Blackstone Dash Portable Grill/Griddle for Outdoor Cooking - Camping and Tailgating

I have owned many portable grills over the years, most of which were just bought on a whim. This time around I spent a ton of time researching, reading and watching just about every review out there searching for the most ideal portable. It seems like there is always one or two problems with them. This one seems very highly regarded, so I thought I would give it a chance. Had it in my saved list for like a year before I finally saw it on sale and pulled the trigger.Build/construction. For this price, I did not expect Weber quality. And, in fact its not that level of quality. However, its pretty good. It feels solid all around. The only weak point I can see so far are the two spring latches. Although, it does also have a velcro strap included that accomplishes the same function, so you are triple covered there. I find that the legs are sturdy enough when all put together, and this can also be a table top, which is great. The grill plate is reversible, flat on one side and grill lines on the other. Both are non-stick coated.Heat/cooking. As you would expect from this type of grill, its really more of a frying grill as opposed to a BBQ grill. You will not get that BBQ taste, as the meat or whatever is not over open flame. Know this going in. That is not to say you cannot simulate BBQ grilling. But, its not the same. That is fine for us. The grill has more cooking area than we thought it would. I can see this working well for a cook out up to about 6 people for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner. For our use, I think the heat level and control is perfectly adequate for a portable. Its not perfect, but definitely workable. Yes, the plate gets hotter in the middle than the edges. They all have hotter and colder spots. Its just the nature of the beast. My el cheapo temp gun says it gets about 550F in the middle and 450F near the edges on high, which is enough to cook just about anything. If there is a heat problem its that the plate is much hotter than the air volume with the lid closed. This makes it difficult to cook thicker items where you need the grill surface to be closer to the same temp as the surrounding air. This will mean you need to lower the plate temp and just plan to cook longer.Cleanup. Cleanup is this grills greatest feature. Cleanup is a snap. This is always the Achilles heel of the portable grill. Its just a huge mess to deal with. Not this one. The nonstick cleans very easy, usually with just a wet paper towel. There is a grease trap, which will come in handy for larger cookouts, cooking bacon, and things like this. We are usually cooking for two, so almost nothing ever gets in there for us. If it did, you simply unhook it and clean it out in less than a minute. Perfect! Also, it is basically impossible for anything grease and grit to fall to the bottom inside of the grill. This eliminates flare ups, grease fire, etc., and also the potential for leakage while transporting. Love the cleanup on this grill.Setup and stow. First, this works as a table top, so setup on that is super easy. You simply attached the regulator and propane and off you go. Setting up with legs is a little awkward, but not terrible. It feels solid when setup with the legs, and ends up at the perfect height for me. The pushbutton start is fairly reliable, par for the course. The whole thing compacts pretty well for a grill this large, and should do well in a bag. Not all do, so this is a plus.Overall, this may be the best propane fry grill on the market all things considered. It is a little bigger than we thought it would be, but most wont find that to be a con. We are usually cooking for 2-4 people, so we would have been fine with something 2/3 the size of this one. As long as you are ok with fry grills, this is a great option. If you dont like fry grills, you will hate this. Wish it was a little lighter as well, but the grill plate quality is good and a lot of the weight is there. Just no way around that. There does not seem to be an OEM carry bag for this, but I am sure some third party bags will work.Update: I have used it several times now at home and abroad. Loving this grill. You do have to make sure you get the level right when when cooking certain items or you can have a big mess. Great heat control. Does go through 1 lb propane tanks pretty fast given the BTU's. Grill lines on food not as good as I hoped. Still a five star product.

If you have been searching for a good little grill for camping, your search will be over.I have spent enough money on different kinds of grills over the years only to be left disappointed. Not in how they all have cooked food, but the clean up and storage. Let's face it, if you are like me and are only useing it for camping or tailgating you want a portable grill that heats fast, cooks good, and clean up has to be fast.We just got back from a 9 day camping event and this grill did everything except only one item that we had struggled to cook.Ok ,before we go any further let's be clear on the grilling. Remember this is a griddle, flat and smooth on one side and raised griddle on the other side. Now if you want the rack system were the flames touch your food this grill is not for you.Ok first day, I made 6 eggs over easy and 14 sausages for breakfast with no problems. For supper we made chicken. Now we did par boil the chicken first but it browned the chicken verynice. Also left the grill marks on the chicken.Now the clean up on this baby was fast and easy. I let it cool for about 15 minutes and took the griddle out and took a wet sponge with soap and wiped it clean then just rinsed and let dry.Now for the part I really like, no mess or grease went down on the bottom of the grill. Nothing on the burner ect. This is extremely important to me. As I only use this for camping I really like that no grease or mess stays in the grill. I can now leave it in storage in the camper with out worrying about stink or it dripping grease on something. I love this part.Ok back to how it cooks.We have cooked pancakes, burgers, brats,hotdogs, eggs , chicken, steaks , pork chops ect with no problems.Now the only thing I had a problem with is kind of my own fault. I tried to cook an omelet on this. Very hard to do unless you make the omelet very small. The sides of the griddle are very low, only about 1/8" high and the omelet will run over the sides.But cooking eggs over easy was not a problem.Also I leveled the grill with a level, being camping the ground is not always level and this will help you when you cook eggs. I always keep an small level in the camper.I used the big tank of propane with the hose so I don't no how long a small tank will last. But it is nice that I have the option.The front legs are very sturdy come apart into two pc's and snap underneath the grill for storage. The rear leg is kind of like a suitcase handle. It will adjust by teloscoping it out and is very stable. It also folds under the grill when not in use.As far as long term durability, I don't no. But I am not seeing any problems with this grill. The price is very good for what I wanted in a camping grill. If this grill dies tomorrow, I would buy another one.Also the lid has latches that keep it closed when not in use. Very handy.I don't no how long it would hold up if you used everyday like you would in a full size grill, but I don't think it is made for that. ( just my opinion.)I hope this review helps you.

I love this thing! I've never liked the idea of drippy stuff ending up in the bottom and this solid grill makes it possible to clean everything perfectly after use. One side is ridged for burgers and such, and the other side works great for pancakes and french toast. Very easy to set up and compact for storage.

After buying another bbq for my motorhome which didn't work as well I decided to dump the top brand name one and buy something that makes practical sense...... AND THIS IS IT !WHY is it "SO GOOD" ?1) Legs tucked away if you use a picnic (or park) table, but handy if you haven't got any2) COOKING SURFACE a plenty !3) It starts IMMEDIATELY and EVERY TIME I use it4) It gives you an audio queue if lit and if extinguished (listen for the "clak-clak-clak" sound as the metal expands and shrinks respectively5) DOUBLE SIDED GRIDDLE perfect for breakfasts and supper time.... and for everything you wanna bbq !6) EASY EASY CLEAN non-stick surface !!7) Top closes for "enclosed cooking"8) Easy enough to carry with one hand !I could not have made a better choice. YES YES YES this is the one, so glad I decided to get this one !

Awesome, portable, even heat and easy to clean.

Glad I did the research, great BBQ. Griddle heats up efficiently and cooks perfectly everytime. Cleans easy also. Sometimes the igniter struggles to light so have to press it a few times. Have a lighter available just in case.

Works well, very portable. The lighter button stopped working after 3 tries, but that's not a big deal compared to the overall performance of the unit. Very pleased