How to Season a Griddle: First Seasoning, Best Oils and Rust Fixes

Seasoning a griddle means baking thin layers of cooking oil onto the steel until they bond into a hard, dark coating. Heat breaks the oil's fats down and links them into a polymer, the same chemistry that makes a cast iron skillet slick. Each layer builds on the last, so a griddle gets better with use as long as you keep cooking with a little fat and keep it dry between cooks.

Seasoning matters most on cold-rolled and hot-rolled steel tops, which is what most Blackstone, Camp Chef and Nexgrill griddles use. It does not apply the same way to coated tops: the Pit Boss Ultimate 4-Burner uses a ceramic non-stick coating the listing says needs no seasoning, and the Traeger Irontop uses a rust-resistant coated top. On those, follow the manual, because the steps below can damage some coatings.

Some do, and even a pre-seasoned top benefits from a few more coats. Camp Chef lists its Gridiron Pro 36 and Gridiron Gameday 24 tops as pre-seasoned. Many other steel griddles ship with a light protective oil meant only to stop rust in the box. That shipping coating is not seasoning, and manufacturers typically tell you to wash it off with warm soapy water, rinse and dry before the first seasoning. Your owner manual is the authority here: if it gives specific instructions, follow them over any general guide, including this one.

Before you start, check that the griddle is assembled on a level surface outdoors, the grease cup is in place, and the gas connection has passed a soapy water leak test. Seasoning produces a lot of smoke for 30 to 60 minutes, so pick a spot well away from open windows and the house.

Any neutral cooking oil or fat will polymerize if you heat it past its smoke point in thin coats, so the brand of oil matters less than technique. Smoke point still matters for daily cooking: oils with higher smoke points smoke less while you cook. Smoke points vary with how refined an oil is, so treat the figures below as approximate ranges from common food-science references, not exact values.

Three to five thin layers are enough to start cooking. The goal is a uniform dark brown or black surface with a slight satin sheen. Some owners go to eight or ten coats before the first cook, but more coats are not better if each one is thick. A top that looks glossy or feels tacky after cooling has too much oil on it: heat it on high again until it stops smoking.

After the first session, every cook with oil or fat adds to the coating. Within a dozen cooks most tops develop an even, slick finish. Hot spots over the burners usually darken first; the corners and the area near the grease trough stay lighter longer because they run cooler. That is normal and not a reason to pile on oil in those areas.

Clean the top while it is still warm, not hot enough to burn you and not cold. The routine takes about five minutes:

1. Scrape. Push food bits and grease into the grease trough with a flat scraper, such as the one in the Blackstone Pro 22-Piece Griddle Tool Kit.
2. Loosen stuck bits. Squirt a small amount of water on a warm, not blazing, section to steam off stuck food, then scrape again. Keep your hands and face back from the steam. Never use water on burning grease.
3. Wipe dry. Wipe with paper towels until no water remains. Leftover moisture is what causes rust.
4. Oil thinly. Spread a very thin film of oil across the warm top and wipe it back off until it looks almost dry.
5. Empty grease. Empty or replace the grease cup liner when it is about half full so it cannot overflow or attract animals.
6. Cover once cool. Close the tank valve, let the top cool and put on the lid or cover.

Avoid dish soap on an established seasoning as a habit, and never soak the top or hose it down. Avoid metal wire brushes on the cooking surface.

Surface rust on a steel griddle is common, especially after rain gets under a soft cover, and it is almost always fixable in under an hour:

• Light orange film: heat the top on medium for a few minutes, add a little oil and scrape the rust into the trough. Wipe clean, then apply one or two seasoning coats.
• Heavier rust: with the top cool, scrub with oil and griddle scouring pads or a griddle cleaning brick until you reach gray or dark steel. Wipe away all residue with paper towels until they come up clean.
• Re-season: dry the top on the burners, then follow the first-seasoning steps above for 3 to 5 coats.

Deep pitting that you cannot scrub smooth, or a warped top that pools oil to one side, is the point to consider a new griddle. The best flat-top griddles and best 36 inch griddles roundups compare replacements, and Blackstone vs Camp Chef explains the build differences.

Flaking and stickiness nearly always trace back to oil that was applied too thick or not heated long enough:

• Sticky or gummy: the oil never fully polymerized. Heat the top on high until it stops smoking. If it stays tacky, scrape it and add thinner coats.
• Black flakes on food: thick layers have separated. Scrape off everything loose with a scraper while warm, scrub the spot with a scouring pad and oil, then re-season that area with 2 or 3 thin coats.
• Bare silver spots: usually caused by acidic foods like tomato sauce or lemon, or aggressive scraping. Re-season the spot and cook something fatty.
• Brown, uneven patches: normal on a young top. Keep cooking.

Flaxseed oil is the oil most often blamed in owner discussions for flaking, because it forms a hard but brittle layer when applied thickly. If you use it, keep coats extremely thin.

Rain is the enemy. A soft vinyl cover alone can trap moisture against the steel, so the most reliable setup is a hard lid over the cooking surface plus a breathable cover over the whole unit. The HECASA 36 in. Aluminum Griddle Hard Cover is an 8 lb powder-coated aluminum lid for 36 by 22 inch tops that will not rust and hangs off the back while you cook. For hoodless 36 inch Omnivore models, the Blackstone 5856 Omnivore 36 in. Steel Griddle Hood adds a permanent hood. Put a non-slip grill mat under the griddle if it sits on a deck, because griddles throw more grease than grills.

For off-season storage, clean the top, apply a slightly heavier protective coat of oil, let it cool, cover it and store the griddle in a dry, ventilated spot. Disconnect the propane tank and leave the tank outdoors, upright and away from the house; never store it in a garage, basement or shed attached to the home. Before the first cook of the next season, inspect the burners for insect nests and leak test the connection. The gifts for griddle cooks guide lists more gear.