Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Cuisinart CGG-888 Outdoor Stainless Steel Lid, 360° Griddle Cooking Center

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

Style: 360° Griddle Cooking CenterPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I use this several times a week, all year round. (I live in SE Pa) I've had it about two years and it has changed the way I cook in a major way. I keep it in my front yard, about 15 ft from the door, and even on the coldest days, I can go out & quickly cook breakfast. I have cast iron Lodge griddles that fit over the electric range-top burners, but this is quicker and easier to use, and cleans up faster even though I have to go outside. And no smoke-filled rooms, all-day onion or bacon smell, or smoke alarms triggered. Also, for french toast & pancakes, I can load the whole batch on, where even with the large range griddle, they don't all fit at once. Veggies and thick onion slices come out perfect. The only complaint I read is 'no grill marks'. Well, if I feel the need, I just use the cast iron grill plates from my portable Nexgrill Cast Aluminum Table Top Gas BBQ which has been relegated for use in the backyard, mainly for quick hotdogs or something when I'm out in the garage. I set those grill plates on the Cusinart griddle surface to heat up, along with a couple presses when I first fire up, & put the dome on so everything gets evenly hot. You could also buy those Nexgrill grates, or another brand separately. The heat distribution is not quite even, but the learning curve solved that for me. This is among the best 3 appliances I've ever purchased in my 50+ years of adult life. Get one while they're still reasonably priced. Also, don't neglect to buy the cover if you plan on leaving it outside.

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ID 10 T Error

Reviewed the 360 XL - Definitely Get the Big One!

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2020

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I noticed that the reviews are a mix of a couple of grills which can be confusing. This one is for the larger Cuisineart 360 XL.

I would always go with the larger one even if it is a bit pricey compared to its smaller cousin. I have had it for a week and love doing stir-fry and smash burgers. Less splatter on the floor and food flying off the top with the larger surface. I looked at the EVO with I found out is a little less than $4000, yikes, I'm sure it is heaven, heats evenly and lasts forever, but too rich for me. This grill works great and seems just as fun to cook on, though I wonder how many years it can last in the open.

You will want to buy a cover for the unit, as the metal cover doesn't completely cover the sides of the grill top, and has a vent hole that I'm sure will leak. If you don't keep it under an awning, you will need a cover.

And the unit is very wide and will not fit through most doors, so if you have a patio with a door you'll want to either decide it to be indoors or outdoors as once you bolt on the base, that's pretty much it.

Pros:
- Great 30" round cooking surface. Pretty thick enough to hold heat. Surprisingly good against sticking when seasoned. Larger surface also means cooking in middle helps minimize splatter when grilling, and less food flying when stir-frying.
- Surface gets about 550 F and can get a little higher. Good for "smash burgers" or stir fry.
- Easy to clean with water and a scraper. Use towels to wipe drip catch around the grill to the drip pan.
- Comes with a big metal cover.
- A left and right foldable shelves (thought wish a little larger).
- 3 burner zones so you can have the center to be hot, and the sides for holding/warming if you are stir frying.

Cons:
- Base is a bit cheaply made. I do worry about long term rust, I suggest if you see rust to immediately use anti-rust treatment and/or paint.
- There were some minor manufacturing defects and minor scratches, but fortunately no dents. There was one issue, there was a very sharp piece of metal pin-point on the sheet-metal of the drip cup (and pricked me!). I was able to remove it, but ouch!
- Though it has 3 burner zones, I wished the side zones were curved rather than straight to help even out the heat to the side. With that, the heat on the top can be a bit uneven.

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RG

Great Griddle For The Price

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2023

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

Every outdoor cooking appliance is a trade off between functionality and price. If money is not a concern, then the EVO griddle for $5,000 is the best for a 30" diameter round. If price is a concern, then get the Cuisinart 360 XL. Both provide over 705 sq. inches of cooking space.

