A grate lets eggs, prawns and thin strips of vegetables fall through. An overlay plate solves that by placing a closed surface on your existing grate. The Digank Plancha griddle plate is such a piece of stainless steel, 40 × 30 cm in size, and costs approx. €58 according to our price box. That puts it above the other three 40 × 30 cm plates in this comparison (approx. €49 to €57).
First, the state of the sources: we did not have the plate in our hands. We did not find a manufacturer page from Digank or any instructions. Everything product-related below comes from the Amazon catalogue listing, whose texts the seller wrote itself, and is attributed accordingly.
What the plate is and what the listing photo shows
In the catalogue it is called “Edelstahl Plancha Grillplatte 40x30cm, 4mm Massiv plancha mit Grillzubehör”, the model designation is “Plancha set–40x30cm–4mm”, and the colour is silver. Brand and manufacturer are both entered as Digank. The seller names stainless steel with a thickness of 4 mm as the material, and meat, vegetables, fish, seafood, burgers and pancakes as uses. It lists camping, a small dinner and a big grill party as occasions.
The photo in the listing does not show a flat plate but a shallow tray with a raised rim all round, as far as the picture allows you to tell. Two metal bow handles hang at the sides, and in front lie two spatulas, one with a solid blade and one with slots, plus a burger on a wooden board. The picture is advertising. What is in the box cannot be read from it.
The catalogue line “Höhe 0,4 cm” (height 0.4 cm) only fits that rim if it means the sheet thickness. The rim height cannot be found as a number in any line of the listing.
Construction: stainless steel, rim, handles
The 4 mm is the only construction detail the seller backs with a number. The title speaks of “Massiv” (solid); we read that as a reference to the sheet thickness, and no definition is given.
On warping, the seller claims the plate stays dimensionally stable even at high temperatures, and that meat, vegetables and other food are heated evenly. These are manufacturer claims without a temperature. For context: thin sheet metal warps because hot and cold zones expand by different amounts, and more thickness offers more resistance to that. 4 mm is a plausible approach to this. The seller does not say which temperature it means by “high”.
The rim is described as “leak-proof” and is meant to prevent fat from dripping and food from slipping. Liquid that escapes from meat, vegetables or egg stays on the plate until it finds the oil drain hole (more on that below).
Two removable handles are meant to make the plate easier to move and prevent burns. In the photo they look like metal bows. We would assume the unfavourable case that metal bows conduct heat: oven glove on as soon as the plate is on the grill.
In detail: what a closed steel plate over the fire changes
On a grate, the flame or the embers reach the food directly through radiation and hot air. With a plate in between, the heat only arrives through the sheet. That has three consequences that apply to any steel overlay plate. They come from materials science, not from a measurement on this plate.
First, conduction. Stainless steel conducts heat considerably worse than aluminium or unalloyed steel. Over a burner tube or a pile of coals, the plate therefore gets hotter there than at the edges. The promised even heating depends more on thickness than on the material with stainless steel: 4 mm evens out differences better than 1 or 2 mm, but they do not disappear entirely.
Second, inertia. A thick sheet heats up more slowly and loses less temperature when cold food is placed on it. Preheating uses gas or charcoal before the first food goes on, and the thicker the sheet, the longer this item runs. How much it is depends on the grill underneath.
Third, the fat. On a grate it drips into the flame or the embers, smokes and flares up. This smoky aroma is part of classic grilled food. On the plate the fat stays in the sheet and the food cooks in it. Grill marks and smoke from dripping fat are lost. For eggs, fish and vegetables that is the point. If you mainly want crust and smoky aroma, the grate serves you better; that is our assessment based on how it works. Matching recipes and times for fish are in the guide to grilling fish.
On a gas grill the plate usually sits over several burners, and you control the heat underneath with the control knob. On a charcoal grill the embers determine how hot it gets, and you steer only by rearranging and air supply. According to the seller, the plate suits almost all grill types; none is listed individually.
Where does the fat from the oil drain hole go?
That depends on your grill. The seller writes that the oil drain hole directs excess fat away, and names neither position nor diameter nor a collecting container. So the fat falls wherever there is room under the plate.
On a gas grill, depending on the design, that is the burner, the flame tamer or the drip tray. On a charcoal grill it is the embers, and fat in the embers flares up. We would therefore use little oil and position the plate so that the hole does not sit directly over a flame if possible.
