Review on Cuisinart CGG 0028 Griddle Rolled Steel by Jose Wititsuwannakul

This pan has many advantages. It's easy to put together (but the other reviewer is right about the words and pictures mismatching in the first step), fairly easy to move around our patio and looks great. The open design suits our space much better than the large closed trolleys of some skillets. The fact that it's easier to disassemble and smaller than the others is a big plus (especially since it can't be left outside in winter - see below). I really like the dual front oilers. Very easy to use (just remember to fasten them to keep them safe) and very practical both for cooking and for cleaning up afterwards. In other words, I really wanted to love this pan, and in a way I do. I'm struggling to get it back but I think I have to. I'm still hoping that another chef on this will give me an idea on how to hold this pan, but I'm not there yet. Cons: The supplied propane gas regulator was defective. Having to use it to entertain some guests right away, I didn't have time to fiddle with trying to get a warranty replacement (which Cuisinart can't handle - another company handles their outdoor skillet), and I did couldn't just swap it out for another grill because i used it too so had to spend some extra money at the local hardware store. Not much, but uncomfortable for a new product out of the box. The plastic grips definitely feel cheap while the rest is quite stylish in terms of looks and quality. I don't care, but the discrepancy is striking. The matching cover (sold separately) is really barely waterproof - as I went outside after our first rain to wash away the accumulated water to keep it from seeping through. , is already done. Luckily I seasoned it well and brushed it with some butter so there weren't any lasting problems. Propping the lid up in the middle for the next summer rain helped a lot, but since it rained two days in a row even that didn't help keep the pan's surface 100% dry. There is therefore no possibility of outdoor storage during the rainy season of the year or in winter. Also, I couldn't find a suitable waterproof case. The 3rd party for Blackstone and other similarly designed pans are not deep enough. I'll think of something. So I don't think about returning it. This is due to two problems with heating. First and foremost, it heats up *extremely* unevenly, as you can see in one of the photos that accompany the other Revain review, where the center is comfortably dark. and flavorful, but if you move to the edges it doesn't. I managed to season everything but only using most of the propane tank - it takes *a long time* for the bits around the edges to get hot enough to season properly, by which time the center is just bubbles . The result is not four burners on top (one for each burner), but about 16. The entire center section heats up very quickly, but then the temperature on top drops quickly and unevenly, which I was only able to fully capture by using an infrared thermometer, in order find out the differences. The advertising images of the dishes that you see beautifully on one of the grill burners are completely unrealistic. Items in the middle of the pan burned crisp even before those closer to the front and back actually started cooking. Laying out a few packets of bacon for the first cook soon became a comical game, trying to constantly move everything around so that all the pieces appeared to be evenly fried, which in fact wasn't happening. difficult to cook at low temperatures. The low burner setting still heats the center of the grill a lot, and while you can grill at the edges at lower temperatures, it's difficult to control the heat there, as all the food gets hot on the border between the rim zone and the center. have large temperature differences. Also, what I call the "border zone" isn't really a contiguous zone. The front and back edges in the center heat up significantly more than the edges at the four corners and along the left and right sides. And the four corners don't heat up evenly, but can vary significantly, although the longer you cook, the smoother they become. All of this is manageable if you only cook one or two dishes and only use part of the pan at a time. For example, if you're making burgers for four, you can use the center of the pan very effectively. If you're making half a pack of bacon, you can place it in a relatively small area of constant heat. But my dreams of cooking several dishes on the entire surface of the pan for many guests will probably not come true with this pan if everyone wants to eat at the same time and cook all the time anyway.