1. High heat output of 50,000 BTU similar to the EVO, but the 360 XL has three separate burners running vertically. Left/Right single burners and center in a "U" shape. The EVO has two concentric round burners which makes heat control easier; however, the 360 XL can be managed knowing you will have some hot/cold spots. Wind shielding isn't the greatest, but isn't bad and you can rotate it if you have straight line winds.
2. The round steel griddle is heavy, but not very heavy. It could have been beefier, but that would require the rest of the frame to be sturdier.
3. Grease management is excellent with the all round drip tray that drains into the grease cup. If food falls into it, just pick it up and put back on the griddle.
4. Made in China and made cheaply. Don't leave it out in the rain, it will rust, and will rust if you don't keep it clean. The control knobs are made of plastic, which will break if you frequently turn them hard. Amazon shipping is also an issue, often times these grills will get beaten up in shipping. It may be worth paying $20 for inside delivery so you can inspect the package or refuse delivery.

At the price point of $440 after tax, it is a better product than the standard Blackstone griddle. If the price was $500 or higher, then I would look into a better standard rectangular griddle between $500-$900 that could attain the similar heat per sq. inch. I expect to use this griddle for 3-4 years, then it will likely break down, but by then I'm sure other companies will have more price competitive round griddles.

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Virginia

I love this thing.

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2023

Style: 360° Griddle Cooking CenterPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I sold my charcoal Weber because now that I’m a widow & live alone, I don’t want to deal with charcoal to cook 1 burger etc. I was going to get myself a small propane grill. But I was also missing the built in griddle I had in my last kitchen. So this seemed like the best of both worlds. I put it together by myself in about an hour. It was not difficult. A 2nd person would’ve been helpful, but he’s dead so 🤷🏻‍♀️

The instructions recommend linseed oil for seasoning. But I read that makes for a brittle seasoning that flakes off. Also I didn’t have any. I used avocado oil instead, and it seasoned up beautifully. I seasoned it with a very thin coat 3 times, then I cooked on it. First cook was stir fried chicken and fried rice. The surface was already as non stick as a Teflon pan. At this point I knew I was really going to enjoy this griddle. The next morning I cooked fried eggs & hash. Again, non stick as can be. I have also cooked burgers, pancakes, French toast. Each cook just made the seasoning better. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it achieved a beautiful solid black, slick season.

It’s very easy to maintain. After cooking I give it a quick scrape with the spatula if needed. Then a swipe with a damp paper towel & another swipe with oil. Then when I use it again, I pre heat it, wipe it with a damp paper towel again, then I add my oil or butter & cook on it. I find once it’s well seasoned I don’t actually need much fat to cook with. The rusty pictures people have posted make me sad. Those griddles clearly were not properly seasoned or stored. Like I said, seasoning it was easy, and maintaining the surface takes hardly any effort or time. But it is mandatory, and if you skip it, it will rust. But even if it rusts you could sand off the rust & start over. Properly seasoned, it is a joy to cook on.

Overall I love it, but have a few minor complaints. I wish it had a handle to move it around. Puzzling that it has wheels, but nowhere good to grab it to move it around. I wish it had a door on the front to access the propane tank, instead of accessing it from the back. I wish the side table was a little bigger.

21 people found this helpful

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MP

Pretty good. Especially for the price

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2022

Style: 360° Griddle Cooking CenterPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I love outdoor cooking, and I likely have many more options than I will ever reasonably need to that end, but I've wanted a griddle to round out my choices for a while now anyway. We were at a friend's house who did smash burgers on his Blackstone and my son just raved about them, so with some persuading I got clearance to litter up my patio with one more cooking toy.

I would have probably gone with the Blackstone or another Camp Chef to match my pellet smoker, except I'm already at something of a premium for space. I'd love the Evo, but let's be honest, $5k for a griddle would probably have been the last purchase I ever made. There aren't a lot of reviews or detail to be found online about the Cuisinart 360, so it was a little bit of a leap of faith, but so far I'm pretty pleased, with a couple of asterisks.

