Side Burners, Power Burners and Griddles: Which Outdoor Cooking Add-Ons Are Worth It?

Once the grill is picked, the next conversation in our showroom is always the same: what else goes in the island? Most people over buy on one add on and skip the one they would actually use. A side burner that never gets lit, a griddle that feeds the family three mornings a week. This guide covers single and double side burners, power burners and sear stations, and built in griddles, with the BTU numbers from the spec sheets, what each does to your gas line, where it should sit in the island, and who actually uses which.

Single or double side burner?

A side burner is a sealed gas burner, usually brass or cast stainless, under a grate, with a stainless lid that closes flush with the counter. It is one stove burner, outdoors. Most run 12,000 to 20,000 BTU each, the same range as a good indoor range burner, so expect indoor performance.

Single side burners take a narrow cutout, typically 11 to 14 inches wide, and are the cheapest flame that is not a grill grate. The Summerset SB1 is a 15,000 BTU brass and aluminum burner in a 304 stainless housing with piezo ignition, so it needs no electrical connection. The Hestan 12 inch single runs a 20,000 BTU sealed burner under a 5/16 inch diamond cut grate in an 11 inch cutout. The Lynx Professional single and Delta Heat drop in single are the other two we install most.

Double side burners share one cutout, usually 10 to 13 inches wide, so they cost about the same counter length as a single while giving you a sauce pot and a skillet at once. The Blaze Premium LTE+ double pairs two 12,000 BTU brass plated burners in a 10.75 inch cutout and ships with both propane and natural gas orifices. The Fire Magic Aurora double (and the Echelon black glass version) runs two 15,000 BTU burners. Delta Heat gives you two 16,000 BTU sealed burners; the XO 13 inch Pro Grade totals 24,000. The Lynx double with prep center adds a maple cutting board and a drawer to two 15,000 BTU brass burners in one 25 inch unit, and the Twin Eagles 13 inch double rounds out the group.

Our rule: if you are buying one, buy the double. The price gap is small, the cutout is nearly the same, and the second burner is what makes it useful when the grill is full. The single makes sense when the island is short, or the burner is really there for a pot of clams a few times a summer.

What is a power burner, and who actually needs 60,000 BTU?

A power burner is a different animal: a dual ring burner, cast brass or cast stainless, that puts out three to five times what a side burner does, with the rings on separate knobs so you can simmer on the inner ring or open both for a hard boil. This is the piece for a shrimp boil in a 60 quart pot, a fried turkey, a batch of calamari, or a round bottom wok at restaurant heat without smoking out the kitchen.

The numbers, from the manufacturers:

• Blaze LTE Pro: 60,000 BTU total, 25,000 inner and 35,000 outer, 304 cast stainless rings, removable 9 inch wok ring, in a 14 inch wide cutout. Blaze's Professional LUX power burner carries the same 60,000 BTU split in the same narrow footprint at a lower price tier.
• Fire Magic Echelon Diamond: 60,000 BTU with a 3,000 to 15,000 BTU inner ring and a 45,000 BTU outer ring, a 10 inch flame collimator that concentrates heat in the center for wok work, and a choice of stainless or porcelain cast iron grid. The Aurora version is the same burner in the brushed stainless style.
• Hestan: 70,000 BTU from a 20,000 BTU brass inner burner and a 50,000 BTU outer tube burner, with a removable grate center that takes a 14 to 20 inch wok. Also available in propane.
• Twin Eagles 24 inch: 70,000 BTU oversized cast brass dual ring burner with a reversible grate welded from 8 mm stainless plate for commercial woks and stockpots, and an optional 18 inch griddle plate that sits on top.
• Lynx Professional: 46,000 BTU cast brass dual ring burner with a removable center grate for a round bottom wok. Lower on paper, but the cast brass holds heat well and the ignition and lights run off the Lynx grill transformer.
• XO 16 inch: 60,000 BTU in a 16 inch footprint with a removable wok ring, and the Summerset PB2PRO at 60,000 BTU for the value tier. Delta Heat, American Made Grills and TrueFlame fill out the collection.

Two things to notice. The narrow Blaze and XO units fit where a double side burner would go, which is why we often recommend a power burner instead when the island is tight. And the Fire Magic inner ring goes down to 3,000 BTU; that low end matters more than the high end for most cooks, because a burner you cannot turn down will scorch a pot of sauce.

Do I need a sear station?

A sear station is an infrared burner, a ceramic or stainless screen heated by gas until it glows, that radiates heat at the food instead of heating the air. It reaches crust forming temperatures a standard tube burner cannot. You see them as a dedicated side station in its own cutout, or as a replacement burner inside the grill.

