The Solo Stove sits at the top of our list of the best fire pits because it looks great, burns wood without putting out too much smoke, and, thanks to a removable tray, is far easier to clean than other fire pits.
But, there's more to a fire pit than simply keeping you warm. Pretty much every fire pit maker also has a line of accessories to get more out of your pit. Two years ago, I used the Solo Pi Fire to make pizzas atop my Solo Stove, but I was curious to see how well the fire pit would work for other types of food.
So, I used the Bonfire Cast Iron Griddle ($219) to cook breakfast and dinner on my Solo Stove. Here's what I learned.
Don't make the fire too hot
Because it's a fire pit, you may be tempted to load it up with wood as you would if you were trying to keep warm. I quickly found that was a mistake, as flames lapped around the sides of the griddle, making it impossible for me to easily reach any food on it. And, it also covered the underside of the griddle with soot.
It's better to have a small fire going, and replenish it from time to time with a single log to maintain an even temperature on the griddle. If you can keep the fire low enough, you can also move it to one side of the Solo Stove, so that there will be warmer and cooler sections on the griddle.
Keep an eye on the temperature
Another issue with creating too massive a fire is that it will quickly make the griddle way too hot to cook anything on it well. I tried seasoning my griddle with some bacon grease, but it was so hot that it started smoking, nearly to the point of catching on fire. I had to wait until it cooled down a bit to start cooking.
A good laser thermometer is handy to check the temperature of the griddle. Fortunately, I had one on hand from testing the best pizza ovens. They're pretty cheap, so it's a worthwhile investment. Plus, they're great for entertaining your cats.
It's made for meat — but veggies cook well too
There's nothing like the smell of bacon in the morning, especially when it's cooked over an open fire. Although I need to be watching my cholesterol, I couldn't resist throwing a few strips on the griddle. For dinner, I cooked up some skirt steaks, which also turned out great — they had a nice sear on the outside, and were medium-rare on the inside.
But the griddle excels at veggies, too. Alongside the steaks, I grilled up zucchini, eggplant, and peppers that were brushed with olive oil and garlic, and they were every bit as delicious. Less successful was corn; its round shape didn't lend itself well, so I had to keep turning and turning it until it was all well cooked.
As with the best cast-iron pans, the griddle also let me make a ton of pancakes — chocolate chip, as per my daughter's request — and, because of the spaciousness of the griddle (17.5 inches in diameter), I could make a lot at once.
Eggs go quickly
While you have a bit of leeway when cooking steaks and veggies on the griddle, its high heat means that eggs will cook near instantly. When I threw some scrambled eggs on the griddle, they were done in less than a minute, and I had to really move them around quickly with my spatula, lest they get overcooked.
Here too, the slight angle of the Solo Stove meant that the eggs also wanted to pool on one side of the griddle, so I had to deftly move things around.
Grease splatters everywhere
It's a good thing that the griddle has a bit of a lip, because otherwise the grease from all the stuff I cooked would have dribbled down and spilled into the fire, which would have been really, really bad. As it was, the grease pooled along one side, as the Solo Stove was sitting on my patio, which has a slight grade to it.
Also, the grease from the bacon and steaks I was cooking splattered out around the stove, staining the pavers right around it. I'm going to try and scrub them clean, but if you're particular about your patio, you might want to protect things with a skirt or by spreading sand around your Solo Stove.
I'm not sure how practical it would be, but I also wish the griddle has some sort of spout along one side, to make it easier to pour out any leftover grease. It's a bit of a chore to clean it up.
Popcorn time
Solo Stove also sent me its $49 Popcorn Maker to try out, which proved to be a great hit on movie night. This accessory is pretty simple: A small stainless steel pot with a hinged lid, and a nice, long 34-inch handle. I let the fire in the Solo Stove die down a little, then added a cup of popcorn kernels and a tablespoon of oil into the popcorn maker. After a couple of minutes, the popcorn started popping — you'll want to vigorously shake it to avoid burning the popcorn — and in not that much more time than it takes to microwave a bag, I had a huge bucket of popcorn ready to go.
It would be a little tricky to use the popcorn maker with the griddle attachment, though, as you'd have to squeeze it in between the griddle and the stove, giving you less freedom of movement. The outside of the popcorn maker also got a bit sooty, so you'll want to give it a good clean before putting it away.
Final thoughts
Despite the mess, I'd definitely use the Solo Stove griddle again to cook meals outside. It's a good deal of fun, and it's a change from simply using your grill or a propane flattop griddle. Now, I just have to find a place to store this massive hunk of cast iron.
