Weber Rust-Resistant Griddle Insert, Genesis 300 Series

This thing weighs nearly 30 POUNDS! 30 POUNDS!! Yes, it’s a huge chunk of metal, and you are going to pay for each ounce, but it will clearly last if cared for. Weber claims that the griddle is pre-seasoned but recommends two additional layers of seasoning for optimal results. Each layer of seasoning requires 30 minutes of heat at 450-500°F. The fit is very good, not excellent, but very good. There’s a good 1.5” of room horizontally and maybe 0.5” vertically. They might have left the room to allow someone’s fingers to fit underneath when removing the griddle, but I would have preferred full coverage. Still, the griddle has a high-quality matte black finish and distributes heat evenly. It’s a must-have, in my opinion. The amount of time I’ve saved from not having to clean underneath the griddle is worth all the money this thing costs :)

If you are thinking about adding another grill. . . Don't. This is much better. The insert fits perfectly on my grill. Sears steak perfectly and bacon is a breeze. Veggies and fish don't fall in through. LOL. This is heavy duty. No problems.

Before getting a grill for my yard, I was stuck trying to decide between getting a grill or a griddle. This solved my predicament! It's a heavy griddle insert that allows me to easily swap out the grill top with the griddle top so I can cook breakfast eggs, smash burgers, you name it. Clean up is easy as griddles typically are. You can season it with pretty much any oil and as long as you maintain this well, it'll last you a very long time.

We have a Blackstone and decided to try this for our grill. Wow!!! We use this all the time and absolutely love it! It is easy to clean and food is great on it. From steaks to veggies, it is our go-to!

So overall I really like this idea which is why I bought it as soon as it came out. That being said after unpacking it, setting it up, seasoning it, and using it, there's definitely room for improvement. Packaging: Would work fine in a retail environment when shipped in a big pallet, but does not hold up well to being shipped solo. Mine ended up with a bent corner, which is surprising given how thick these are. I know a lot of people will ask so I'll throw out that it is made in China, but that wasn't a huge surprise. Initial cleaning: They tell you it comes factory seasoned, but also tell you to wash it with warm soapy water before using do I assume there's something left over from manufacturing they don't want you to ingest. This thing is obviously way too big for a sink so you either need a bathtub or something similar to wash it off. Would be nice if it came clean enough to cook on from the factory. Initial seasoning: Now this is my biggest gripe. The finish on this is bizarre. Trying to think of what it's similar to and the closest thing I could think of is a chalky matte finish you see on a set of cheap impact sockets. It's very rough, like a chalkboard, so I assume it's meant to protect the metal from the factory, since there's zero chance it's doing anything for the nonstick properties. But the biggest problem with this is when you're trying to oil up the griddle, it's so rough it tears paper towels to pieces and leaves lint everywhere. Even a cotton rag had small pieces torn off while spreading the oil and wiping it dry. In hindsight you'd probably be better off sanding off the factory seasoning and starting fresh. I would definitely prefer if they coated it in some sort of protective oil or beeswax, like what you see with carbon steel pans. I seasoned it 3 times per their instructions before use, and they suggest for the 1st few times to cook fatty foods like burgers or bacon. So I did some burgers. They definitely still stuck quite a bit, more than they would have to a cast iron/carbon steel pan that had been similarly seasoned. But the crust that didn't stick to the flattop was very tasty. Cleanup: Again, because of the rough finish, cleanup wasn't the easiest. It requires a lot of water and scraping with a putty knife. One thing that would make cleanup a bit easier is of the opening in the back corner where you push out the grease was a bit bigger. It's very narrow so if you're scraping it clean with something wide, it can be tricky to get it all out. I did accidentally burn myself trying to go in at a weird angle to scrape some burned bits out the narrow gap. Might look for a purpose built scraper that's more suited for cleanup. So overall, I do think this is a great option if you want both a grill and a griddle, but don't have dedicated space for say a separate Blackstone (which is my case). If you mainly want to do flattop cooking with minimal to no grilling, just get a dedicated flattop. But if you have a Wber already, this is not a bad option. I will see about getting this one swapped out for one that isn't damaged, and I'll try sanding off the factory finish on that one, then update this with how that seasoning process goes. Hope this helps you with your decision!