Bullseye Griddle for Bullseye

[Buckeye1]

Does anyone have the griddle for the Bullseye. I was thinking about it, but $80 seems kinda high. Any real world experiences would be helpful to push me one way or the other.

 

[Greg Jones]

Does anyone have the griddle for the Bullseye. I was thinking about it, but $80 seems kinda high. Any real world experiences would be helpful to push me one way or the other.

I bought one because I’m seriously considering getting rid of my 36” Blackstone. My comments are based on the assumption that a griddle has value to begin with, and personally I’m sold on cooking on them. In the plus column for the Bullseye griddle, it’s heavy gauge steel, so no complaints on quality. It includes handles to make it easier to get in/out of the Bullseye. You can close the lid and cook, which is desirable for some foods. Some Blackstone’s also have that feature, mine does not. The griddle does add versatility to the Bullseye, and I appreciate it when tools can be used for multiple tasks.

In the minus column, it’s round obviously and that doesn’t work that well for many foods. The lack of flat sides makes it harder to get food off the griddle. It doesn’t have a grease trap, so you have to lift the griddle out and use the pour spout to drain off grease and remaining food residue. You can see where this might require a minimum of three hands to accomplish. Instead, I’m cleaning up with paper towels, which is more wasteful than a grease trap.

The fact that the griddle is well made also means that it’s heavy, perhaps to the point of being hard to take on and off for individuals with arthritis or lesser arm strength. There is also the question of where do you store it when it’s not on the Bullseye, and being large, heavy, and mild steel that will rust you can’t just lean it up against the Bullseye, and it doesn’t fit on the lower shelf.

So it sounds like I’m pretty negative on it, but only because the Blackstone works so well. Now that the wife and I are empty nesters, I just don’t need a 36” griddle like I did when we had a teenage son and 4-5 of his friends here all the time. So, assuming that all my grills disappeared overnight, I’d probably get the Bullseye with the griddle and skip the Blackstone-I could get by with the limitations of the round griddle. But at this point, it’s not good enough to convince me to get rid of the Blackstone. Hope this helps.

 

[Uncle Bob]

An alternative is available from Hunsakersmokers.com . They cut them in 18, 22, and 26", each under $50 shipped. They are the flat design, basically just laser cut plate steel, so if you're doing something very greasy you'll need to be mindful of where that grease is going. Otherwise it's a solid, functional piece at a reasonable cost.

 

[ARCbbq]

I've had one for a while. cooked breakfast, smash burgers, etc. As was mentioned, pouring grease is awkward, partly because of weight & partly that the pour spout is little and tends to drip - if you cook a lot of bacon, for example. I think it's OK for occasional use. I agree that leaning over the oven is not as convenient as a dedicated griddle & the oven temp drops pretty fast (the griddle stays hot because of the amount of steel). It just depends if you are OK with those compromises.

 

[Buckeye1]

Thanks for the replies. I am debating between the griddle and maybe the 22" tabletop Blackstone .
you guys made some great points I did not consider both for and against it. Since I'm not getting any discount on it I have some time to decide.

 

[Bobrectec]

Does anyone have the griddle for the Bullseye. I was thinking about it, but $80 seems kinda high. Any real world experiences would be helpful to push me one way or the other.

There are many options for replacement griddles/grills/grates for the Bullseye since it can use the same 22” parts as a 22” Weber kettle. I have even seen rotisserie options that build up the height of the grill, relocate the hinge, and include an electric rotisserie.

There are stainless steel, cast iron, porcelain, high carbon steel and other materials to pick from to replace the stock one from Recteq. Many artsy designs and features…

Should that I ever get quick enough to actually buy a Bullseye I am going for the Arteflame 22” griddle grate that I will use to replace the one that comes with the unit. It seems almost perfect for smash burgers, breakfast items, scallops!

(see Sultan G here: https://www.facebook.com/SultanPhotoChicago/posts/1443336735870936 https://www.facebook.com/SultanPhotoChicago/posts/1443401105864499 )

If you want grill marks you can use the center grill.

OK, full disclosure, I have a RT-700. It’s a whopper but overkill for just a couple 4 burgers or to cook a small breakfast. I can cook many racks of ribs, pork butts, large briskets though for those times when I have lots of people feed. The outside smoke box is great for sides, I do beans in a cast iron skillet here as well as keeping things warm and smoky while the main course is on the main grill. I have the grill grates but that’s another thing to store and clean. The grill grates supposedly fit the Bullseye as well (not all of them, at least one, maybe two of the three.) Regardless the Bull rocks!

I also have an “old” Matador and a “new” Matador. The griddle from Recteq for the Bullseye will also fit the “new” (maybe old as well…) Matador. Same issues, another piece to clean and store.

The Arteflame looks like it will do all I want. Good description of carbon steel vs. cast iron here too. They even call it out for the Bullseye:

https://arteflame.com/collections/g...te-replacement-inserts?variant=31870503190585

Remember char/sear (flavor!) is what I am looking for, grill grates and the marks/pattern while looking nice don’t have the same char/sear coverage by design.

 

[Buckeye1]

That's pretty slick! I'm also wondering if a cast iron pan may work.

 

[Greg Jones]

That's pretty slick! I'm also wondering if a cast iron pan may work.

Absolutely. I cooked breakfast this morning, eggs and bacon, in a #10 skillet on the Bullseye. I’m frying sliced pork loin and okra in a Lodge deep chicken fryer skillet on the burner of the Matador tonight. I use them often with the Bull as well. If you need more capacity than what your handled skillets give you, these double loop skillets from Lodge work especially well.