We had a 48" Wolf rangetop with both grill and griddle in a previous house and are planning a 36" rangetop (still deciding open vs. sealed burners) with grill in a new house. We will still have a griddle, however, as plenty are available to place over two of the burners. We loved the grill on our 48" and used it far more than the griddle. We look forward to having one again.

If you are fastidious I recommend getting a cover, as after a few uses it will be all but impossible to make the grill look as-new (even though it can be removed and cleaned in the sink). In my opinion cleaning a griddle that can be removed and placed in the sink is much easier than cleaning a "fixed" griddle permanently attached to the range or rangetop. That's a major factor in our decision.

Are Wolf's ranges available with either open or sealed burners? If so, which are you choosing and why? Wolf didn't offer sealed burners in its top products at the time we made our previous selection, so now we have something new to consider.

We got the griddle, mostly from fear of reading about cleaning the grill.

Wolf dual fuel range is available only with sealed burners. Wolf all gas range is available only with open burners.

Have you ever cleaned a griddle or grill, Bob? You should find a way to give both a try so you can make your decision based on experience and not fears about what you've read. Sometimes I think cleaning a 12" wide home griddle is harder than cleaning a large commercial griddle.

I suppose there is logic in Wolf's range offering decisions. Though it's yet another thing for me to decide, I'm glad they offer rangetop users a choice. Does anyone else think the knobs on open burner models are better looking than the knobs on sealed burner models?

Does anyone know if there are reliability differences between Wolf's open and sealed burner models? I think both have pluses and minuses (all burners full-range vs. wider distribution of simmer flame, for instance). And I'm still not convinced that clean-up is easier on sealed models. I wish the pans on sealed models were user-removable for periodic heavy cleaning.

It's actually a simple decision, IMO.

Anything you can do with a griddle you can do in a frying pan, or on a portable griddle laid across multiple burners. Griddles are mostly used for breakfast items, and sometimes lunch. In restaurants I have worked in, griddles were never used at dinner. Portable griddles are easier to clean than built-in ones.

Grilling is a kind of cooking that produces results that cannot be duplicated by any other method. The only downside to grilling is that you need a more powerful hood than if you get burners only or burners and griddle.

Hope this helps. I have provided a link to a company that sells some heavy-duty griddles at excellent prices.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chef King griddles

I have cleaned the griddle, no I have never cleaned a grill. I take advice from here, sometimes it's wrong, but it usually is right. I myself prefer the looks of the AG knobs, and everything else about the AG, but I think most people like the duel fuel looks better. Hooray for the difference.

While I agree with you in theory about BBQ's, Tom, there are times when grilling indoors makes more sense to me. And what are apartment dwellers without balconies or patios to do, forego grilling at home entirely?

I am also in the market for a new BBQ. May I ask what you have and how you like it? The house we bought came with an almost perfectly located natural gas outlet, and I look forward to never running out of propane again or having to go for refills or swaps.

Chipshot: we are actually in the market for a new grill. The old one was a Weber propane that was only so-so. Since we recently had a natural gas line run to the deck when the new line to the rangetop went in so we'll be looking for something much better now... that will reach high temps for searing.

But for now some of the best steaks my wife has made have actually been done in a pan on our old range. The key thing is to accurately measure the temperature of the meat. I recommend the Thermapen from the attached link.

If we had gone with a 48" rangetop I'm sure we would have gotten the grill... as you say, it can be convenient. With the 36" we just didn't want to give up the two burners in the middle... not that we'll use them all the time and at once... it's just nice to have a continuous grate system.

One of my neighbors has a really good natural gas grill. I'll have to ask him about it. He says it will reach something like 1500 degrees.

Cheers, Tom

Here is a link that might be useful: Thermapen Super Fast Thermometer

We had the same debate at our home.

We had space for a 36" range top, decided that we loved the Wolf, and then started a several-months-long discussion about grill/griddle/6 burners. We ultimately decided on the grill with 4 burners (openÂno debate on that one). We love the grill; have used it only a few times as we are only back in the kitchen a few weeks but will use it a lot as we get more used to the new place. Yes, the ventilation needs to be beefy.

Cleaning is not an issue. We went to the Wolf/Subzero demonstration dinner and a few other demos around here. We learned that the charbroiler (so much cooler name than grill!) pretty much self-cleans when you leave it on after finishing the food. We cover it with a disposable pan lid and keep it going for 10 minutes or so. Any residual food is incinerated! Put back the SS cover that comes with it (after cooling) and BobÂs your uncle.

Good luckÂas you can see, this is one of those never-ending GW controversies. Another very personal choice.

I have been leaning toward Wolf's sealed burners for this time around, kkcooks, and would like to know why you so strongly prefer the open ones.

