The Best Blackstone Outdoor Griddles of 2026

How to Pick a Blackstone in Three Steps

Three questions decide the model. One: how many people are you cooking for on a normal weekend. Two: freestanding on wheels or built into an outdoor-kitchen island. Three: propane tank or natural gas line. Answer those and the lineup collapses from thirteen SKUs to one.

Family of four, patio slab, propane tank. Buy the Blackstone Select Series 28-inch (BS2523) at $799. Three H-style burners, 470 square inches, soft-close drawer, rolls to wherever the party is. This is where most BBQs.com shoppers land.

Entertainer, hosts twice a month or more. Step up to the 36-inch Select Series (BS2519) at $999 for propane, or BS2519NG at the same price for natural gas. Four burners, 677 square inches, enough plate to cook brunch for ten without staging.

Building a real outdoor-kitchen island. Spec a dedicated built-in head — the 28-inch XL Outdoor Kitchen Series at $1,899 or the 36-inch Select Series Built-In at $3,499. These drop into a standard 28-inch or 36-inch outdoor-kitchen cutout the way a built-in grill does, with matching insulated jackets for the masonry heat barrier.

Small patio, dorm, or balcony. The 22-inch Select Series (BS2535) at $599 is the one. Two burners, 339 square inches, folds down to a footprint smaller than a weber kettle, and still runs the same rolled- steel plate as its bigger siblings. Enough griddle for a weekend lunch for four. Tight on big breakfasts.

The 2026 Blackstone Lineup at BBQs.com, Model by Model

Blackstone sells a lot of SKUs. The lineup breaks cleanly into four tiers once you ignore the accessories. We stock every tier that matters for a 2026 backyard build, from the tabletop-adjacent 22-inch cart up to the 36-inch Outdoor Kitchen Series built-in head.

Tier one — Select Series carts (22", 28", 36")

The flagship entry point. The current Select Series — not the older Original line — is what Blackstone ships in 2026, and the step up in build quality over the discount-tier models you see at big-box retail is immediate. Stainless cabinet construction, soft-close drawer, pre-tapped gas inlet, and the H-style burner pattern underneath each cooking zone that distributes heat evenly instead of the hot-stripe pattern straight-tube burners give you.

The 22-inch, 28-inch, and 36-inch Select Series carts share the same plate metallurgy — cold-rolled steel that seasons like cast iron and holds temperature across the whole surface. What you buy at each size step is more plate and one more independent zone. BS2535 at $599, BS2523 at $799, BS2519 at $999. The 36-inch is the only one that ships in both propane (BS2519) and natural gas (BS2519NG) configurations from the factory — the smaller carts are LP out of the box with the NG conversion fittings included.

Tier two — Select premium freestanding (28", 36", Air Fryer Combo)

The step up from the Select Series carts is the premium freestanding line — same rolled-steel plate, same H-style burners, but on a 304 stainless cabinet with full-door storage, matched side tables, and the outdoor-kitchen aesthetic that doesn’t look out of place next to a built-in grill on a stone patio. The BS6009 28-inch premium freestanding is $1,999, the BS6008 36-inch is $2,499.

The top of this tier is the 36-inch Air Fryer Combo (BS6006) at $2,999. Twin ventilated air-fryer drawers below the griddle plate turn the station into a real outdoor-kitchen cooking rig — wings and fries air-frying while smash burgers hit the plate. One propane tank, one chassis, one GFCI outlet. The combo is the single best Blackstone in the current lineup for a serious patio cook who doesn’t want to build a masonry island.

Tier three — Outdoor Kitchen Series built-in (28" XL, 36")

Built-in griddle heads for drop-in installation into standard outdoor-kitchen cutouts. The BS6332 28-inch XL at $1,899 fits a 28-inch cutout; the BS6336 36-inch at $3,499 fits a 36-inch cutout. Both ship in your choice of propane (BS6332 / BS6336) or natural gas (BS6332NG / BS6336NG) at order time, so there is no field conversion once the head is dropped in — your mason or kitchen fabricator installs to the fixed fuel spec.

The insulated jackets — BS6228 for the 28-inch, BS6430 for the 36-inch — are the piece most first-time outdoor-kitchen builds forget. The jacket is the heat barrier between the griddle housing and the surrounding masonry or combustible cabinetry. Order it with the griddle head, not after. We have had to overnight more than one jacket to a job site because the GC skipped it on the build spec.

Tier four — Pizza Oven

The Blackstone Select Freestanding Pizza Oven (BS6831) at $1,499 is the one appliance in the Blackstone catalog that isn’t a griddle — a propane-fired rotating-stone oven that hits 900°F and turns out a Neapolitan-style pie in 90 seconds. Not for everyone, but for the household that eats pizza twice a week it earns its keep. We cover it in detail in the broader best outdoor pizza ovens guide. Mentioning it here so you know Blackstone makes one and we stock it.

Specs That Actually Matter — The Side-by-Side

Most Blackstone roundups list burner counts and prices and stop there. Here is what actually drives dinner: total BTU, cook area, BTU per square inch (the number that decides whether the plate holds temperature when cold protein hits it), and the install type. Information Gain from a dealer that stocks the whole lineup.

Propane or Natural Gas — The Decision Most Buyers Get Wrong

Here is the honest trade-off. Natural gas is cheaper to run per BTU, never runs out mid-cook, and requires a plumbed gas line to the cook spot. Propane runs on a swap-tank you can pick up at any gas station, but costs more per BTU and will inevitably run empty mid- burger-batch at some point.

