If you’re a fan of foods like smash burgers, pancakes, hash browns, and stir-fry, cooking on a flat top is the way to go. With the $799 Current Model G Single Zone Electric Griddle, you can prepare those dishes and more without having to worry about running out of propane. This all-electric griddle uses Wi-Fi to connect to your phone, allowing you to use an app to monitor its heat and probe temperatures. The steel griddle tray and electric heating element provide a uniform cooking surface with accurate temperatures, and cleanup is quick and easy. You’ll pay significantly more for the Model G than for a non-smart electric griddle like the slightly smaller Blackstone 22-Inch Electric Tabletop Griddle ($281), but if you want the convenience of app controls, it's the only game in town.

Design: A Sturdy Build for Single-Temp Griddling

The Model G is a 110-volt/1,750-watt electric griddle that uses heating elements to provide a temperature range of 200 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. It measures 45 by 49 by 24 inches (HWD) with both side shelves extended. The side shelves measure 11 by 17 inches (WD). The Model G has a gray painted steel frame with two 8-inch wheels and two smaller 3-inch locking casters that make it easy to move from place to place. The lid has a gold bolt emblem and a black handle. A slot on the left side, below the shelf, holds a removable grease tray, and there are two removable center trays beneath the griddle for holding food and utensils. You can order a cabinet and door kit for an additional $99.

(Credit: Current)

This is a single-zone griddle, which means the entire cooking surface maintains a single temperature. As such, it lacks the cooking versatility of a multi-zone griddle like the aforementioned Blackstone, which lets you cook at high heat on one side and, for example, keep things warm on the other side. The Model G’s griddle surface is made of heavy-duty seasoned steel and measures 22 by 15 inches. It offers 330 square inches of cooking space and can accommodate up to 14 burgers, 12 chicken breasts, or eight steaks. An opening on the left side of the cooking surface makes it easy to scrape grease and other debris into the grease tray.

The front of the griddle is home to the digital control panel, which has an 11-inch display, a single temperature control dial, and buttons for Power, Timer, and Auto Season, used to season the griddle's cooking surface. A pair of probe ports is located on the left side. One probe is included, and you can purchase an expansion kit with two for $39.

The Model G is equipped with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) radios for connecting to your phone and home network. The screen displays the current and target temperatures, the probe temperature, the remaining duration on the timer, and the Wi-Fi status. To set the cooking temperature, turn the dial to the desired value and press it in. The dial is surrounded by an LED ring that is blue when the griddle is on and cool, flashes red when in preheating mode, turns solid red when the target temperature is reached, flashes yellow when in Auto Season mode, and flashes orange if there’s an error.

The Model G griddle uses the same Current mobile app (for Android and iOS) as the Model G Dual-Zone Grill ($899) we reviewed last summer. It opens to a Cook screen with a picture of the griddle and a button labeled Control Your Device. Tap the button to open a screen that displays the current temperature in black and the target temperature in red. Below that, you can set a timer and see the temperature readings for both probes. Swipe this screen to the left to view a live graph showing the surface temperature changes for the current cooking session.

(Credit: Current/PCMag)

At the bottom of the screen are Recipes, Cook, Discover, and Account tabs. The Recipes tab offers a searchable database of recipes for beef, lamb, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and more. Choices were limited to 88 recipes at the time of this review, and most of them are meant for use with the Current Dual Zone Grill. However, there are a handful of griddle-specific recipes, including Griddled Pencil-Thin Asparagus, Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola and Walnut Topping, and Cheesy Smashed Fingering Potatoes. As with the Dual Zone Grill, you can’t send recipes directly to the griddle like you can with the Brisk It Origin 940 ($1,099.99) and Traeger Ironwood 650 ($1,199.99) pellet grills, both of which offer more than a thousand app-based recipe choices.

Tap the Discover tab to access how-to articles on things like indirect grilling and searing, or to shop for Current grills and griddles. The Account tab lets you edit your name and password, set your temperature unit (Fahrenheit or Celsius), and enable notifications to let you know when your target and internal temperatures have been reached and when it's safe to cover the griddle. Here you can also view support information.

Assembly and Performance: Simple to Put Together, and a Pleasure to Use

Assembling the Model G Griddle is fairly easy, but you’ll need an extra set of hands to place the griddle assembly on the stand. As with the Model G Dual Zone Grill, the griddle comes with a clearly marked blister pack of nuts and bolts and a ratcheting screwdriver with Phillips and flat head driver attachments. The griddle uses the BILT 3D app, which provides voice and illustrated assembly instructions. In testing, it took around 30 minutes to assemble the griddle.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

Once assembled, I seasoned the griddle by coating the cooking surface with a thin layer of vegetable oil (you can use any high-smoke-point oil). I turned on the griddle, pressed the Auto Season button, and then pressed the dial to confirm my selection. After one hour, the griddle was seasoned and ready to go.

To cook a breakfast of over-easy eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns, I preheated the griddle to 400 degrees and cooked the bacon on one side of the surface and the hash browns on the other. You’ll want to pay attention here because both dishes will go from well done to burnt in the blink of an eye. I plated the hash browns and bacon, scraped down the surface, and added a bit of vegetable oil to cook the eggs on one side while toasting up a couple of slices of bread on the other. Everything came out awesome, with the exception of one piece of burnt toast, which I left on a little too long.

Next up were double smash burger sliders. You’ll want to prepare any additional ingredients (onions, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) ahead of time because things cook up fast. I rolled up six balls of ground beef to the size of an oversized golf ball, halved a couple of slices of American cheese, sliced up an onion, and heated the griddle to 450 degrees. I cooked the onion slices on one side, and when they were caramelized, I placed the burgers on the griddle and used a burger press and parchment paper to flatten them down (the paper prevents the press from sticking to the meat). After a minute and a half, I flipped the burgers, placed a piece of cheese on each one, and by the time the cheese had melted, the burgers were done. I then double-stacked the burgers on a small bun with a layer of onions between each patty. The burgers had a glorious crust on each side and were delicious.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

The griddle needed around 15 minutes to reach a temperature of 350 degrees and close to 30 minutes to hit its maximum temperature of 600 degrees, so make sure to leave yourself enough time to properly heat the surface, especially if you're planning to do high-temperature cooking. I received alerts when the target temperature was set, when the griddle reached the target temperature, and when it was time to cover the griddle after it had cooled down.

Clean-up was easy: I scraped any debris into the grease tray and poured water on the cooking surface while it was still hot. The steam from the water helped loosen up any remaining bits, which I also scraped into the tray. Using a pair of tongs and a clean cloth, I cleaned the surface thoroughly, and after applying a thin coat of vegetable oil, I was ready for the next griddle session.