The grill insert is the more common path. The Blaze infrared searing burner is a 14,000 BTU unit that replaces the left standard burner in Blaze 25, 32 and 40 inch grills, so you get a sear zone without touching the island. Several grills come with one built in, like the Hestan 36 inch with sear burner and the Lynx Professional 36 inch with a Trident infrared burner. If steak crust is the goal, check whether the grill you are buying already has an infrared zone or accepts one. A separate sear station in the island is for people who sear a lot of protein for a lot of guests at once.

Which built in griddle: plancha, teppanyaki or flat top?

The names all describe the same idea: a thick steel plate heated from below, cooking by direct contact. "Plancha" is the Spanish term, "teppanyaki" is the Japanese one, "flat top" is the diner. What separates the units is plate thickness, burner count and how the heat is controlled.

Plate thickness is the spec to read first. Thicker plates hold heat through a cold batch of hash browns and resist warping; thin plates heat fast and lose heat fast. The Fire Magic 30 inch Gourmet griddle uses a 3/8 inch stainless plate over two burners totaling 45,000 BTU in a 30 by 18 inch cooking area, with the same cutout as its E660 grill. The Twin Eagles 30 inch Teppanyaki runs a 5/16 inch solid stainless plate over two 20,000 BTU thermostatically controlled burners, meaning you set a temperature and it holds it, which is rare and useful. The Blaze Premium LTE+ 30 inch gives you 480 square inches over two burners totaling 30,000 BTU with a double walled attached lid and leveling screws, and the Blaze LTE Pro 40 inch steps up to three 15,000 BTU burners (45,000 total) with three independent zones, three thermocouples and a digital display. The Lynx Asado 30 inch is the outlier: a multi layer All-Clad aluminum core between stainless sheets for even heat, powered by two 23,000 BTU Trident infrared burners (46,000 total) across 495 square inches. Delta Heat 32 inch, XO Pro Grade 30 inch, TrueFlame 30 inch and Broilmaster 32 inch cover the other price points.

Size. Thirty inches is the standard, and it shares a cutout family with 30 inch grills, which makes a griddle an easy swap into an island designed around that opening. Forty inches is for a family that cooks breakfast for eight or smash burgers for the block. Two zones are plenty on a 30; three zones on a 40 lets you hold one end warm while you cook on the other two. Every unit above includes a stainless lid, and a wet plate rusts, so treat the lid as part of the routine, not an accessory.

Is a griddle insert good enough?

A griddle plate that drops onto your grill grates or your power burner costs a fraction of a built in griddle and takes no counter space. The Blaze 14 inch and 24 inch plates, the Lynx Professional plate, the Fire Magic stainless griddle and cast iron griddle, and the Twin Eagles 18 inch power burner plate all work this way.

The trade offs are real. An insert is heated by burners designed to cook through grates, so the plate has hot spots over each burner and cool bands between, it takes up grill space you may want for the steaks, and a heavy plate on a grill is slow to come up to temperature. A dedicated griddle has burners spaced for the plate, a grease trough built for liquid fat, and a plate thick enough to hold heat when you load it. If you griddle once a month, buy the insert. If you griddle weekly, you will resent the insert within a season.

The middle path is the Twin Eagles Dine and Breakfast Club: a 20,000 BTU griddle burner under a quarter inch plate on one side and two 17,500 BTU dual ring burners on the other, in a single 30 inch cutout. It is what we point to when a couple cannot agree between a griddle and a side burner.

Will I need a bigger gas line?

This is the part that gets skipped and then bites. A gas line is sized for the total connected load, the length of the run, and the pressure at the meter. Add a 60,000 to 70,000 BTU power burner and a 45,000 BTU griddle to a grill and you may have doubled the load the plumber sized for. The symptom is a grill that will not get hot when everything is lit, lazy yellow flames, and a power burner that never reaches a rolling boil. The fix after the fact is a larger line from the meter, which means opening finished walls or trenching the yard.

Do it in order. Pick every gas appliance first, add the BTU ratings from the spec sheets, and give that total and the run length to a licensed plumber before the island is built. In New York City, gas piping is work for a licensed master plumber under the NYC Fuel Gas Code, with a permit and inspection; the code's pipe sizing tables (based on NFPA 54) are what the plumber uses to pick the diameter. The same math applies on Long Island, in Westchester and in New Jersey with the local utility and inspector.

