What kind of steel is good for a gas fired cooking griddle?
I'm thinking of a large frying griddle for making large quantities of pancakes and the like for groups, but I'm not sure what would be the right material for the cooking surface itself.
John
Bare steel. Seasoned properly like a Wok, it will provide a naturally non-stick surface.
Get it hot enough to develope an even light blue oxide layer and then rub down with olive oil. Heat again to burn the oil into the surface. After that you just need to keep it lightly oiled between uses, like a good cast iron pan. SS looks pretty, but food sticks like crazy to SS.
I have a large griddle (36"X36") cast iron with a raised lip all the way around and a hole near the edge for scraping the leftover whatnots down and it is for sale cheap.It is heavy so you best be close to MN. spet0000er0000at0000wcta000000.net take out the 00000000000000000000000000's
I would use 1/4" mild steel depending on the size of the grill (A36 or something similar). But if you are just making one, it may be most economical to take whatever is available. I have machined fire grates and cooking grates out of this material that span a 16" to 18" opening and they work just fine. I'll be making a grill similar to what you are considering sometime in the future.
Sheet metal won't do it, even if you support it. It will warp.
You could use stainless if you are a cleanliness freak. Much more expensive though.
Cast iron is the proper choice since it will retain the cooking oil. If there is an iron foundry near you you might make an enquiry. Often they have a griddle pattern that they can cast at a flat rate. Any flat steel surface will work but it will not absorb oil like cast iron. Randy
I make many "two burner griddles" that straddle two burners on most stoves.
The are made from 6061 aluminum with a grease groove machined in them and handles.
The aluminum plates are given an industrial grade hard anodize treatment that will shame any teflon coating. Hit it with a chisel.
Contact me if interested in buying or making
Good Luck
I thought about welding tapped blocks to the underside for bolting burners/legs to.
I've seasoned cast iron skillets, sounds like the same procedure (with regular steel in this case).
John
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