Electric vs. Gas Griddles: Which One Should You Pick?
Griddles are perfect for restaurants. They allow you to cook several things at the same time, which will help you get your food to your customers quickly. Burgers, hot dogs, steak, and bacon are a few types of food that are cooked to perfection on a griddle. When you have to worry about flipping food for it to be cooked through, griddles are your best bet.
When purchasing a griddle, you must consider buying electric or gas. Which one will be better for your restaurant? Here is an overview of each so you can make an educated decision.
Gas Griddles
Gas griddles get heated through a gas burner system. Usually, these burners distribute heat through a U-shaped griddle burner and they are powered by propane or natural gas. Gas griddles are perfect for restaurants where gas is cheap and you are able to purchase a lot of it at one time.
Gas griddles are also ideal in a power outage because you can continue cooking without electricity. They are also better than electric griddles in terms of response time, heat recovery, and heating something all the way through. This makes them great for large-scale restaurants.
A big disadvantage of gas griddles is the risk of explosion of the gas tank that heats them. Of course, with proper care, you will never have to worry about this happening. It is when restaurant workers get careless and avoid maintenance that this problem occurs.
When compared with electric griddles, gas griddles are more expensive. This is because of their overall design and thicker plates. Their plates are thicker than electric ones because they are made to withstand temperatures that are much higher than electric griddles can.
Electric Griddles
Electric griddles are great for small-scale restaurants and home use. They have thinner plates and are generally cheaper than gas griddles. They help to decrease the overall heat levels inside of a kitchen, which makes working with them very comfortable. You won’t find yourself sweating profusely, as you might with a gas griddle. Their lower heat levels don’t mean these griddles aren’t powerful – they are four to five kilowatts per linear foot for each of the coils that are below them.
Of course, you will need an electric system for this type of griddle to work in your restaurant or home kitchen.
Electric vs. Gas Griddles
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these griddle types. To decide what kind of griddle to buy for your restaurant, you really must think about your business needs. Is your restaurant very large? Will you need to produce large-scale quantities of food on a regular basis? Or, do you only need a griddle for a small amount of food, and may not use it daily?
As mentioned above, gas griddles are designed to be able to cook large quantities of food at one time. If your griddle is going to be a vital part of getting your menu items on the table, and you will be using it daily, you should choose a gas griddle.
If you only need a griddle for a small portion of your menu, or you own a small, less-busy restaurant, you could opt for an electric griddle. Also, if you are currently on a tight budget, you should choose an electric griddle as well. They will save you money when gas griddles will just result in a high gas bill every month.
When deciding which griddle to buy, you, of course, must think about what your restaurant already has. Do you have a gas system or an electric one? You don’t want to change the whole system of your restaurant, because that could be quite pricey. Unless you are building a new restaurant from the ground up, you will need to take into consideration the gas or electric system that your restaurant already has.
Taking these considerations into account will help you chose the best griddle for you. Good luck in making your decision!