I was originally going to get the 30", because I almost always convince myself that more is better. I talked myself down, and I'm probably glad I did. In reality I won't frequently be called upon to cook for more than 6-8 people and the surface of this is ample for that, though probably a bit crowded if I were to have 8 patties and 8 buns all going at the same time. For 95% of my cooking, this is plenty. And I imagine the footprint is significantly larger, and three burners of the larger griddle probably go through a lot more propane.

This may assemble in 30 minutes with two people. I don't know, I did it myself and it can be done, but it probably took closer to an hour. I strongly suggest not tightening anything down until you've got everything in place, even screws that seem like they won't come into play later. It's fairly wobbly while you assemble, but you'll appreciate the extra wiggle room, particularly when you're trying to get the top of it attached to the legs. I had to loosen screws a couple of times I never would have guessed would have made any difference later. Trust me on this, don't tighten anything all the way until you've got the last screw in. Once you've got it assembled, tighten everything down and it's pretty sturdy.

One complaint I have is that the locking casters don't lock very well and it still rolls without a lot of exertion. I may replace the casters at some point, but I haven't looked into how much of a project that is yet. Contrary to many reviews I've seen, there were no warps, bends, dents, dings, etc, on the lid or the drip ring in particular. It all looks to be good quality. I scratched one of the legs dropping it when I was taking it out of the box, but only have myself to blame.

The cooking surface is not pre-seasoned and you will definitely want to do that before your first cook. I suggest taking the time to do it right instead of getting in a big hurry to use it. All told, it took me probably 2 hours and half a tank of propane before I was satisfied with the seasoning. I used avocado oil, and patience. After that, this is a good cooking surface, and at least as easy to use as my antique Griswold cast iron pans.

There are some hot and cold spots on the surface, but they're not dramatic and it doesn't take a lot of use to figure out where they are. Nothing that is going to be too frustrating. And mine had a couple of small scratches/grooves in it from production, one of them about 3/4 inch long. Looking at other pictures, this doesn't seem uncommon, but they're not significant or deep enough to make it problematic, it's primarily cosmetic, if that bothers you. I just turned the larger scratch toward the back. This isn't the $5k Evo, so I'm a little more forgiving here than I would be with that. The infinity edge of the round grill takes some getting used to, and not having a raised edge to stop food from rolling over the side does have its issues. I would recommend two decent turners, or at the very least a turner and a bench scraper (which is handy to clean the surface, so I'd suggest a bench scraper anyway) to help corral food. Remember to clean the cooking surface well after you cook (a bottle of water to steam off hard cooked gunk is helpful) and put a layer of oil on it before you're done, unless you want to have to season it every time you use it.

I know this is billed as more than just a griddle, and I guess if it's the only cooking source you have you could get more creative than that, but I don't see it taking the place of a grill or the smoker so much as I see it as an option for things those can't do. The lid is an okay touch for things like trapping heat or melting cheese (though it's really not a melting dome, per se), but it is definitely not enough weather protection on its own. If you don't have an awning, even the morning dew is definitely going to get onto your cooking surface. I'd strongly recommend a cover for storage, even if you do keep it under an awning.

So far I've cooked bacon, eggs, pancakes, smash burgers, patty melts, and a hot turkey and swiss on rye, so I'm still just getting to know the griddle, but I'm happy with my purchase so far. Honestly if space were no constraint, I likely would have gone for a rectangular setup, and I probably still would. This is a more than decent compromise, though.

23 people found this helpful

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Gary Amazon Customer

Superior to anything else in its price range

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2024

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I own a Blackstone, have for almost ten years. But when I saw videos of these, I had to have one. Mine was damaged in shipment by FedEx, and Amazon offered to replace it or give me half price. I accepted the discount. The factory sent me the damaged piece, so with some rigamarole and fussing, I ended up with a 360XL at a discount. It gets hotter, faster, than my Blackstone that has difficulty reaching 400 degrees F. This 360 XL will hit 600 degrees! The only complaint I have is the factory cover that got holes in it, the first minor hail storm. The company said they would send a replacement, that never came. But the grill/griddle is amazing!!!!!

