I have a griddle that came with my gas range. It can be placed over the central burner (5-burner grill). Actually, I have 3 of them—the one that came with my current range and 2 from previous ranges that had to be replaced this summer (don’t ask).
Since I only need the newest one, can I use the other 2 as griddles outdoors on my Weber charcoal grill? Or do I risk releasing some sort of toxin, melting my griddle plate, or worse?
It almost certainly depends on the materials of the stovetop griddle. All cast iron? Probably bulletproof. Some sort of non-stick? May have some issues, but lots of variables. If the griddles were included with the ranges, you can probably look up by the manufacturer and check what if anything they were coated with and their maximum heat tolerance.
Honestly though, almost (emphasis on almost) all will probably be fine on your average charcoal grill unless you’re getting said grill to excessive heat.
I cannot imagine a gas stove griddle plate containing any toxic substances. A charcoal fire could get hotter than your gas stove but it’s unlikely you would use it that way.
More likely steel but even morer likely it’s aluminum.
I have one of those griddle plates for the middle burner. I used it once to warm tortillas. I’m kind of reluctant to use it at all. It is heavy but I’m suspicious of the black coating on it, it’s glossy and might be called non stick. But I wonder how durable it is.
Oh yes, the majority of the ones I’ve seen are hard anodized aluminum or more rarely, high carbon steel. I was trying to make the point that different materials have different answers, and of all of them, cast iron was likely the most worry free for the issues mentioned.
Although even with cast iron, there’s a difference in heat tolerance if it’s seasoned (not the pan, the seasoning though) or if it’s some sort of enameled cast iron (highly unlikely).
I have a seasoned cast iron camp Dutchie with feet that I’ve used in fiercely glowing embers of a large fire, with more on the lid with zero issues (as that’s it’s intended use), but I would probably avoid very high heat applications with most aluminum griddles. Even if there is no toxic discharge, I’d be worried about thin aluminum warping.