Broil King 21x12-in. Nonstick Professional Griddle, Black.

This is not the one CI recommends!
Some customers have commented on how poor this one performs, and blaming Cooks Illustrated for the recommendation.

However, CI recommends the professional griddle; the PCG-10, and not this one.

I agree, this one does not perform the same. I tried this one first, sent it back and ordered the PCG-10, which is a bit more expensive but well worth the money. I was trying to save a few bucks as well and purchased this one, thinking it would be the same, only without the back splash. I was wrong.

Go for the one that was recommended; it's really great although the price is higher.

Too hot to handle
Cook's Illustrated (CI) rated this griddle high in a product test, so I purchased one (through a different retailer than this one) at the end of 2005. The large surface is great. Six large pancakes can cook at once, a pound of thick-sliced bacon can be squeezed onto the surface, and two omelets can cook side-by-side.

Clean up is a breeze since the entire griddle (minus controller) can be dunked into the sink. I did see some staining of the cooktop when bacon was cooked, but as long as you wipe the grease off right away and lay a wet towel on the hot surface to loosen the stuck-on residue, it cleans up well.

Although CI said this griddle had even heating, I discovered that my griddle had uneven heat across the surface. The third of the griddle nearest the controller heats to the temperature of the controller, but the opposite two-thirds was about 100 degrees hotter. This was very evident when cooking pancakes - the uneven heat caused the cakes to be two different...

Same as the PCG-10
As stated on the Broil King web site, this grill is the same as the PCG-10 less a small backsplash.

I have owned this grill for over two years and used it fairly regularly - 3 to 5 times a week.

First, save your money and buy this model verse the PCG-10. I took the backsplash off and have never needed it. It looks nice but isn't useful.

The grill has held up well. The only problem being, after using the grill for two years, that the temputure control unit that plugs into the side burned out, and now I have to order a new control unit replacement part. Still compared to other cheap electric grills, the Broil King has a heavier non stick cook top and cooks evenly with good temputure control range. The big surface works well for six large pancakes or a pound of bacon.

As far as electric grills go - this one is good.

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