Alfresco cooking and dining is great, especially during long summer and early autumn evenings. What isn’t quite so enjoyable is having to keep running back to the kitchen for chips, wedges or anything else that can’t be cooked on the barbecue. Blackstone’s answer is surprisingly simple: put an air fryer underneath the griddle. We put the combination griddle, air fryer, and warming drawer to the test to see whether it can really become an outdoor kitchen in one unit.
Blackstone 36” griddle with air fryer: What is it?
At first glance, the Blackstone 36” griddle looks very much like any other barbecue, but unlike most other barbecues, you can cook the main meal and the sides, and keep everything warm without having to leave the patio.
Under the lid, the traditional grill top is gone. In its place is a solid rolled-steel surface with a lip around the edge, which looks large enough to feed a family, and probably a few neighbours, too. Underneath the griddle plate is where things get really interesting. Three pull-out drawers sit at around knee height. Two are air fryer drawers, and the third is a keep-warm drawer, which will come in very handy with a large gathering.
On each side of the griddle are side wings that provide space for plates and anything else you’d like to keep handy while cooking. On the front of one side, a magnetic strip holds metal barbecue tools, and on the other, hanging pegs hold heatproof gloves or tea towels.
Like most barbecues, it requires some assembly when the box arrives. It isn’t overly complicated, and while most of it can be done solo, I’d recommend having a second set of hands for building the main body, as it is reasonably heavy to manhandle while bolting into place. Once that’s sorted, the rest is straightforward.
The constructed griddle is good quality, with everything feeling solid and well made. The control knobs are chunky and easy to grip with oily fingers, and the lid is rigid and robust. The handles on the air fryer and warming drawers stick out at knee height, but thankfully not so far that you easily knock into them.
What powers the griddle and air fryers?
While the idea of combining a barbecue and an air fryer might be a bit different, the method of powering them isn’t. The griddle uses the same gas bottle and connector as a standard gas barbecue, and the air fryer section uses a standard household plug.
Connecting to the mains does mean you’ll have to think a bit more about where you place the Blackstone griddle and air fryer combo in your garden, especially if you don’t have an external plug socket, but a heavy-duty extension cable can quickly sort it out.
Is it easy to use?
Before you start your cooking extravaganza, you do need to season the griddle. This isn’t as daunting as it sounds, but it does take a little time to do correctly.
Once you’ve connected and checked the gas bottle, switch on all the griddle burners and heat the plate thoroughly. It will gradually turn from grey to black as it heats up. When the whole surface is black, add a thin layer of a high-heat oil, such as avocado or canola oil. The oil will burn off on the hot griddle, creating a little smoke. Repeat the process a couple more times, adding the next layer of oil once the griddle has stopped smoking.
This process creates a naturally non-stick surface over the griddle, making cooking easier and helping to protect the steel.
If you’ve previously only used a grill barbecue, cooking on a new surface can take a bit of getting used to. With four burners, the Blackstone 36” griddle has plenty of cooking space, within which the temperature can be more easily controlled and concentrated when needed. Some spots at the corners and edges run cooler, which can be useful for cooking things more gently. With a solid surface between the food and the flames, there are no oil flare-ups or flame grilling, but no food escapes through the bars either.
The air fryer drawers are just like the air fryer you might have in the kitchen. Switch on the unit, select the heat for each drawer, let them reach temperature, then add the food to cook.
Since you’re cooking outside, the weather and temperature will affect how quickly the air fryer drawers heat up, so you may need to adjust the cooking time or temperature slightly to compensate. Don’t expect exactly the same performance as the air fryer in your kitchen, but with a little patience and experience, you’ll master the timings.
During our testing, we found that the griddle temperature easily reached temperatures high enough to thoroughly cook the meat. With two burners kept at a lower temperature, we could cook the vegetables more gently and better align the cooking times.
We threw some hash brown bites into one of the air fryer drawers to see how it performed. The cool breeze did take the edge off the temperatures a little, so they took about 5 minutes longer than the packet suggested, but aside from that, they cooked through as expected.
Is it easy to clean?
Cleaning the Blackstone griddle and air fryer is reasonably straightforward. After you finish cooking, use a griddle scraper to push any remaining oil or debris to the back of the plate and out through the grease drain. On the other side is a removable external drip tray to catch all the mess. This clever design makes keeping your griddle clean and hygienic between cooking sessions fairly quick and straightforward. Drop in a disposable drip tray liner, and it gets even easier.
With the griddle properly seasoned before you start, there’s no need to spend time scrubbing and rinsing. Once the surface is cleared and wiped with kitchen roll, brush on a thin layer of oil to seal the griddle top, and it will stay protected and ready for the next use.
The drawers are just as easy to keep clean. The perforated bases lift out, and you can then wash or rinse the drawers. If you want to give them a deep clean, you can put them in a dishwasher, but only after removing the drawer fronts, so that might be a job to leave until the end of the season.
Blackstone 36″ griddle with air fryer: The verdict
If you’re a barbecue purist, and the idea of cooking without flare-ups and the occasional grease fire is a step too far, then nothing I say here is going to sway you. But if you’re open to a different, more versatile approach to backyard cooking, the Blackstone griddle and air fryer make an excellent outdoor kitchen base.
Like any barbecue, weather and wind can affect cooking temperatures, but unlike a grill, the rolled-steel griddle top retains heat well and helps keep temperatures more consistent. The downside is that meat doesn’t get the charred grill marks of the traditional barbecue, but that’s a small price to pay.
With similarly sized griddles alone attracting a premium price tag, £769 for a Blackstone 36” griddle with air fryers and a keep-warm drawer is surprisingly competitive.
Where the Blackstone 36” griddle with air fryer really excels is with its versatility. The single solid cooking surface can accommodate just about anything, from pancakes and bacon for breakfast to meat, fish and veggies for dinner. It might not deliver the same smoky flavour as a traditional barbecue, but the convenience of having everything in one easy-to-use unit makes it one of the most appealing outdoor cooking setups for the price.
Tested: Blackstone 36″ griddle with air fryer
Price: £769
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