What is the Proper Griddle Temp for Pancakes

375 degrees is the proper griddle temperature for golden brown pancakes on the griddle. But did you realize that when cooking on a griddle, you don’t cook all the food at the same temperatures?  When I worked at Bob Evans, we actually had two flat tops, at two different temperatures.  One was for eggs and omelets, and the other was for meat and potatoes.  Not only was it set up that way because  different foods cook at different temperatures, but it was also to keep the food looking nice.  Eggs and omelets will pick up little black specs from bacon or potatoes and could look “dirty”.  Now don’t get me wrong, some people would call these diner eggs when they are cooked in bacon grease and prefer them that way.  They are delicious, as is most anything when cooked in bacon grease, but they don’t always look pretty.  If you want your food to look nice and to be cooked properly, it’s best to cook them in separate parts of the griddle, at separate temperatures. 

Griddle Cooking Temperatures

Here is a general overview of what temperatures I cook different food at on the griddle.   If you’re new to griddling, or if you haven’t seen my videos, I always cook by temperature, not by the knobs.  I don’t go by ‘Low’, ‘Medium’, and ‘High’.  Instead, I use an infrared thermometer to get the griddle to the temperature I want.  If you don’t have an infrared thermometer, I highly recommend you get one.  Here is an Amazon link if you are interested; https://amzn.to/3XsBXem (affiliate link).  In my opinion, this is the number one most important accessory for new griddle owners. These temperatures do not need to be exact every time.  Just try your best to get your griddle close.  

Eggs and Omelets! 300-325 degrees

We’ll start at the bottom. 300 to 325 degrees is where I cook eggs and omelets and toast buns and hot dogs.  The buns and hot dogs you could do a little higher if you wanted, you just run the risk of burning them.  Hot dogs especially, will burn at higher temps before the inside is done.  With buns there’s no hurry, just do them low and slow.  However, with eggs and omelets, there’s no negotiating, do not go over 325 degrees .  You will burn them before you get a chance to flip them.  You really want to be closer to 300 degrees if possible.  That’s why often times when I’m cooking eggs last, I will turn the burner off completely and cook them in the residual heat 

 I cooked the above eggs and omelets with  my cuisinart egg ring set https://amzn.to/3kilRpr (affiliate link).  I cooked these between 300 and 325 degrees, which is how I got the perfect looking omelets and the little fried eggs.  As you can see, none of them look brown or burnt. 

All Purpose Cooking Temperature! 350-375 degrees

Next is my general all-around cooking which is at 350 to 375 degrees.  This is where I cook  pretty much everything else like grilled chicken, ground beef, and fried rice.  For breakfast, you’re cooking your sausage, bacon, pancakes, and potatoes at this temperature.  You would also cook a regular hamburger at this temperature.  However, you would not do a smash burger at this temperature.  Those are done at a higher temperature to get a nice sear.  So, this is just your general cooking zone at 350 to 375 degrees.  At Bob Evans, this is what we kept the meat and potato grill at.  

Searing on a Griddle! 425-450 degrees

425 to 450 degrees is perfect for searing a steak or cooking your smash burgers.  When you sear a steak, you leave them here for a couple minutes per side, then move it back to 350 degrees (you don’t cook it the entire time at 450 degrees).  So sear it, then get  it off that high temperature.  The smash burgers are cooked at this temperature the entire time because you smash them so thin, they cook in their juices. Then you flip them and they’re basically done. You can also sear a chicken breast at 450 degrees, then move it down to 350 degrees to finish cooking. 

Anything above 450 degrees in my opinion is unnecessary.  No one really cooks at that temperature on a flat top in any of the restaurants I’ve ever worked in. Some people just like to get an outdoor griddle or grill and crank it up to high just to see how high it goes.  That’s really just to see what it can do, not a real temperature that people cook at. 

These are the three zones that I try to cook at. I hope you found this helpful.  Click the picture below to download the temperature chart.  It’s included in my free ebook which also has the best cooking order, how to clean your griddle, and five beginner recipes. Have a good one and keep on griddling friends!