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Craig Reiter

Does exactly what I expected and wanted in a griddle.

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2022

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

Assembly was OK. The instructions are clear. The only issue I had were two of the threaded bushings were not threaded completely which prevented the bolt from tightening. Fortunately I have a tap-n-die set so I was able to fix them.
The seasoning process worked perfectly. After each seasoning (I did three), I rotated the griddle 90 degrees to ensure the entire surface was seasoned. There are cool spots, especially near the control knobs where there is no flame.
Cooking on it was perfect. It heats up quickly and was completely non-stick. Clean up was very easy. If you don't want to clean it right after cooking, just heat it back up again and it cleans easily.
There are pros and cons to the circular griddle. On one hand there are no walls to trap the food as you are trying to scoop up the rice/hash browns/etc. But on the other hand, you have complete 360 degree access to your food which to me was more important. You can even have two people cook on it at the same time since there is complete access to the griddle.
Would I buy it again? Most assuredly! It is the perfect and affordable option to the ridiculously expensive Evo griddle.

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Jason

Griddle

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2023

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I’ve had this griddle now for over a year and feel good about finally writing a review. The wife gave me an ultimatum between my grill and getting this griddle. If you are trying to decide between a grill and griddle, absolutely get a griddle. I don’t miss my grill one bit. The griddle can do everything a grill can plus more. The reason I went with this griddle and not a Blackstone is because of the reviews. Blackstone seemed to get damaged in transport easily which means it’s made of thin cheap steel. The XL is a solid unit and I’ll never have to worry about quality issues. As far as the usability of the XL, the flat top is big and distributes heat very well. Like all griddles, it takes time to learn the hot spots, but I picked it up pretty quick. I do not use the side tables and utensil holder because I do not have enough porch space. Which I’m perfectly fine with. I don’t have to worry about putting the side tables down each time I put the cover back on. As a bonus, the griddle cover hook fits nicely on one of the side tables (see picture). I recommend buying a prep table from Keter or something to store all of your utensils and food prep. You won’t regret it. My only gripe is clean up after cooking. Obviously you want to take care of your investment which means cleaning and seasoning after each cook. With the 360 drip catcher, it makes clean up a little bit of a pain. If you let the grease sit too long after a cook, it can really get nasty, so make sure you have plenty of paper towels handy.

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MCKShowie

Can we talk about the lid and accessory "knobs"?

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2023

Style: 360° XL Griddle Cooking StationPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

Griddle is awesome. Love the size, heat distribution, shape, ease of cleaning and pretty much everything about the reason for its existence: the cooking. 5/5

Why is no one talking about the lid? It's great for cooking. But there is nowhere else to put it except on the grease trap lip and it is basically always in the way. Trying to clean the grease trap? Lid has to go on the ground. Trying to come at the unit from a different side? Lid has to go on the ground. It's HUGE and pretty heavy, so just one-handing it while trying to do anything isn't optimal. Cuisinart really should have created a place for the lid to hang that ISN'T on the unit while cooking or cleaning. Maybe one of the side tables? 3/5

And now the side tables. They're functional and work fine. But what the h*** is with the accessory knobs instead of hooks? None - and I mean ZERO - of my existing griddle tools fit on that stupid knob. To use them I would need to create an extra material loop of some kind. Otherwise I'm SOL and they're just kinda there. I noticed they're also on the coveted prep table - lame. 4/5

I regret nothing about purchasing this griddle. I'm very happy with the cooking and the lid and the knobs aren't so bad that I'd return and consider something else... they're just minor inconveniences that should be fixed in an upgraded model, because lame.

12 people found this helpful

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Jan

Cuisinart flat top grill

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024

Style: 360° Griddle Cooking CenterPattern Name: Gas GrillVerified Purchase

I like this grill I wish I bought the larger one but the smaller one is also big enough. It’s only the two of us, but if I had a family of five to feed, I would want the bigger one. It was for a family of four or three. Anymore people then you would need the larger one. Fires right up the grill gets hot and it’s easy to clean.

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