sort of OT- cast aluminum griddle

13 years ago

I posted this over on cookware, but my goodness, there's little traffic there. I could wait a month to get a response!

I'm hunting for a two-burner griddle for my Capital Precision Range and been reading up on the cookware forum and elsewhere about the advantages of cast iron vs. nonstick aluminum. I was struck by the comments from a couple of folks who love their UNcoated cast aluminum griddles. Say they are lighter than cast iron and distribute heat more evenly, but can be seasoned like cast iron to get a nonstick surface without the synthetic coating. I found one made by Bridge Kitchenware and am wondering if anyone has experience with this company or this specific griddle?

Here is a link that might be useful: bridge kitchenware cast aluminum griddle

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Comments (11)

beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
13 years ago
melissa, I don't know anything about the griddle but I do know about Bridge, which used to be in NYC until fairly recently and was started and run for decades by the irascible Fred Bridge. I believe his children are now running the company. It used to be that anything Mr. Bridge carried was top notch, and I have no reason to doubt that's changed. My father always used to say that if you couldn't find something for the kitchen between Bridge and Zabar's, you didn't need it...

Becky
cat_mom
13 years ago
Haven't used it yet, but picked up an A-C griddle pan @ Bloomingdale's last week for a great price (o sale for $79.99, and then an add'l 20% off for Friends and Family sale).

It got practically unanimous good reviews online.
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@Payal I don’t think Treg is here but maybe this will help. I have add ins for the following reasons. It gives you flexibility with your burners. Not only can you use 6 burners when you need them but you can place the griddle anywhere on the burners. I have picked up the whole griddle and put it in the oven. You can have your choice of metals. I have these by Royal Industries. http://royalindustriesinc.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_22_48 They are heavy aluminum which conducts heat more quickly than steel. This makes it heat more evenly and they respond quickly when you turn them up or down. They make them in bare metal which will season eventually or nonstick. They are inexpensive so you can have both. Some people want steel and Chef King makes that. They are heavier to move. One characteristic of steel whether it is an add on or built in is that it has warmer and cooler areas. Some people like this for cooking and holding. https://www.dvorsons.com/ChefKing/Griddles.htm The 2 burner add on has much more cooking area. on my range it was about 50% more. I have the 15”x23”. The add on isn’t confined to the width of the burner grates. You have the potential for a lot more heat with an add on. The heat for built ins is around 15K BTUs over the two burners. Depending on the burners you have, 15K on each burner gives you 30K, something like BlueStar would be even more. You can adjust the heat for each end separately. You can pick up the griddle and wash it in the sink with an add on. If you need to replace, it is easy and inexpensive. For some built in griddles like the steel ones it isn’t likely that you would ever need to do that but it depends on the brand of range you buy and what the griddle is made of and what sort of finish it has. The advantages to built in- easily reproducible temperatures. You turn it to 350°F you get that same temperature. For the add on it is more like using a pan. You have to eyeball it. Some people might like the stability of the griddle being built in. Some people just want the look of the built in. You didn’t say what brand you were looking at but there might be some additional considerations depending on the brand.
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eandhl
13 years ago
You might also want to look at the Lodge cast iron large grill/griddle. It is reversible.
melissastar
Original Author
13 years ago
Cat-mom...but the All Clad has a nonstick coating, right?
formerlyflorantha
13 years ago
I got an Anolon nonstick "hard anodized" aluminum one at Macy's sale and used a coupon and got lucky on price. This one has handles with silicon bumpers. Big thing about it is that it's not cast iron and shouldn't scratch our electric cooktop. Has a pouring corner and is over half an inch in depth so batter or gravy doesn't drool over sides. Works well on "bridge burner" that connects two burners on our new Profile range. Cleans up nicely. Don't recall any instructions for needing to season it either.

Am dumbfounded how much griddles can cost. I did not want to spend over $40 and I probably didn't but I sure could have.
cat_mom
13 years ago
It's hard anodized aluminum--I know it's non-stick, but not sure if it has a coating or ???. We got the A-C panini pan/press as a free gift w/ purchase a few years ago. Panini pan appears to be made of the same material as griddle pan. It works very well and has held up nicely so far, so I anticipate that the griddle will do the same.
melissastar
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks all. Eandhl, I did check out the Lodge and it looks terrific for a cast iron skillet. And the Anolon gets top reveiws from Cooks Illustrated for a nonstick aluminum. But I'm attracted to the Bridge Kitchenware because it isn't as heavy as the Lodge (I've been lugging the cast iron griddle that Viking sold as an accessory to my old viking rangetop for years...I'm getting too old, weak and tired to keep wrestling it.) And I like that it doesn't have the nonstick coating which every other alumninum one (including A-C and Anolon) have. I'm not sure I buy the stuff about the chemicals in the coatings being hazardous, but I KNOW my son will scratch it. Also I inherited an old cast aluminum dutch oven from my childhood and I know that it as a smooth and nonstick as a baby's bottom after 60 years of use, so I'm thinking the cast aluminum griddle might work out well too.
Just wish I could find someone who actually had one to confirm....
melissastar
Original Author
13 years ago
Just wanted to let anyone interested know, I ended up ordering the Bridge Kitchenware griddle and it is FABULOUS. It arrived a few days ago and I put it through three seasoning cycles...swabbed with oil, put it in a 250 degree oven for two hours, then let cool in the oven. This morning I made muesli pancakes on it. No sticking, perfect even heating. No worries about chemical reactions with non-stick surfaces ( I actually don't fret about this, but some folks worry) or scratching the non-stick surface (which I DO worry about). And it's large (13" by 21" with a shallow grease well around it) and lightweight...much easier on my back than cast iron.

I love it and highly recommend it for anyone seeking a griddle. Fits well on my Capital Precision range by the way.
formerlyflorantha
13 years ago
good of you to post follow-up, Melissa
brickeyee
13 years ago
The only problem with 'reversible' cast iron is that the flame is very hard on the built up 'non-stick' surface when you use the other side.
kellied
13 years ago
Not meaning to scare anyone off, but there has been a connection found between aluminum and Alzheimer's.

sort of OT- cast aluminum griddle

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beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally

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sort of OT- cast aluminum griddle

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