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BarbecueBible.com’s Test Kitchen Director and Photographer Extraordinaire Steve Nester has written about how great Oscarware products are, and I managed to get my hands on some!
The Griddle Hack Every Gas Grill Owner Needs
This topper turns any gas grill into a makeshift griddle. It’s a lightweight, porcelain-coated steel surface that sits right over your grill grates. You get the sear and sizzle of a flat-top, with the heat of your gas burners below. It’s vented just enough to let grease drain and air circulate, but solid enough to give you that Maillard magic — that deep, brown crust that makes a burger unforgettable.
Why Griddle Your Burgers?
Don’t get me wrong — I love a grilling a burger! With those grill marks and slight char? Amazing! But sometimes, I’m in a mood for a crispy, evenly browned crust you get from a diner-style patty. And for that, griddling is the way to go. It gives your burger more surface contact with the heat, which means better browning and more flavor. Instead of juices dripping through the grates and causing flare-ups, they stay right where they belong — in the burger. That makes for a juicier, more flavorful bite every time.
Using the Oscarware Griddle Topper
Super easy:
- Preheat your grill with the lid closed for 10–15 minutes. You want that surface HOT.
- Place the topper directly on your gas grill grates.
- Lightly oil the surface or brush your patties.
- Smash or sear your burgers directly on the topper — you’ll hear the sizzle instantly.
Pro Tips for the Perfect Burger
I thought I’d share some great tips that I have learned from Steven over the past few years.
- Use 80/20 ground beef — you want that fat for flavor and sizzle. (I recently had Waygu Burgers! Amazing)
- If you are making Smash Burgers, smash early — within the first 30 seconds to build crust.
- Don’t overcrowd — give each patty breathing room.
- Let it rest — just 2–3 minutes post-griddle lets the juices settle.
Cooking the Burger
With this in mind, I put the Oscarware Griddle Topper to the test and made a batch of four burgers — and they came out awesome. Smash them or not, you get classic patties generously seasoned with Steven’s Malabar Steak Rub. The griddle topper gave me a beautiful, even sear on each one without any flare-ups or lost juices.
Once they were nearly done, I topped them with Colby Jack cheese and let it melt while I toasted the buns directly on the grill. Piled on some crisp lettuce and thick-cut tomato slices, and that was it — no fancy extras, just a straight-up backyard burger. It tasted like something straight off a roadside diner menu — only better, because I made it myself.
And cleanup? A breeze. The porcelain coating meant nothing stuck, and it wiped down fast once it cooled. Plus it’s dishwasher safe.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever drooled over a diner-style burger and thought, “I can’t make that at home,”—now you can. The Oscarware Griddle Topper is the perfect tool for gas grill lovers who want the best of both worlds: the control of a griddle with the firepower of a grill.
So fire up that gas grill, grab this topper, and start griddling.
Your burgers — and your friends and family — will thank you.
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