A hole that steers the flow of fat is also a bottleneck. Thick fat or residue can clog it, then liquid stands on the plate, and the rim holds it there. How quickly the hole drains is decided by its diameter, and that is missing. The seller also writes that the hole makes it easier to drain food residue. That also ends up under the plate.
What the seller does not state
Two searches for a Digank manufacturer page produced no results. Accordingly, the following is missing:
- Data sheet, instructions and warranty terms
- Stainless steel grade and proof of food safety
- Maximum temperature and heat-up time
- Weight of the plate alone
- Number and type of parts in the set
- Position and diameter of the oil drain hole, collecting container
- Material and heat resistance of the handles
- Minimum grate size, suitability for kamado or induction
- Notes on oiling before first use, on cleaning and on the dishwasher
- Origin and spare parts
Two gaps weigh more heavily for us than the rest. Without a temperature limit you do not know how long the plate may stay at full burner output. And because instructions are missing, so is any safety or care advice that we could reproduce.
What else comes into question?
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digank Plancha 40 × 30 cm (this one) | 4 mm stainless steel according to the seller, accessory set with no parts named | approx. €58 | 8.1 | you want an oil drain hole from the Amazon text and can do without documentation |
| COGRICHBF Plancha 40×30 | same size and 4 mm according to the seller, 2 grill spatulas named in the delivery contents | approx. €49.39 | 8.2 | you want a clearly named spatula set instead of unspecified accessories |
| GIRXZYBX Grillplatte Plancha 40x30cm | same size, removable handles as on the Digank | approx. €49 | 7.7 | you can accept a lower rating and only look at the price |
| Arebos Plancha Grillplatte 40 × 30 cm | manual with a temperature figure (350 °C), 3.8 cm overall height | approx. €57 | 8.3 | a documented temperature limit matters more to you than the price |
The prices come from the price boxes of the respective reviews, and the ratings are our editorial assessment. The table is not suitable for price histories or measured differences.
Compared with the Digank, the COGRICHBF costs around €9 less, the GIRXZYBX around €9 less and the Arebos €1 less.
When this plate, when another
Start with the grate. Measure the length and width of the area the plate is to sit on, and compare with 40 × 30 cm. The plate only has to rest securely. If your grate is smaller, every 40 × 30 cm plate is ruled out, including the three alternatives, and you need a smaller plancha.
If the grate is considerably larger, grate remains free beside the plate. Then you can set up two zones: eggs and fish on the sheet, sausages or meat with a crust directly next to it over the fire. That speaks for the plate as a supplement rather than a replacement, and it needs no second grill. If the plate fits the grate almost edge to edge, this option falls away.
Then the grill type. On a gas grill with individually adjustable burners you control the heat under the plate, and you need that for eggs and pancakes, which require even, moderate heat. On charcoal we would only work with an evenly glowing layer and keep an eye on the hole, see above.
If you want to run the plate at full output or over strong embers, you need a documented limit. In our comparison only the Arebos has one, in its manual, and that is its strongest argument against the Digank. You get two named spatulas instead of a set with unknown contents from the COGRICHBF.
Between the cheapest and the most expensive plate there are €9. We would therefore not base the choice on price but on documentation: the Digank has none, the Arebos has a manual. Anyone who can do without it and only wants to pay the smallest sum takes the COGRICHBF or the GIRXZYBX.
Accessories, care and safety
Accessories for the plate itself do not appear in the listing. Which basic equipment around the grill makes sense otherwise is covered in the guide to essential grill accessories, and more plates and accessories are in the grill accessories hub. If you do not have a grill yet, the grill finder helps.
For care, we have no manufacturer specification that we could quote. As a general rule for any metal plate: only touch and clean it once it has cooled down completely, because cold water on a hot sheet can warp it. That is a general rule and not a statement from Digank.
Hot fat is dangerous, especially when it runs through the oil drain hole into flame or embers. In a grease fire, the general rule is: no water, close the lid, turn off the gas supply. This too is a general safety rule.
Who is it suitable for?
For owners of a grate grill with at least 40 × 30 cm of free area who occasionally cook eggs, fish or vegetables and want to spend little.
It is the wrong choice for three groups. Anyone with a tabletop or camping grill with a small grate simply fails on size. The seller does name camping as a place of use, but whether your grate is big enough for it is something you decide with the tape measure. Anyone who wants to know the stainless steel grade before buying has to ask the seller. And anyone who expects instructions and a temperature limit is better served by the Arebos.
Suitability for kamado and induction hobs is not documented anywhere, and we would not buy on a hunch there.
