Patent ID: 8631738

Claim:
A counter-top griddle adapted for cooking a food product comprising: a cooking surface having an upper surface, a lower surface, a first side, a second side, a front side and a rear side; a serpentine passageway formed on said lower surface, said serpentine passageway including numerous turns and extending from approximately said first side of said cooking surface to approximately said second side of the cooking surface and extending from approximately the front side of the cooking surface to approximately the rear side of the cooking surface; a separate collector tank juxtaposed and secured directly in touching contact with said lower surface adjacent to the first side of said griddle, said separate collector tank being in direct communication with said serpentine passageway formed on the lower surface of the cooking surface, said separate collector tank including a wall forming an enclosure for the separate collector tank; a separate boiler juxtaposed and secured directly in touching contact with said lower surface adjacent to the second side of said griddle, said separate boiler being in direct communication with said serpentine passageway formed on the lower surface, the separate boiler being disposed a predetermined distance from the separate collector tank with the serpentine passageway forming the direct communication passageway therebetween, said separate boiler including a wall forming an enclosure for the separate boiler; heat applied directly to the separate boiler for generating steam disposed therein supplies said steam directly to said serpentine passageway and through said serpentine passageway directly to the separate collector tank to evenly heat the cooking surface for cooking a food product disposed on the cooking surface; wherein the direct communication between the separate boiler and the serpentine passageway and the direct communication between the separate collector tank and the serpentine passageway substantially eliminates air from entering the serpentine passageway to enable the even heating of the cooking surface for cooking the food product disposed on the cooking surface; and at least one condensate return tubing extending from the separate collector tank to the separate boiler for directly supplying water therebetween, said at least one condensate return tubing being connected directly to the wall of the separate collector tank and directly to the wall of the separate boiler and being displaced below the cooking surface.