OUTDOOR GRIDDLE COOKING

Cooking on a griddle makes life so much easier! There's just one surface to clean - no pans, no scrubbing, no fuss. And you can cook so many things at once; an entire family's meal is ready - literally- in minutes. Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, your family will be heartily awaiting your to-die-for cooking, and they'll never know that you really didn't do a thing. Griddles just naturally make food taste good.

Here are some helpful tips for successfully cooking and preparing meals on a griddle. (Did you know that you can make PIZZA on your griddle?)

Pancakes have been a favorite griddle dish for many years, and since they're so easy, you can have them as often as you'd like. Simply mix up your batter and store it, covered in the refrigerator, and break it out whenever you get a yearning for griddle cakes. Preheat the griddle to 350°. Just before pouring batter onto griddle, spray with pan coat. This works much better than oil or butter.

Cook bacon on one side of the griddle, and pancakes or eggs on the other side for a breakfast done all at once. As you're cooking bacon, use the spatula to slide the drippings over to the drip pan.

Eggs are a snap if you use pan coat rather than oil or butter.

Sausage patties, sausage links and hot dogs cook at 350° for about 10 minuttes, rolling them around every couple minutes. Thick meats like chops, hamburgers and steaks may be covered during the entire cooking process if you want them well done.

Hash browns cook well in margarine; use pan coating for ham slices or mushrooms.

Hickory flavoring, available in a bottle from your grocer, can be poured onto the griddle, for extra taste. The flavoring will not keep the foods from sticking, so first coat the griddle with pan coat and sprinkle on the flavoring. Be sure the hickory flavoring is intended for food, not charcoat.

Make an entire supper on the griddle by first placing a piece of ham, steak, chop or other meat onto a pan coated surface. Cover thick meats with foil. Thin meats like ham should be placed on the griddle only a few minutes before the rest of the meal is finished. Wet un-shucked corn-on-the-cob by rinsing well and place it on the griddle. Make foil "tent" to cover the corn, rather than wrapping the corn in foil. Turn the cob every few minutes. It will take about 30 minutes for the corn to be completely cooked.

Canned vegetables can be heated by simply placing the opened can on the griddle surface and stirring occasionally. Foods like squash can be sliced and put in a thin coating of margarine for a few minutes, then flipped. No covering is needed. Fruits like pineapple need only a minute or so on each side, but should never be placed directly in oil or grease.

Even pizza can be made on griddle! Shape the crust in a rectangle and place on a pan coated, slightly warm surface, or you can lay foil on the griddle, and then place crust and toppings. Spread your toppings on and cook at 325°, covered with a tent, for about 15 minutes. Remove tent and check to see if the top is bubbly. If not, lower heat and cook 5 more minutes covered.