I love making pancakes. In the past I would use two large cast-iron skillets for the task. I found myself constantly adjusting my burner temperature and I would always get a few very dark (or burnt) or a few undercooked pancakes out of each batch. Plus I could only cook two pancakes at a time; one in the center of each skillet (I like making large, perfectly round, 5-6" diameter pancakes.)
After much research, I finally broke down and bought the Presto Tilt'nDrain BigGriddle because I liked the enormous cooking area it offered. And I liked the fact that is was made of heavy cast aluminum and that it sat perfectly level (some griddles have sloped cooking decks to allow grease and juices to run away from the foods... NOT desirable when making pancakes or scrambled eggs.) And I liked how the griddle can be quickly adjusted so that it WILL tilt forward which *does* allow grease to run away when you want it to! (it has a grease channel and catch-tray along the front edge of the unit.)
My first impressions with this unit:
- It's huge! 18.5" x 15" cooking area.
- It heats evenly. My infrared (IR) non-contact thermometer gun showed very little temperature variation across the cooking surface once it was fully heated (I let the thermostat cycle several times -- about 10 minutes -- before I took my readings.) My pancakes verified this finding with each one being equally browned.
- The thermostat is accurate. I set the unit to 350-degrees F., and it heated to 350-degrees F. as verified by my IR thermometer gun.
- The raised lip around the sides and back of the unit is high enough to contain pancake batter and keep it from spilling over and is low enough to be completely unobtrusive.
After un-boxing the unit, I cleaned, plugged, and turned on the unit (set for 350-degrees F.) After a 10 minute warm up, I applied my pancake batter. As noted earlier, in the past I was only able to make two pancakes at a time using two separate skillets. The Presto griddle allowed me to cook 6 (yes, SIX!!) of my large pancakes at the same time. All six pancakes browned evenly with no hot or cold spots seen. Flipping the pancakes was a breeze and I used no oil on the non-stick surface.
I made two batches of pancakes, one batch after the other, and both turned out exactly the same... and that was "perfectly." I made a two batches of pancakes (12 pancakes total) in the same amount of time it took to make 4 in the past. For the first time my whole family ate pancakes together at the same time!!
So, in summary, the Presto Tilt'nDrain BigGriddle is well designed, easy to use, heats accurately and evenly, and has a very large cooking surface. Clean-up was quick and easy. I highly recommend this unit to anyone who needs a large griddle.
NOTE: Regarding a few other reviews here, I don't see how anyone can rate this product 2 or 3 stars, faulting the unit because it's too large to store. I mean, come on!! It's a big griddle by DESIGN!! If it's too large for you, then you should have bought a smaller griddle! ;-)
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Presto 7046 Griddle, The Big GriddleProduct Description: Cook breakfast for any size family on this enormous griddle! Super-sized and sturdy, it cooks up to 50 percent more than other jumbo griddles and can cook as many as 12 slices of French toast at once. Nonstick surface for easy cleaning and cooking. Features Control Master® heat control which maintains proper cooking temperature. Fully immersible when heat control is removed. Model #07046. One year warranty.
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If you want a nice grilling pan, I do suggest this one. It's very sturdy and the price was fantastic.