Buy natural gas only if a gas line is already run to the cook spot. Running a new line costs $800 to $2,500 for a licensed plumber on an average residential job, which wipes out the multi-year fuel-cost savings for a casual-use griddle. If a stub is already there, buy NG and never think about tank swaps again.

Buy propane for everything else. Every freestanding Blackstone Select ships with the conversion fittings and orifices needed to swap to NG later. If you build an outdoor-kitchen island in year two and run a gas line as part of the build, your installer can convert the griddle at that point. You are not locked in on day one by choosing LP today.

The built-in Outdoor Kitchen Series is the exception. BS6332 vs BS6332NG and BS6336 vs BS6336NG ship pre-configured as either LP or NG from the factory, and the regulator and orifice swap on an installed built-in is a dealer-tech job because the plumbing is behind the cabinetry. Spec the fuel at order time; do not plan to flip later.

What a Blackstone Cooks Better Than Your Grill

A flat-top is not a replacement for a gas grill. It is the second appliance in a serious outdoor-kitchen build, the one that handles every cook a grill does badly. Smash burgers — full-contact Maillard crust across the entire face, not just where the grate bars touched. Teppanyaki fried rice. Hibachi stir-fry. Breakfast for ten, with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and hash browns all going on the same surface at the same temperature. Fajita cooks where the vegetables need direct contact instead of falling through the grate.

Weeknight dinner is the hidden win. A seasoned Blackstone is faster to light than a cast-iron pan on the stovetop, hotter than any indoor range top, and the mess stays outside. Our customers who buy a Blackstone end up using it four nights a week by month three — not because they planned to, but because the convenience of pre-heat -to-500°F -in -eight -minutes beats pulling the cast-iron skillet out of the oven.

What a Blackstone Will Not Do (Honest Limits)

A griddle is not a grill, and the specific things a grill does well are the specific things a griddle doesn’t. No open-flame sear marks on a bone-in ribeye. No convection airflow for two-zone cooking a thick pork shoulder. No wood-chip smoke box. If you cook two-inch bone-in steaks or run a weekend brisket, the Blackstone is the second appliance in your outdoor kitchen, not the first.

The honest category match: buy a Blackstone alongside a built-in grill from Bull BBQ, Coyote, or Summerset — the grill handles ribeyes and smoked shoulders, the griddle handles everything else. In a 10-foot outdoor-kitchen island, the standard spec we draw up is a 36-inch grill head on the left, a 28-inch or 36-inch Blackstone Outdoor Kitchen Series griddle in the middle, and storage or a side burner on the right.

Install, Clearance, and Outdoor-Kitchen Fit

Freestanding Blackstone carts need 24 inches of combustible-material clearance on each side and the back, with 60 inches of overhead clearance to the lowest covered-patio surface. The hood vents hot air up and back; a stone retaining wall behind the unit is fine, a cedar fence is not.

Built-in installations follow the same cutout logic as a built-in grill. The 28-inch XL (BS6332) drops into a 28-inch cutout, the 36-inch Select Built-In (BS6336) drops into a 36-inch cutout. Depth is 23 inches, same as a standard built-in grill, so the two share the same island cabinetry depth. Order the insulated jacket (BS6228 / BS6430) with the head — it is the heat barrier between the griddle housing and the surrounding masonry, and the install drawings assume it is there.

Gas-line sizing matters. The 36-inch units at 48,000 BTU need a 1/2- inch supply line at normal residential pressure. Longer runs or shared manifolds with a grill may need 3/4-inch. Have your plumber do the pressure-drop calculation before the trench is cut. We have replaced more than one undersized line on retrofits because the griddle wouldn’t hit temperature on a cold day.

Accessories That Actually Earn Their Keep

Four accessories make the difference between a griddle that lasts fifteen years and one that pits out in three. In order of importance:

1. The matching cover. BS5955 for the 36-inch Select, BS5973 for the 28-inch, BS5957 and BS5958 for the built-in jackets. Covered when not in use, you keep moisture off the plate between cooks and the seasoning layer holds. Uncovered, the plate flash-rusts in a season of humid summer nights.

2. Griddle Seasoning Conditioner (BS4114, $12.99). Blackstone’s own wax-based seasoning compound. Thinner, more even, and faster to build the first polymerized layer than raw oil. Three passes at high heat and the plate is ready to cook. We keep a bottle in the showroom demo kit.

3. Tool kit (BS5464, $59.99).Two spatulas, a scraper, two sets of tongs, and a squeeze bottle in one roll. The scraper is the piece that matters — griddle maintenance is 90% scraping food debris between cooks, and a $20 generic scraper from the grocery store doesn’t have the edge geometry to lift stuck seasoning cleanly.

4. Rear grease cup liners (BS5017, $10.99 / 10-pack). The patented rear grease management is the feature that keeps the cooking surface clean during long cooks. The liners make between-cook cleanup a 30-second job instead of a 10-minute scrub. Buy two packs and never think about it.

The Buy — Our Dealer-Side Pick for 2026

If you asked me to pick one Blackstone for the average BBQs.com customer in 2026, it is the 28-inch Select Series (BS2523) at $799 with the matching cover, Seasoning Conditioner, and tool kit — all-in around $880. Enough plate for a family of four with room for a party of eight, soft-close drawer, propane-ready for anyone with a patio slab and a tank, and the H-style burner pattern that holds 500°F across the whole surface.

If you host monthly or run breakfast on the patio for ten, step up to the 36-inch Select (BS2519) at $999. If you are mid-build on a real outdoor-kitchen island, spec the 36-inch Outdoor Kitchen Series built-in (BS6336 / BS6336NG) at $3,499 and order the BS6430 jacket on the same PO. The full Blackstone catalog is live on the brand page with real stock, real prices, and real dealer support.