To choose a gas griddle for roasting in a Bar / Restaurant, you have to have a number of factors such as: Power, Thickness and Type of Material. Not all plates are the same and choosing the wrong one will make us work badly and often spoil the food. 

According to the material of its surfaceThere are three types of griddles:

• Iron gas griddle

• Laminated Steel gas plates Griddle

• Hard Chrome gas plates Griddle

Iron gas griddle: They get very dirty and many times they are very difficult to clean since they are scratched and dirt is no way to remove it from scratches.

Laminated Steel gas griddle: The most common, from the economic series of 5 mm (domestic use, rocks, etc.); normal use 8-12 mm or intensive use 12-15 mm. It is recommended that they have a burner every 12″ of surface and that they are of adequate power, in 12-15 mm plates of a minimum of 4500 W / Burner to keep the iron warm in continuous service.

These professional steel plates are cleaned by squirting lemon or vinegar with a little soap and rubbing with a green scourer until the dirt is removed. In cases of a lot of dirt, you can pass a pumice stone with vinegar, oil, and soap until it is completely clean.

Hard Chrome gas griddle: it is important to know that they are low temperature plates and short thermal radiation (if we put our hand on the iron we will not notice the heat until we are very close to 1 “). It is called a hard chrome plate, but in reality they are steel plates with Chrome “Bath” and are very delicate, if they are scratched (this is why the blades are especially rounded to avoid scratches) the chrome bath is damaged.

These professional hard chrome plates are cleaned with ice, the iron is heated to the fullest after service, the burners are turned off and ice is cast; The temperature contrast makes the dirt that is collected with a damp cloth jump, being ready for the next service.

Industrial griddle; gas or electric?

There is a wide variety of professional griddle available in the market, which can be classified according to the sources of energy they use: electric or gas.

Several reasons place the gas griddle as the first choice in many Hospitality businesses:

They have greater power than the electric.
They reach a higher temperature.
They heat up faster.
They are less expensive in their operation since gas is cheaper than electricity.
Industrial electric griddles
In turn, the main advantage that power companies have is that they adapt better to the needs of the business space since they do not require any type of installation, such as gas.

Electric cooking griddles are appropriate for businesses that want to provide a non-intensive kitchen service.

Other characteristics to be valued on the Griddles

These aspects are also decisive when choosing a commercial griddle:

1. Thickness
The thickness of iron is one of its main characteristics and varies depending on the use that will be given: Of 5 mm or less: For plates of little use. Up to 12 mm: Recommended for normal use. Between 12 and 15 mm: Indicated for intensive use. A thicker, the plate keeps the heat better, improves productivity and promotes energy savings.

2. Breastplate
The breastplate is a small protection that surrounds the plate. It has the function of avoiding splashes and helps preserve heat. The bib varies in height and thickness, depending on the model.

3. Easy cleaning
These machines usually have a fat collection drawer incorporated to favor the maintenance of hygiene, there are models with removable plates for cleaning, but they are less frequent, some of the methods recommended by manufacturers to facilitate cleaning are:

Ice: The thermal shock facilitates the release of the remains to be cleaned.

Salt: Mixed with water, acts as a degreaser. Pumice stone: It is effective, but requires particular care when applying it so as not to damage the plate.

A specific degreasing product, logically. These are general recommendations that do not apply to all types of models since some types of coatings could be damaged according to the cleaning method used. To avoid damaging your griddle, it is recommended that you follow the manufacturer’s particular recommendations in each case.

4. Temperature and power
The usual maximum temperature of professional models of gas griddle is in the range between 285 ° and 300 ° C, although there are electric cooker griddle whose maximum temperatures are somewhat below 250 ° C. The maximum power can reach up to 25 kW, but only in the specific cases of some large mixed models.

The most common maximum power on those machines that do not have added functions is around 15 kW.

5. Security
Gas cookers have the usual safety measures in machines that use this fuel as a source of heat:
Piezoelectric ignition.
Pilot flame.
Safety thermocouple
Thermostatic valve to regulate the fire, allowing to obtain an adequate temperature of the cooking plate and reducing the gas consumption.

Which should you choose, Laminated Steel gas griddle or Hard Chrome gas griddle?

For general purposes it is better to choose the 12 to 15 mm laminated steel griddle since it retains the heat very well and does not collapse when you load it a lot, the hard chrome gas griddle is very delicate and its use is more appropriate for meats.

Is it advisable to cure the Laminated Steel gas griddle before using it?

Curing laminated steel griddle is more myth than reality, if it is a cast iron griddle, salt is usually thrown and heated to the top so that the salt collects all the manufacturing waste (industrial oils). In other words, it is more a matter of initial cleaning than of preparing metal for roasting food.

Why do foods stick on an griddle?

One of the main reasons that the food sticks on the griddle is if  has been sanded or its surface scratched, the solution is to send it to polish to eliminate scratches (provided that the iron is of good quality (8-15 mm thick), another possibility is to change the palastro for a new one.