This is the one Fabiola narrates from the first wipe of the griddle to the plate, which makes it the easiest of our griddle dinners to copy exactly. It was a hot day at Presque Isle in Marquette, hot enough that cooking inside was off the table, and she called that the perfect excuse to pull the Blackstone out of the basement.
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Level the table before you cook, not after
Fabiola sets the little folding table up, then goes and gets a level. On a griddle this matters more than it sounds like it should: oil and rendered fat run downhill, so a tilted surface means one corner sits in grease and the opposite corner cooks dry. She checks it every time.
Then the pre-cook clean, which is three steps and takes two minutes. A splash of water on the warm surface, wipe it down with paper towels held in tongs, then the scraper for anything stuck. Oil last, spread around, and it is ready.
Blackstone chicken and asparagus recipe
Feeds: two, with rice left over
Cooks on: a 17 inch Blackstone tabletop griddle with the lid
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 1 to 2 onions, sliced thick
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- Cooked white rice, a few cups, made ahead
- McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning, on the asparagus. She calls it her all-purpose seasoning on camera, and it goes on nearly everything she cooks
- More seasoning on the chicken, whatever you like
- Cooking oil
- A little water, twice, for two different reasons
Steps
- Level the table, then clean the warm griddle: a splash of water, a wipe with paper towels held in tongs, the scraper for anything stuck, then spread the oil.
- Put the asparagus on and season it with the Montreal steak seasoning while it is still raw.
- Add the thick-sliced onions alongside and close the lid.
- Add a splash of water under the closed lid so the steam softens the onions faster.
- When the onions are nearly done, add the chicken in chunks and season it on top.
- Once the onions have caramelized and everything is golden, put the cooked rice on the griddle with a touch of water to warm it through.
- Plate it all together.
Where these numbers come from
None of them are stated. She names every ingredient and measures nothing, and about the chicken seasoning she is direct: she adds it "following my heart, whatever I feel like it." What is exact is the order and the two splashes of water, which are the parts that actually change the result.
The order
1. Asparagus first, seasoned right away. It goes on the open surface and gets the Montreal steak seasoning while it is still raw. Asparagus takes the longest of the three and does not mind sitting.
2. Onions next, then close the lid. Sliced thick and pushed alongside the asparagus. The lid goes down so they cook all the way through instead of just coloring on the bottom.
3. A splash of water to soften them faster. This is the trick worth stealing. Water on a hot griddle under a closed lid turns into steam, and the onions go soft in a fraction of the time. Without it you are waiting on dry heat to do a job steam does better.
4. Chicken when the onions are close. Not when they are done, when they are nearly done. The chicken goes on in chunks and gets its own seasoning on top.
5. Rice at the end, with the second splash of water. Once the onions have caramelized and everything is golden, the cooked rice goes straight onto the griddle and a touch of water warms it back up without drying it out. Rice reheated this way picks up the fond off the steel, which is the whole reason to do it on the griddle instead of in the microwave.
Plate it together. Her verdict on camera: "super simple, delicious, and all cooked outside."
Why it works for two people in a fifth wheel
Four components, one surface, no pot to wash and nothing to drain. The rice was already cooked, so the griddle is only ever reheating it. And on a hot day none of that heat ends up inside the rig, which in August is the entire argument for owning a griddle at all.
Gear
Ours is the Blackstone 17 inch tabletop griddle, on Amazon. The lid matters for this recipe, since two of the steps depend on trapping steam, and it comes with the Blackstone Pro tool kit along with the scraper and the squeeze bottles. It sits on a folding aluminum table with adjustable legs, which is what makes leveling it possible in the first place, and travels in this carry bag.
The full outdoor kitchen is on our camp kitchen page, and a new griddle wants seasoning before its first cook.
Watch it in the Presque Isle video, in the first three minutes.