Southbend Griddles & Charbroilers

Southbend Griddles & Charbroilers: What You Need to Know

Southbend has been making foodservice equipment for more than 100 years. All this experience has resulted in a Southbend griddle that'll endure repeated, strenuous use in a commercial kitchen while producing consistent cooking power. Griddles and charbroilers are similar but can produce significantly different results, depending on the food you're cooking, but Southbend pieces are always reliable. We'll go over the different styles of griddle and charbroiler below to help you find the perfect piece.

Common Questions About Southbend Griddles & Charbroilers

What's the difference between a Southbend griddle and charbroiler?

Southbend griddles and charbroilers are similar in almost every aspect except the actual cooking surface. Both have a heating element underneath a metal plate, but the charbroiler plate is ridged and grooved, while a griddle plate is flat.

As a result, Southbend charbroilers will produce food with distinctive grill marks – an attractive aesthetic and contrasting texture on the finished product. A Southbend griddle, on the other hand, is necessary for cooking anything with a liquid component, such as pancakes or eggs, which would run between the grooves of a charbroiler.

Griddles often have fewer variable temperature zones than charbroilers, because they only have a single heating plate, while the grooves on a charbroiler can be heated to different temperatures by the multiple burners underneath. Southbend charbroilers and griddles both have grease catchers to facilitate cleaning. Griddles will have walls around the cooking surface to keep grease and food particles from falling off the plate.

Why does plate thickness matter?

The thickness of a griddle plate determines how quickly it'll heat up and how well it'll retain that heat. Thicker griddle plates won't heat up as quickly, but once they get hot, they'll retain that heat longer than a thinner griddle plate.

For operators, this means a thicker griddle plate is best for repeated, high-volume use, while a thinner griddle plate is better for sporadic, short-term use. Thicker plates will also last longer than thinner plates.

Almost all Southbend griddles come with a 1-inch-thick plate, which is a good middle ground that works for most operations.