Today’s Item of the Day is from Vevor, it is their 21 Inch Commercial Electric Griddle (Remember to use code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy from Vevor with my links)

In the video at the end of this review I cook up some simple chicken thighs to show how great the searing power is and go over some things about this griddle along with general flat top cooking tips.  You want check that one out as it is pretty much a short podcast on cooking on a flat top.

Now out of the gate there is a lot to love about this griddle and a few things to know as well to decide if one is right for you.  Let’s start out with what I love about it.  The cooking surface is spec’d as “iron” in the sales literature,  As Vevor is a Chinese company, I think this is a translation issue, I really think it is a carbon steel.  Either way you have stainless steal everywhere but the cooking surface, which is great because as you can see in my pictures and video the seasoning came out great on the surface.  It is totally stick free and cooks beautifully.

The big thing is that steel is THICK, not 5,000 dollar restaurant griddle thick but close to a half inch.  So the trade off there, is that it takes it about 20-25 minutes to get to a good cooking temp of say 200C (about 390F).  The other side is it holds that heat like well, one of those really expensive restaurant griddles.  So when you drop that chop or steak or burger on it, the sear is insane and you don’t loose much temp.

In the video I talk about that and I do think it is actually carbon steel.  In fact it appears to be some form of laminate carbon steel.  Take a look at this image of the edge of the bed.  The bottom is mostly covered by the welding bead but the top you can see a clear layer of steel that is different from the core.  You have to look close as that layer darkened with seasoning, another reason I think it is laminated.  Again look closely as the dark seasoned edge blends with the top.

Moving on, while I love my Blackstone 36 inch 4 burner gas griddle one thing it does not really have is precise temp control settings.  An electric griddle it does take longer to heat up, but you get precise control when it does.  When I checked the bed with a Digital Laser Temperature Gun the center was within 1-2 degrees of the set temperature.  On that just real quick, I have read reviews of many griddles complaining “the temperature is not the same everywhere”.  Those are special children, that is NOT how griddles work, all have heat zones.

In the case of this one my heat is highest at center and pretty consistent to the left as looked at, to the right side we have a cooler zone this can be seen in the seasoning where that right side is not yet fully black.  When seasoning any griddle you should let the way it forms a seasoning give you a mental map of where the hottest and coolest spots of your griddle are.  Then you know where to hammer a sear and where to move something getting a bit too hot.

In the images below you can see the griddle surface before it was seasoned and you can see why people think it is stainless in pictures.  In the second you can see it near the end of burn off in the first coat of seasoning and see exactly where the hottest and cooler areas are.  Again with any griddle when seasoning take note of this for a heat map.  Also the bed is coated with an oil that doesn’t smell great when it arrives.  Simple soap and water with two clean water rinses took care of that easily.

Okay so let’s talk about who this griddle is perfect for.  First at about 125 bucks this this is perfect for the person that wants to add flat top cooking to their world without selling a kidney to buy one.  Do not equate this with some cheap ass pancake griddle garbage you can get stupid cheap on Amazon.  They do not hold heat and they do not last, and check my video they DO NOT sear like this.  This is a true flat top griddle experience for under 150 bucks.

Before I even accepted this item for review from Vevor I watched a lot of reviews of it, some by people with channels dedicated to nothing but griddle cooking.  All are happy and several are still happy say a year into ownership, but two even compared it to this almost 300 Dollar Electric Blackstone, both said, “the Blackstone can’t touch the performance of the Vevor”. The reason is simple, the Blackstone just doesn’t have the thermal mass and uses a stupid synthetic non stick coating vs. a carbon steal cooking bed. Sorry Blackstone for 280 bucks DO BETTER and one does not want to have to use stupid plastic utensils when cooking on a friggen flat top!  Use metal tools with griddles “This Is The Way”.

The next type of person that will love The Vevor 21 Inch Commercial Griddle is the person who values portability.  At 38 pounds it is hoss and with the rubber feet it won’t slide when scrapping a “smash burger” off it but you can easily pick it up and move it.  This means you can cook on your counter top inside one night and your back porch the next.  You can also take it anywhere you have power like that AirBnB you are driving to on business/vacation or that party at a friend’s place who doesn’t have enough space for all the cooking.

Next it is great for people like me that just on occasion need more cooking surface.  I mean once a year I have this big ass party with like 80-90 people here that need feeding.  Even with all our other stuff, a commercial stove, a 6 burner grill, an outside stove, a 36 inch griddle, we still on occasion need just a bit more space.

Now lets talk about a few trade offs and some dings that happened in shipping.  Again if you have a super thick griddle surface it will take time to heat up, plan on 25 minutes, if for some reason you want to cook at 450ish, plan on more like 30.  Look even my 4-burner gas Blackstone takes a solid 15 at least so this just comes with heavy thermal mass.

Next there was some slight damage and I do not blame Vevor for it.  The griddle was very well packaged and given the way the a-hole who delivered it treated it, I am surprised that is was this minor.  There is a slight dent/crinkle in the back right corner.  Funny enough I saw one review with an almost identical dent.  I chalk that up to how people carry and drop a 40 pound box.

Just saying with any heavy ass appliance you can expect you may have a ding, if this really bothers you, shop retail outlets and carry your own item home. You can see this minor ding below.

In any event after cooking with it a few times, getting a great seasoning on it, looking at what other flat top enthusiasts have said about it, I just think this is a fantastic value.  In fact I will say this for griddles in the 21 inch range, it is the best value currently on the market.  So, if you have always wanted to get into the flat top game, but didn’t like the expense of quality griddles or the cheap ass garbage junk options this is for you.  If you want portable cooking power that lets you cook high end food anywhere with a power outlet this is for you.  And if you just want more cooking space for some occasions, it is also for you.

Note – Vevor does offer larger electric griddles, I expect they are fine but I would also assume they will take a bit longer to heat up.  Personally if you wanted to move into the 32-36 inch range, I would go to a gas option. If you are interested in either option they have this 28 inch Electric Model which looks to simply be a larger version of this one for 199.
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They also have this awesome deal on a 36 Inch Gas Model for only 265 which has similar specs to my 400 Dollar Blackstone.  I can’t speak for Vevor on that as I have not actually used it.  But let’s be honest, griddles are not that complicated to build and based on the one they sent me, they are doing it right.  If I didn’t own the Blackstone and wanted a 36 inch griddle today, I’d really consider getting the Vevor Gas model and pocketing the 135 dollar difference.

In any event if you want to start cooking some amazing food and don’t mind simply turning on your griddle about 25 minutes before you start cooking this little guy is for you.  They also make smaller model at 14 inches, again it seems like the same model as to materials and build just a bit smaller.  It will likely heat a bit faster and will fit better on smaller counter tops.  Personally I would buy the 21 inch model as it will handle more food than TWO 12 inch frying pans.  But if you do have limited space the little guy may be for you.

In any event I absolutely love working with Vevor, they have been fantastic so far and everything I have selected to review has been awesome.  The 21 Inch Commercial Griddle may be one of the best values I have tested from them at this point.  So check it out today.

And remember you can alway help us out by beginning your online shopping starting at TspAz.com first and when you do so, on Vevor items always use discount code VVPROMO to get 5% off anything you buy.

Check Out this Video Review with TONS of Griddle Tips Even if You Already Own One

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Remember My Discount Code Works for ANYTHING in the Vevor Store, just use my links to get there and use VVPROMO at check out for 5% off literally anything they sell.