What is "disposable pan lid"? (I imagine I might already know what it is but call it by a different name.) We never tried the incineration techique when we had our 48" with charbroiler (I agree about the name being cool), partly because our children were very you at the time.

All depends on how you cook, I guess. I personally didn't have a need for the grill so I went with a griddle. LOVE it. I find the built-in griddle hands down MUCH better to use than any removable griddle I've ever used. The heat is much more even, very easy to clean...

Sharon,
We are planning on Wolf D.F. with griddle. Am I correct that it doesn't lift out for cleaning? Do you wipe it down with anything special or just let residue burn off? Thanks...

ChipshotÂ

Sorry for the delay in replying. A weekend of cooking prevented my getting to the computer.

We had two reasons for preferring the open burners. The flame configuration suited us better (with that central flame for low/simmer). Also, as others here have noted, with the open burners any spills just fall through to the drip tray below. They donÂt have a chance to sit around and get burned on. Both of these factors we learned in our GW reading. I imagine that, like other options, this choice is largely a matter of personal preference.

The disposable pan lid looks like a big flat sheet of heavy aluminium foil. You might also just use a big disposable pan (which is what the Wolf chef used in his demo). It does not get destroyed in the cleaning process, so I keep them around for a few cleanings. (What is the different name that you use? I might be using the wrong one.)

Our kids are now old enough that they are entranced by the new equipment and are actually cooking. That grill does get hot. I guess I figured that it was hot anyway from being used to cook, so 10 more minutes did not make a huge difference.

Good luck with your decision. I am realizing that, after all of our agonizing, we are happy with our choices. BUTÂhad we made different choices we would likely be just as happy!

bafla,

You are correct that the griddle is not removable. I really don't do anything special to clean it. Depends on what I'm making. If I've made something messy, as it cools down I'll drop an ice cube or two on the mess. Helps to break it down so I can wipe it up.

We are looking at the Wolf 36" Range top with the griddle we were already to put down a deposit, but decided to check prices/services from another local dealer, the other dealer also carried Wolf appliances said nobody likes the infrared griddle because its to hot And burns every thing. Has anybody else had this problem or is this dealer trying to steer me towards another product for whatever reasons?

The griddle does not have an on/off switch. It has a knob, that you turn to the temperature you want to use, just like an oven.

No problem, kkcooks. I just got back from a road trip myself. I call those disposable pans "foil pans" and admit I probably see more of them from take-out (which usually have cardboard rather than foil lids) than anywhere else. I never thought of using one to "self-clean a charbroiler.

I am more inclined to remove an open burner range's drip pan for in-sink cleaning than my wife is and appreciate that the single grates are lighter than the double grates of Wolf's sealed model (which should benefit my wife even more).

I liked the simmer burner's central flame and was a bit confused when an appliance store salesperson told me the sealed model's burner gave a better simmer by distributing the flame more widely. My guess is that the difference isn't all that great. I wonder whether the choice comes down to appearance more than function for most people (I think both look fine).

Regarding the griddle being "too hot", ibbuzz, I thought more people would have that complaint about the charbroiler. In my experience, both griddles and charbroilers need to be learned. A few uses usually provides all the experience that's needed, occasionally at the expense of some burned items. Just don't cook anything expensive or cook for your in-laws (fortunately, mine are exceptionally understanding) the first time you use them.

ibbuzz,

Are you sure you aren't talking about the grill, not the griddle? The griddle temp control goes from 100 to 450. The grill, according to my manual, only has one heat setting. But I don't have the grill, so I can't comment on whether it gets too hot.

Thanks Sharon,
I just talked to my sister she has the Wolf 6 burner with a griddle (about 4 years old), she claims the same, the knob has temp settings from 100-450, she pulled out the manual, it indicated a thermostat on the griddle to maintain the temperature. This should be perfect as long as they havenÂt changed anything to much.

Buzz

Do any of our pro or semi-pro chefs have an opinion on the quality of stove top grilling v. in oven broiling? How about grills v. grill pans?

I'm contemplating a bluestar, which has a super hot ceramic broiler in the oven, plus I'll have a good grill on the screen porch just a few feet away. I almost feel that the stove top grill would be an extra option I really don't need.

OTOH, I eat a LOT of steak, and when I'm cooking for only one or two, the stove top grill would be very handy if it isn't too tough to clean, and if it yeilds good results.

On the other, other hand: I've heard that the preferred bluestar approach to steak is a fast sear over the 22k burner in a grill pan, but finished in the oven...

Hi,
I'm thinking of getting a 48'' or 36" range, either a Viking or a Wolf. Do you think you think it overkill to have 8 burners, or should i put in a grill or griddle?
same question for the 36- all burner or put in a griddle or grill?
thanks