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How to use a stainless steel griddle

Updated: October 2026

The first Saturday with a new plate is usually eggs that stick and a sheet that no longer sits flat. How to use a stainless steel griddle, for these amazon.co.uk grill-top plates, is a wash, a gradual preheat, a thin film of oil, then a scrape and a dry. The Products Compared editorial team read the twelve listings and the UK review notes on 15 October 2026. Nothing was cooked in a lab. Times below come from other makers' guides, not from a timed cook on these ASINs. The rows are on the [stainless steel griddle comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/stainless-steel-griddle). A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The first Saturday with a new plate is usually eggs that stick and a sheet that no longer sits flat.

Our top picks

GriHero GriHero 40 × 30 cm griddle set

Best overall

GriHero GriHero 40 × 30 cm griddle set
7.8/10about £57.77
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Onlyfire Onlyfire 304 griddle 40 × 30 cm

Best value

Onlyfire Onlyfire 304 griddle 40 × 30 cm
6.1/10about £54.99
View offer
QWORK QWORK 304 griddle 51 × 32 cm

Alternative

QWORK QWORK 304 griddle 51 × 32 cm
4.4/10about £43.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before the first cook
  2. 2.Oil, and when seasoning is optional
  3. 3.Preheat and the first food
  4. 4.Clean and store
  5. 5.If the plate twists

Before the first cook

Wash the plate in warm soapy water and dry it before any oil goes on. Factory film and packing dust are still on a new sheet. Napoleon's stainless insert guide gives that wash-and-dry step for its own plate. It is still the right first move on bare stainless. Read the paper in the box against the listing. DOBADN's coating flag says no, and a UK reviewer still got non-stick instructions, then found the food stuck. Follow the metal you can see. Onlyfire kit reviews say to season first even where the coating flag is no. If you are still choosing the metal, that decision is the stainless steel vs carbon steel griddle page.

Oil, and when seasoning is optional

Seasoning is optional on corrosion-resistant stainless. Napoleon's guide heats oil to about 176°C until it smokes, then wipes the excess. That figure is their insert, not a reading on these ASINs. Blackstone's UK guide adds rust rounds for Blackstone griddles. Do not copy that rust job onto these inserts. You still want a thin film so eggs move. Wipe the excess. A pool burns in one corner and leaves the next dry. A Yes non-stick flag here is only a flag, with no coating chemistry published.
GriHero GriHero 40 × 30 cm griddle set

Testsieger

GriHero GriHero 40 × 30 cm griddle set
7.8/10about £57.77
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Preheat and the first food

Bring the heat up gradually. A thin sheet over a gas flame moves, and UK reviews already describe warp on early cooks. GriHero buyers mention at least 15 minutes and uneven heat on one barbecue, not a timetable for every burner. A few water drops that dance tell you the face is hot. Spread a thin oil film, then add the food. If the egg grips, the plate was cool in the centre, the film was too thin, or the factory film is still there. A shared Onlyfire review puts the barbecue near 380°C and the plate near 180°C. Those are the reviewer's readings. Cook to the steel, not the lid gauge. If a coating flakes into the food, stop.

Clean and store

Scrape while the plate is warm and push grease to the trough or drain. GriHero reviews say the rear holes are small, so bacon fat sits until you move it. Wash with hot water and dry the plate. A wet sheet left on the bars marks the next cook. Do not shock a thin insert with ice water. Simogas uses that on a hot carbon-steel plancha, a different mass from 1.2 mm sheet. Oven cleaner stays off, as Napoleon's insert guide says. A dishwasher Yes does not prove a 58 cm plate fits. The DOBADN, WUDLEP, and QWORK say no. Gauge is on the stainless steel griddle plate buying guide.

If the plate twists

UK reviews describe warp on the WUDLEP, the DOBADN, the QWORK, the GriHero, and inside the shared Onlyfire block. The QWORK note says the sheet moves back toward shape when the heat is off. If it returns toward flat as it cools, try a lower, slower preheat. If it stays twisted, rocks, or dumps fat onto the burners, take it off. Stop when the welds have opened. The WUDLEP file has a UK report of a surface that separated from the subframe. That is not a cleaning fault. A gas smell, a cracked hose, or the wrong regulator is the barbecue. Stop and use a gas-competent person. Fit and outdoor gas rules are on the griddle plate for a gas BBQ page.

Common questions

Do I have to season a stainless plate?
Napoleon treats seasoning as optional on corrosion-resistant stainless. Blackstone's rust rounds are for Blackstone griddles. Oil anyway so food does not stick. If the card describes a coating the listing does not have, trust the bare steel.
What oil should I use?
A thin film of an oil you already use in a hot pan, excess wiped off. Napoleon's 176°C is their insert guide, not a step measured on these ASINs. These stainless plates do not need a standing rust coat.
Why does food stick?
The plate is dry, the centre is still cool, or the card promised a non-stick coating the steel lacks. That mismatch is the DOBADN UK note. Oil, preheat gradually, and scrape the patch before the next egg.
How hot should it be before I add food?
A few dancing water drops, then a thin oil film, then the food. No minute schedule was timed on these twelve plates. One shared Onlyfire review has the hood near 380°C and the plate near 180°C. Cook to the steel, not the lid gauge.
How do I clean it after bacon?
Scrape fat into the trough while the plate is warm. GriHero's rear holes are small, so the fat needs a push. Wash with hot water and dry. Skip ice water and oven cleaner.
Can I put it in the dishwasher?
Only if that ASIN's flag says yes and the plate fits. Flags disagree inside Onlyfire. The DOBADN, WUDLEP, and QWORK say no. Dry the plate either way.
What if it warps on the first cook?
If it twists while hot and settles as it cools, as the QWORK UK review says, preheat lower next time. If it stays twisted or a weld opens, as on the WUDLEP, take it off. Do not flatten it with cold water.

Related pages

Stainless steel griddle

Best stainless steel griddle plate for UK barbecues

Stainless steel griddle plate: checks before you buy

Griddle plate for a gas BBQ: fit, fat and outdoors

Stainless steel or carbon steel for a griddle plate

Sources

Listing prices and ratings are the amazon.co.uk figures recorded for this comparison on 15 October 2026. The public sources below cover food-contact rules, outdoor gas appliances, and maker guidance.

  1. Assimilated Regulation 1935/2004 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: Food contact materials authorisation guidance (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. BS EN 498:2012, outdoor LPG barbecues (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: Regulation 2016/426 and gas appliances enforcement (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. UK LPG: guidelines for safe use of barbecues (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. ManoMano UK: electric plancha grill buying guide (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Napoleon: stainless steel griddle insert guide (retrieved 15 October 2026)