all over and I can make about 8 good size pancakes at a time on it.

Clean up, many times I just run a paper towel over it.
Most I ever have to do is lean it in the sink and wipe with a hot rag & water then dry with a paper towel, put a Table spoon of oil on it and wipe it and its clean as a whistle.

It is every bit as non stick as the best non stick cook ware and only gets better with age.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I love my griddle on my CC. I made philly cheesesteaks on it last night. It was a pleasure to work with, the heating was even and changed temp pretty quickly. I liked having the tall sides to keep things on the cooking surface. I also went with Treavors recommendation and tossed a few ice dubes on it afterwards, with a scour pad it came out looking almost new in no time. It was a lot easier than trying to clean a large pan in the sink...