Blackstone Greek Beef: A 20-Minute Flat Top Griddle Dinner Recipe That Beats the Heat in the Kitchen

I cook this ground beef, spinach, olive, and feta dish on the Blackstone in twenty minutes.

This meal is often made in a skillet. I have made it that way. A griddle has more surface area than a skillet. One pound of ground beef can spread across the hot steel so every part of the meat touches the surface. The beef browns because of this contact. It does not steam in its own liquid.

The griddle produces better beef than a stove.

Why Two Zones

Use at least two burners for this cook. Use a hot side for cooking and a cool side for holding food. This prevents the feta from melting completely and keeps the herbs from drying out.

Blackstone Greek Beef Recipe

Print Recipe

Ground beef, spinach, olives, and feta cooked on the Blackstone griddle in twenty minutes. The flat top browns the beef instead of steaming it.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword blackstone greek beef, griddle ground beef, blackstone dinner recipes, greek beef griddle

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Author Pitmaster Rob

Equipment

• 1 Blackstone Flatop Skillet

Ingredients

Meat and Spices

• 1 lb ground beef 80/20 beef provides the best crust, but lamb, chicken, or turkey work
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp avocado oil or beef tallow I prefer beef tallow with ground beef

Vegetables and Toppings

• 4 cups baby spinach Usually this is one large tub of spinach
• 1 jar kalamata olives sliced with brine
• 1 jar green olives sliced with brine
• 1 square tub crubled feta
• 3 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 bunch parsley chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh mint chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped

For Serving

• rice, orzo, or warm pitas or Naan
• tzatziki

Get ingredients with

Instructions

Set Up the Griddle

• Set the left burner to medium-high to reach 400°F. Set the right burner to low to reach 300°F. Let the griddle preheat for 8 to 10 minutes. A cold griddle steams the beef.

Cook

• Brown the beef and onion. Apply oil to the hot zone. Place the ground beef and diced onion on the steel. Smash the meat flat and leave it for two minutes. Do not move it. This creates color on the meat. Break the meat apart with a spatula and move it for 6 to 7 minutes total.
• Toast the garlic and spices. Move the beef into a pile. Place the garlic, oregano, and cinnamon on the empty hot steel for 45 seconds. Fold the spices into the beef. Direct heat on the spices improves the flavor.
• Add the spinach. Place four cups of spinach on the beef. Press it down with the spatula. The spinach wilts in 2 to 3 minutes. Fold it into the mixture.
• Move to the cool side. Move the mixture to the low-heat zone. Add the olives and feta. Fold them in. The feta softens on the cool side without melting into a liquid.
• Add herbs and finish. Turn off the burners. Add the green onions, parsley, mint, and dill. The residual heat warms the herbs without making them bitter. Add salt and pepper.

Notes

Equipment

• Blackstone griddle
• Squeeze water bottle
• Two griddle spatulas
• Griddle scraper
• Infrared thermometer

• Warm pitas on the cool zone while the beef browns. Toast them for thirty seconds per side.
• You can double this recipe. Two pounds of beef can spread thin on a Blackstone. A skillet cannot brown that much meat at once.
• Start the rice or orzo on the stove while the griddle preheats. The timing matches the beef.
• Scrape the griddle while it is hot. Use a scraper and water immediately after plating the food.
• Use leftovers in pitas the next day with cold tzatziki.

Tag @pitmasterroba if you cook it.