Best Griddle Accessories: Scrapers, Squeeze Bottles, and More

The $15 scraper is advertised as the only tool you need to keep your flat top clean. Is it? I've been running my 36" Blackstone for four years now, and I've gone through nine spatulas, three scrapers, two squeeze bottles, and one wind guard I rigged out of aluminum foil that I refuse to throw away. Here's what actually earns a spot near my griddle, and what's just taking up drawer space.

How I Test

I don't do lab tests. I cook. A hundred smash burgers, a full breakfast service, and a seasoning test where I intentionally slack off to see what rusts. My dog Bruno stations himself exactly three feet from the cooking surface the second he hears the oil bottle. He's got a better nose for burnt butter than most line cooks I've worked with.

Every accessory below has been used at least 20 times over the last year. Some got thrown in the trash. A few are still on my trailer today.

The Cuisinart Scraper Set

The version I own came in a three-pack with two different blade widths and a stiff brush. The wide blade is the one that never leaves my griddle cart. It's got enough flex to follow the slight curve of my Blackstone's surface without gouging the seasoning, but it's stiff enough to lift a week's worth of burnt-on burger grease in one pass.

The problem: the paint on the handles chips. After 14 months, the metal underneath is showing through on all three. It doesn't affect performance, but it looks rough, and I'm a guy who wipes down his griddle after every single cook.

The brush is useless. Bristles splay out after a month and it can't handle anything beyond loose crumbs. I use it for wiping the surface before I lay down my oil coat, and that's it.

[Check price on Amazon]

OXO Good Grips Squeeze Bottles

I bought these because I was tired of using a spoon to drizzle oil and a wet paper towel for water. Two years later, the red cap bottle still says "oil" in my handwriting and the green one says "water." The tips are precise enough that I can lay a thin line of oil exactly where I'm about to smash a burger, no drips, no waste.

The caps crack if you overtighten them. I've replaced two in the last year. It's a $4 fix, but it's annoying when you're mid-cook and the cap splits.

The clear markings on the side are a nice touch. I can see at a glance when I'm running low on oil before a tailgate. At $12 for two, these are the cheapest upgrade that actually changed how I cook.

[Check price on Amazon]

Blackstone 36" Wind Guard

My brother-in-law still brings up the windy cookout from three years ago. Low flames, starving family, and a cardboard wind guard I rigged out of a shipping box. He's never let it go. I bought this wind guard the next week.

It cut my cook time in half on gusty days. The three panels fold flat for storage, and they clip onto the sides of my Blackstone without any tools. The flames stay steady, the burgers cook evenly, and I stopped getting smoke blown in my face every time I flipped.

The hinges feel flimsy. After a season of folding and unfolding, one of the panels doesn't sit flush anymore. It still works, but I can see it breaking eventually. At $30, it's cheap enough that I'd buy another one without complaining.

[Check price on Amazon]

Lodge Scraper + Chainmail Kit

I bought this for my Lodge cast iron griddle, the one I drag to campsites. The chainmail is the real deal. It lifts burnt-on sausage grease that a scraper can't touch, and it doesn't strip the seasoning like steel wool does. I've used it on my Blackstone too, and it works there just as well.

The scraper that comes with it is too soft for a flat top. It flexes instead of cutting, so it just smears grease around instead of lifting it. I use the chainmail and ignore the scraper.

At $22, it's worth it for the chainmail alone. If you own any cast iron, this is the cleaning tool you want.

[Check price on Amazon]

Onlyfire Grease Trap Liners

The grease trap on my Blackstone 36" is a design flaw. It overflows if I cook more than a pound of bacon without emptying it mid-cook. I've had grease on the ground, grease on the frame, grease on my shoes. These aluminum liners don't fix the overflow problem, but they make cleanup bearable.

You drop one in the trap, cook, and when you're done, you pull out the liner and toss it. No scrubbing congealed grease out of the corners. The foil is thick enough that it doesn't tear when you're scraping the surface.

They still overflow if you're cooking a full pack of bacon. Nothing fixes that except scraping more often and emptying mid-cook. But the liners turn a twenty-minute cleanup into a two-minute one.

[Check price on Amazon]

What I Skip

I don't use a griddle cover with a zipper. Every cover I've owned, the zipper dies within months. A cover that doesn't close is a cover that doesn't protect. I use a plain tarp and bungee cords now.

I don't buy specialty seasoning oils. Flaxseed creates a beautiful, hard seasoning that flakes if you look at it wrong. Canola is the workhorse. Grapeseed is a nice middle ground. Any oil with a high smoke point works. The technique matters more than the oil.

I don't use soap or water on my griddle. Scrape, wipe, oil, repeat. That's the whole cleaning ritual. If you do it every time, you won't get rust. If you slack off, you'll be scrubbing with steel wool and re-seasoning by Tuesday.

The Bottom Line

The Cuisinart scraper set and the OXO squeeze bottles are the two accessories I'd buy again without hesitation. The wind guard is essential if you cook outside at all. The chainmail is a must for cast iron owners. The grease trap liners are a band-aid on a bad design, but they're a cheap band-aid.

I don't track prices day to day, so I won't pretend to know next week's deals. But every one of these is under $35, and they'll all last you longer than a cheap griddle. Skip the fancy accessories. Buy the scraper, the bottles, and the wind guard. Your cookouts will be better, and your brother-in-law will stop bringing up that windy day.