I recently purchased this griddle for our new (to us) 1950s Era Dixie gas apartment stove. We got the non-ceramic version, and so far, we are loving how well it cooks. Since it is too large to season in any of our ovens, we used avocado oil to do its initial seasoning on the stovetop. We bought a 20" apartment range specifically for a dedicated griddle top, and it sits beside our 1970s Kenmore gas range, so we knew we might have to have a griddle top custom-built to our specifications, but when we found this one, we thought we would use it as a trial to see how we liked it. The griddle is 20" wide, and fit the range perfectly, but is too shallow to use all four burners as effectively as we would wish. A lot of heat leaks out the back side, since its 16" depth is just barely big enough to cover the rear burners. Another feature we like is the raised side on the side and rear of the griddle, along with handles to lift it up. for draining grease from the catch tray, which is across the whole front - another selling feature for us. Some of the custom carbon steel griddles we looked at before this purchase had a single hole for grease drainage, and we preferred the front tray. The major downside we have discovered is that the whole griddle has to be lifted off and tilted over a bowl to drain the grease when cooking anything remotely fatty like burgers, bacon, or sausage. We ordered a separate grease drip pan online, and plan to drill a 1/4" drain hole in the bottom of the grease tray on the griddle, which will allow the grease and oil to drain off the side without lifting the griddle and tilting it. Ultimately, I think we will continue experimenting with ideas for our indoor set-up, and likely will replace this griddle with a custom one once we can afford to have a machine shop fabricate one to our specs which will fit our stove range exactly. In the meantime, this griddle is definitely serving its purpose for our family of eight, and will be super handy for taking camping and using either on a firepit, or on our large, two-burner camp stove. Its 5/16" cast iron heats very evenly, with no warping, and creates a nice sear on meat, as well as cooking good griddle cakes. A lot of reviews of other custom griddles made of carbon steel complain about warping from heat, but we have had zero issues with this one. The price was a good value for money, and it seems to season very well, with minimal sticking. It is extremely sturdy, and is small enough to stand up on end and wash in a kitchen sink if you wanted to - which I don't, since it's seasoned cast iron, and cleans perfectly with a few ice cubes on the hot surface. I got a flat griddle scraper which also is fantastic for cleaning it. The casting has curved edges on the sides and back, and scraping food and excess oil off it is a breeze. Like all cast iron, it is prone to rusting if not seasoned properly, and I will probably get out the camp stove soon, and thoroughly season the bottom of it as well. I think this would probably work excellently as designed for a rectangular grill, which we don't have, so I freely confess we are using it as an improve on the stove top. Since our four burners share a common grate, it sits nice and level on the top, but I'm not sure how it would work on a flat glass top or ceramic range. It works very well on our gas range setup. This feel like it will last forever, and could be a heirloom piece if treated with care. It is sizable enough that storing it in a kitchen may be difficult, however, since we plan on keeping it in use on the stovetop, that isn't an issue with us. It *is* heavy (come on, it's *supposed* to be; it's cast iron), but that keep it well in place on the stove with no shifting about, even when vigorously scraping it clean. The handles are nice, but my wife says it's heavy for picking up to drain the grease, hence the earlier modification for the auxiliary drip pan. Pros: Good value for money, seasons well, has deep splash guard and nice handles. Easy to clean on the stove top, and 320 square inch (16x20) actual cooking surface is plenty sizable for a large family. Versatile for indoor or outdoor cooking. Heats evenly without warping. Cons: Inconvenient to store, and is heavy (for a woman) to lift in front of her and tip to drain the grease tray, particularly while it's hot. Handles add 3" to total length, meaning it doesn't fit in some ovens (like ours) for easy (and smokefree) seasoning.