On propane: FDNY restricts propane in the five boroughs, especially in apartment buildings, so nearly every city outdoor kitchen we build runs on natural gas. In the suburbs and Florida, propane is common, and most of these units come in both versions or ship with both orifices (the Blaze double side burner does). A power burner on a 20 pound cylinder empties it fast and can freeze the regulator on a long boil; a buried tank or a natural gas line is the right answer for serious use.

Where should burners and the griddle go in the island?

Landing space. Every burner needs counter on at least one side to set down a hot pot. We draw 12 inches minimum beside a side burner and 18 to 24 beside a power burner, because a 60 quart boil pot full of water weighs more than 100 pounds and you will not carry it far. Do not put a burner at the end of the island with nothing beside it, or directly next to the grill where the hood swings into the pot.

Wind. Open burners hate wind. A steady breeze blows the flame off the pot bottom and the water never boils. Blaze builds a wind guard around the LTE Pro burner and Hestan seals the bowl, but layout matters more: put burners on the leeward side of the grill or against a wall, not on the exposed corner facing the water. On a rooftop or a Long Island beach lot this decides whether the power burner works at all. Our wind guard collection has add on shields for grills.

Combustibles and jackets. Burners and griddles built into a wood framed or composite island need an insulated jacket or liner so the housing can sit against combustible framing. Blaze makes jackets for its double side burners, power burners and 30 inch griddles; Fire Magic has an insulating liner for its power burners and double side burners. Masonry and steel stud islands usually do not need them. See insulated jackets and trim kits.

Covers. The stainless lid is the daily cover. For the off season, a fitted cover keeps standing water off the lid seam. Blaze sells covers for its double side burners, power burners and 30 inch griddles; Fire Magic has a side burner and searing station cover; Lynx covers its power burners and single side burners. See all grill covers.

How do I season and clean a griddle?

A stainless griddle plate is not non stick out of the box. Seasoning builds a thin layer of polymerized oil that food releases from, like a carbon steel pan. The routine our customers settle into:

• First season. Wash off the shipping oil, dry it, heat the plate on high until it discolors, wipe on a very thin coat of high smoke point oil, and let it smoke off. Repeat three or four times. Thin coats, not puddles; thick oil turns gummy.
• After every cook. While the plate is hot, scrape debris into the trough, pour on a little water and scrape the steam loosened bits, wipe dry, then wipe on a thin film of oil before closing the lid. That film is the rust barrier.
• Grease. The drip trough on the Blaze, Fire Magic and Twin Eagles units funnels to a tray. Empty it before it overflows into the island cavity; fat in the cabinet attracts rodents in the city.
• Rust spots. Scrub with a griddle stone while warm, rinse, dry, re-season that spot. Salt air customers in the Rockaways, on the East End and in Florida should oil the plate even when it has not been used.
• Winter. Oil it, close the lid, cover it. Do not leave water in the trough to freeze.

Side burners and power burners are easier: lift the grate, wipe the sealed bowl, keep the ports clear with a brush, and keep the lid closed when cold so rain does not sit in the bowl. Hestan adds a drain to its sealed bowl, which you will appreciate after a boil over.

Which add on actually gets used?

After thirty years of installing these and going back for service calls, this is the pattern.

• The griddle gets used the most. Weekend breakfast, smash burgers, fajitas, fried rice, anything for a crowd. Families with kids use it more than the grill by midsummer. If you are adding one thing, this is it.
• The power burner gets used hard but less often. Seafood boils, frying, wok night, canning in August, the Thanksgiving turkey. People who buy it for those reasons love it. People who buy it "for sauces" use the inner ring twice and forget it.
• The double side burner is the default and often underused. Corn, clams, pasta water when the kitchen is far away, warming sauce. Useful, not transformative. If your indoor kitchen is 15 feet from the island, be honest about whether you will walk inside instead.
• The sear burner gets used by steak people. A lot of thick cut beef makes an infrared zone in the grill earn its keep weekly. Otherwise a hot cast iron pan on the power burner does the same job.

Side burnersPower burners and sear stationsGriddlesBuilt in grillsOutdoor kitchen accessoriesAll outdoor kitchen

Our recommended models

We picked these from the units our crews install most, with the spec sheets open: output, cutout, plate thickness and how the owners are using them a season later.

