A Powerful Stainless Steel Griddle

Flat tops, planchas, or griddles — whatever you choose to call them — have risen in popularity over the last several years. Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but the parallel ascension of smash burgers in the collective consciousness could have something to do with their popularity. Solo Stove, a leader in the smokeless fire pit space, has since expanded its offerings to include lines of coolers, pizza ovens, outdoor living accessories, and now, a flat-top griddle.  

Solo Stove’s new Steelfire griddle is an all-stainless steel alternative to the cast iron or carbon steel cooktops of its competitors. In my earliest days as a teenage line cook, I worked in all-night diners equipped with flat grills, so it’s safe to say that I have a little experience with them. So when the company reached out to offer a sample for testing, they picked the right person to put it through its paces. Here’s what I found.

Solo Stove Steelfire Stainless Griddle

The Steelfire is a short, squat, oval-shaped grill, measuring 30 x 21 inches at its widest points and 11 inches tall. The cooktop is a triple-clad mix of two types of stainless steel sandwiching a conductive aluminum inner layer. Two uniquely-shaped 12,000 BTU burners cover each side of the cooktop. The burners somewhat resemble a “D”, with gas jets covering both the interior and exterior. And a center-mounted drip tray collects any grease or debris via a hole in the griddle’s front edge.

Assembly was a non-issue. It took more time to unpack the griddle and dispose of the packing materials than it did to screw on the front handle of the lid and insert the drip tray. The best part of a clad stainless steel cooktop? It requires no seasoning. It took me just a couple of minutes to adjust the feet to level the grill, and after that, it was ready to cook. The Steelfire is a tabletop griddle, though. So, unless you have a dedicated table to use for this purpose, I suggest grabbing the wheeled stand as well.

In simple terms, a flat-top is the cooking surface of a very large skillet with heat sources under each side. So, the same approach for cooking in a clad stainless steel pan applies here. My first test was cooking some rib eyes, grilled onions, sweet potatoes, and spinach. After igniting the burners with the built-in Piezo lighter, I turned one side to high for searing and the other to medium for sautéing. The steaks developed a nice crust on the hot side, while I used the medium side for sautéing the onions and spinach. And I reserved the cooler, center portion of the cooktop to brûlée the already-cooked sweet potatoes. I thought the results were fairly good, although it was clear to me that I needed to get a better handle on finessing the burners. 

My second test was another dinner, which included caramelizing roasted potatoes, sautéing asparagus, and searing pork chops. The results were similar, but I noticed that the griddle ran rather hot on the medium setting this time. The final test was a full diner breakfast: hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs. I set one burner to low and the other to medium. I started the hash browns on low, but found the griddle too cool, so I increased the heat slightly towards medium. And while I got nice browning on the potatoes, I felt they over-crisped, getting a bit crunchier than I prefer. The bacon cooked without issue, though, and didn’t cause a stuck-on mess. Then, I turned down the heat on the hash brown side before pouring the scrambled eggs on, but it was still too hot, and the eggs browned very quickly. This highlighted my only issue with the Steelfire: I found that low-temperature cooking was only possible via a narrow band in the heat controls. Anything medium-low and up was very hot.

Cleanup was along the standard lines of cleaning flat-tops: I poured some room-temperature water on the griddle, scraped any charred bits from its surface, and then scraped the residual grease, water, and debris into the drip tray. To finish, I wiped the cooking surface with a paper towel to remove any remaining traces of grease. Two points became clear during this process. First, most scrapers have right-angled corners, but this cooktop is oval. Cleaning the edges was a little clumsy, but if you have a curved scraper, you’re in better shape than I am. Second, cooking on a stainless steel griddle leaves a patina on the shiny steel. The patina is harmless, but if you prefer your stainless steel to be pristine — like I do —a gentle abrasive, such as Bar Keeper’s Friend, will quickly restore the shine.

But when all was said and done, I liked the Steelfire. I still need to get more adept at controlling the heat in the lower-temperature range, because the grill does run hot, but that’s an obstacle that’s easy to overcome. I found the cooktop easy to clean, and the drip tray equally easy to empty. And since the stand and griddle are separate units, they split the weight, making the assembly easy to carry and move up and down steps. I also enjoyed the “no seasoning required” aspect of Solo Stove’s stainless steel cooktop, as I live in a humid environment that invites rust on outdoor cooking gear.

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At the time of publishing, the price was $900