How to Season a Flat Top Grill in 3 Easy Steps

Not sure how to season a flat top grill? Follow our 3 easy steps to do seasoning the right way.

Seasoning a flat top grill or griddle is like one of the major work of every grill owner. Keeping the grill well maintained and clean is necessary for the performance and overall safety of the appliance. This chore is one of the things that you should do on regular basis to keep the surface in tip-top condition and maintain the non- stick surface.

In seasoning the flat top grill the first thing you have to do is to put a thin amount of oil which can be done every after use to preserve the non-stick surface. After oiling, pre-heating the griddle inside the oven is the next step, this is done to seal the oil that you rubbed on the cast iron. This process is called polymerization, which will help in creating non-stick surface to your pan.

To know more about how to season your flat top grill read more on the sub topics below.

What is “Seasoning”?

Before getting ready for your next cooking session, learning and understanding what does seasoning means might become a life changer. “Seasoning” refers to the process of baking oil into the flat top “griddle” surface. As the griddle heats, the oils you brushed into it will undergo a process called polymerization wherein the oils gat carbonized and transforms the liquid into a hardened coating on your griddle. The baked oil will serve as an aid for non-stick, non-scratch coating a can also add more flavour to your meals.

Seasoning your griddle can help you improve robustness of your appliance and helps you enhance your cooking skills.

How to Season a Flat Top Grill (Step-by-step)

When the appliance is in use, we cannot assure that it won’t have any changes, cast iron is a porous metal which is prone to rust especially when it is exposed to moisture. Therefore, when your flat top grill isn’t seasoned properly corrosion after days of grilling or having the meat stick to it is the possible outcome.

It’ll be a costly practice to have your griddle thrown every time it doesn’t function the same way because of bad practices, right? And you always want to see that rust creeping in your grill. So it’s best to know how to season it.

Materials Needed:

• Grill Scrape
• Grilling Thongs
• Cooking Oil
• Paper Towels

Step 1 – Clean the surface

Cleaning the surface of your griddle is the first step in seasoning it. If you have just bought it all you need to do is wipe it off with dampen paper towels to remove any leftover oils from manufacturing process. Though if you’ve already used you griddle in cooking barbecues, pancakes or burgers be  sure to scrape first any the left-over food particles using a scraper.

Step 2 – Heat up the grill

Preheat your grill up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and wait for the cooking surface to warm up. The grill surface will have a slight color change when it heats up just don’t panic because it’s completely normal. After 5 to 10 minutes depending on your griddle type, most brands are already prepared.

Step 3 – Apply thin layer of cooking oil

Once you’re already done preheating the grill, spread a thin layer of cooking oil on the surface using a paper towel.

In the process of seasoning your grill wait till the oil starts burning after you finish coating the grill. Apply and reapply the oil in the surface of the flat top grill when the oil vanishes. When the surface is too hot, use grill tongs grip the paper towel to avoid any accidents.

In doing this part of seasoning your grill, you might need to repeat the process of adding oil four to five times to achieve the perceptible shine.

Season your griddle before you use it for the first time and as part of your griddle cleaning schedule. This will help keep your flat top working smoothly and allow you to perfectly cook pancakes, burgers and more with no issues.

Seasoning your grill is also a way of preserving it and to avoid degradation and rust.

Tips on Seasoning your Griddle

Anything that’s done right will really have positive impact, it goes the same when it comes to seasoning your griddle. These things will not only affect the durability of your griddle but also the flavor of the foods you cook as well as the efficiency of your ingredients.   Here are some tips you might want to remember when seasoning your griddle:

1. Avoid using soap. In order to keep your griddle from having that non-stick surface avoid using soap when cleaning it as much as possible. Use a scraper, scouring pad or cast-iron cleaning brush to remove any food buildup or food residue left on your griddle. If there is a visible food stuck on your griddle you can run it on a hot water while scraping, be sure to dry it completely afterwards to prevent rust. You can also just simply wipe the pan with a dry paper towel.
2. Use the right oil. Using an oil with high smoke point is a very important aid in seasoning your grill. Vegetable oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil are neutral cooking oils which has high smoke point and does not impart additional flavor to the griddle that makes it a good choice. Beeswax which is long-lasting is one of the best options too, together with coconut oil which has a smoke point of about 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lard, bacon grease, unrefined coconut oil or virgin olive oil can be used but has few fallbacks when it comes to longer period of the grill being unused and has very low smoke point which makes it a poor choice for seasoning.
3. Season every after use.  Make it a habit to season or oil the griddle after each use to maintain the seasoning and its trait of being non-stick. After putting on light amount of oil, heat the grill in an over at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 to 20 minutes. This technique should be sufficient to maintain the seasoning of your griddle.

Best oils to Season Flat Top Grill

The secret to long lasting and non-stick griddle is proper seasoning. But in order to do it correctly you need to know the right type of oil to use and with the good seasoning technique rest assured your griddle will be off use for a long period of time.

In selecting the best oil for seasoning the first thing you should consider is to use an oil that has a  high smoking point to avoid getting burned during seasoning process. You can choose from the following options below with the corresponding degrees Fahrenheit of the smoking point:

• Avocado oil –  smoking point at 520 degrees Fahrenheit
• Canola oil – smoking point at 400 – 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• Peanut oil – smoking point at 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• Olive oil – smoking point at 375 – 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• Sunflower oil – smoking point at 440 degrees Fahrenheit
• Grapeseed oil – smoking point at 420 degrees Fahrenheit

How Should I Store My Griddle?

Finding appropriate place for your griddle to chill in between cookouts is an important thing. The space and the temperature needs to be suitable for the safety of your griddle.

It is also important to think about how much you use your grill, be it using your grill on monthly basis, weekdays, weekends or every other day this matters because if you use your griddle a lot you might as well think on storing it somewhere easy to locate. And if you just cook from time to time you can store it somewhere that’s not easily accessible without worry. Thought you must always remember these four words in storing your flat top grill; “A cool, dry place”.

Keeping your griddle in a place that doesn’t get damp or isn’t prone to any moisture avoids rust from forming into your griddle. It shouldn’t be hot as well for it might get dangerous since it’s loaded with a propane tank. A closet is a good place but be sure to not put things on top of it. If you have decided to put it in a garage, always remember to keep checking from time to time and remove dust from it.

Safety Tips

• Never let your children play or be near when the griddle is in use, always bear in mind that the griddle is a hot surfaces appliance. Always keep the griddle under adult supervision specially when there are curios kiddos who always want to belong.
• Do not leave any flammable materials close to the griddle. This might cause a fire hazard.
• Cook in an outdoor space with enough ventilation.
• Stop cooking if you smelled gas – cover the propane tank with a damp cloth. Call the authorities when things get out of hands.

Final thoughts

Seasoning your grill might be a lot of work most especially when you use your grill frequently, but you should always remember that this technique is the only and most effective way to ensure the longevity and a nonstick surface of your grill. By following the given steps and guides given above on how to season a flat top grill, rest assured that you can easily enjoy airy cooking on your versatile griddle and enjoy using it for a longer period of time.