Help me choose my first griddle - Traeger/Camp Chef
Hi all, it’s time to finally get my own griddle. I’ve cooked on my mom’s and my sister’s blackstones for about 4 years at every family gathering so seasoning and maintenance are very familiar for me.
I have the choice between two great options but I’m completely stumped on what to go with.
First is the 36” camp chef gridiron. I found one on sale at a Dick’s sporting goods for $400 (about $500 on sale normally). I love the front grease trough and the leveling screws. Only issue is it’s a few inches too wide to fit where I want it. I’ll probably just operate with one shelf folded down all the time OR just cant it diagonally a bit. Not a deal breaker since my kitchen counter is literally 5 feet away for prep space.
The other is a pair of Traeger flatrock floor models. The 3 burner is $500 (retail $899) and the 2 burner is $400 (retail $699). The 2 burner will fit perfectly without folding a shelf down so that’s my pick at first glance. The 3 burner is wider than the camp chef so it would need a shelf folded as well.
Anyone have a strong opinion one way or the other? If anyone has experience with both that would be much appreciated.
Both seem to be great options but I prefer the camp chef’s grease management and leveling screws. The camp chef will definitely use more propane since it has 4 burners/48k BTU vs the Traeger 2 burners/36k BTU. Cooking surface is 634 sq in vs 468 for the Traeger but not really a concern. Only other difference is 5 year warranty for Traeger vs just 1 year for the camp chef, but that honestly doesn’t really bother me since any warranty problem will probably be apparent in the first year anyway.