Side burners and power burners

BEST OVERALLBlazeLTE Pro 60,000 BTU power burnerSixty thousand BTU on two knobs in a 14 inch cutout, so it delivers boil pot heat in the space a side burner would take.View details →BEST PREMIUMHestan70,000 BTU built in power burnerA 50,000 BTU outer tube and a 20,000 BTU brass inner burner in a sealed bowl with a drain, and the grate center lifts out for a 20 inch wok.View details →BEST FOR SEAFOOD BOILSTwin Eagles24 inch 70,000 BTU power burnerThe 70,000 BTU cast brass burner and 8 mm welded grate are built for a loaded 80 quart pot, and it is made in the USA.View details →BEST VALUEBlazePremium LTE+ double side burnerTwo 12,000 BTU brass plated burners with both gas orifices in the box, a lifetime housing warranty and a 10.75 inch cutout that fits almost any island.View details →

Griddles

BEST FOR FAMILIESBlazePremium LTE+ 30 inch built in griddleFour hundred eighty square inches, two zones and an attached double wall lid make it the griddle we install most for weekend breakfasts and smash burgers.View details →BEST FOR HEAT RETENTIONFire Magic30 inch Gourmet built in griddleThe 3/8 inch plate over 45,000 BTU holds temperature when a cold batch of hash browns lands on it, and it shares the E660 grill cutout.View details →BEST FOR EVEN HEATLynxAsado 30 inch flat topAn All-Clad layered plate over two infrared burners takes the hot spots out of the surface, edge to edge.View details →BEST COMBINATIONTwin Eagles30 inch Dine and Breakfast ClubHalf griddle, half double side burner in one 30 inch cutout, for the household that cannot agree on which to buy.View details →

Which should you choose?

The combination that satisfies the most households in our market is a 32 to 40 inch grill, a 30 inch griddle, and either a double side burner or a narrow power burner, with refrigeration on the other side of the sink. If the budget covers one add on, make it the griddle. If you boil or fry in volume, make it the power burner and skip the side burner entirely. Start the layout in the outdoor kitchen and built in grill collections, and finish it with the doors, drawers and trim in outdoor kitchen accessories.

Frequently asked questions

Is a side burner worth it on an outdoor kitchen?

For most households, yes if it is a double and the indoor kitchen is not steps away. It handles corn, clams, pasta water and sauces while the grill is busy. If you only want it for one pot a few times a summer, a single is enough, and if you boil or fry in volume, skip it for a power burner.

What is the difference between a side burner and a power burner?

Output and design. Side burners run roughly 12,000 to 20,000 BTU per burner, like an indoor stove. Power burners are dual ring burners rated 46,000 to 70,000 BTU (Blaze 60,000, Fire Magic 60,000, Hestan and Twin Eagles 70,000) built for stockpots, woks and frying, with an inner ring that turns down for simmering.

How many BTUs do I need for a crawfish or seafood boil?

A 60,000 BTU or higher power burner. That is the class built for 60 to 80 quart pots. A 15,000 BTU side burner will eventually boil a small pot but will struggle with a full boil pot, especially in wind.

Can I use a wok on an outdoor power burner?

Yes, that is one of the main reasons to buy one. Blaze and XO include a removable wok ring, Lynx and Hestan have a removable grate center sized for a round bottom wok (Hestan fits 14 to 20 inch woks), and Fire Magic uses a flame collimator to concentrate heat in the center.

Do I need a bigger gas line if I add a griddle and a power burner?

Possibly. Gas lines are sized for total connected BTU, run length and pressure. Adding 45,000 BTU of griddle and 60,000 to 70,000 BTU of power burner to a grill can exceed what the original line was sized for. Give your plumber the full appliance list before the island is built. In NYC the work has to be done by a licensed master plumber under the NYC Fuel Gas Code.

What size built in griddle should I get?

Thirty inches for most families; it gives roughly 480 to 495 square inches and two heat zones. Forty inches with three zones makes sense for large families or regular parties. Check plate thickness too: Fire Magic uses 3/8 inch, Twin Eagles 5/16 inch.

Do I have to season a stainless steel outdoor griddle?

Yes. Clean off the shipping oil, heat it, wipe on thin coats of high smoke point oil and let each smoke off, three or four times. After each cook, scrape while hot, wipe clean and apply a thin oil film to prevent rust.

Can I install a side burner in a wood framed island?

Only with the manufacturer's insulated jacket or liner, which lets the housing sit against combustible framing. Blaze, Fire Magic, Summerset and others sell jackets for their side burners, power burners and griddles. Masonry and steel stud islands generally do not need one.

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Written by the NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens team. Last reviewed October 2026. We sell, install and service the products discussed here.

Sources:Blaze LTE Pro 40 inch griddle, Blaze Outdoor Products, Fire Magic, Lynx Grills, NYC Fuel Gas Code (NYC Department of Buildings), NFPA 54 National Fuel Gas Code. Specifications change; always confirm with the manufacturer's current installation manual.