How Often Should I Season My Grill? 4 Important Steps

While many BBQ fans stress the importance of seasoning a grill, not everyone knows how to do so. What makes this technique so effective at grilling? If you want to get the most out of your grill, you must season it well. Seasoning is one of the most important things to do if you are going to cook anything on your grill. In the article, “how often should I season my grill?” we will suggest all the possible options.

Having a clean yet well-seasoned barbecue is the key to simple, tasty, and easy outdoor cooking. To prepare outstanding dishes and culinary delights in your outdoor kitchen, you’ll need a well-seasoned grill. But what exactly does it mean to “season” your grill, and how can you do it at home?

How to Season a Grill?

To maintain excellent cooking conditions, both old and new grills, whether equipped with grates or a flat top, must be seasoned from time to time. However, certain barbecues and outdoor cooking equipment do not require seasoning. While some people suggest oiling the grates after each use, we recommend seasoning them every few months.

This should be plenty to prevent corrosion and keep the lovely nonstick seasoned coating you obtained when you originally strengthened your new grill.

Seasoning New Grill

Seasoning a new grill is relatively simple because it has never been used and should be clean and debris-free. Both stainless steel and cast iron grill plates and grates can be seasoned with this method. To eliminate any residues from manufacture or storage, wipe off your grill plates with a gentle moist cloth.

Coat all cooking surfaces (including emitters) with cooking oil. Peanut oil, canola oil, and grapeseed oil are good high-heat cooking oils, while olive oil should be avoided. Apply the oil evenly to the surfaces and wipe away any excess with a pastry brush, soft dry cloth, or paper towel. Then ignite your grill and cook it on low to medium for 15 minutes, or until the oil starts to burn off or smoke.

Seasoning Older Grills

Seasoning older and new barbecues is essentially the same, although older grills may require more thorough cleaning, especially if you haven’t been diligent in keeping your grill clean in the past, which could lead to rust that might be safe or hazardous if consumed. This is where an outdoor kitchen with a sink and dishwashing area comes in handy for cleaning your grill plates after each use.

It’s time to overhaul and re-season your grill plates if there’s a lot of hardened debris on them. Brush off any remaining dirt and baked-on residue with a grill brush while the grill is still warm. The grill plates can then be thoroughly cleaned with soapy water and a bristle brush. Brush off any leftover bits of burned-on food, wipe down, and season your grill in preparation for subsequent usage to keep it easy to use and clean.

How to Season a Grill Step-by-Step

Grill grates can rust or get so sticky over time that it’s practically hard to remove food in one piece. When you try to pull food off a damp grate, it loses juice and dries out. You don’t have to grill this way, though. Seasoning your barbecue grates will solve this problem. Food does not stick to seasoning grates because they repel corrosion, eliminate impurities, and seal pores.

According to some, cleaning the grate before seasoning removes natural flavors from previous meals. However, cleaning the grate first has the advantage of making it simpler to apply the oil uniformly so that the seasoning will last longer. The seasoning process consists of the following steps.

1. The Grill should be Clean

When you first get it home, clean the grill grates with simple water. This will help you to remove any dust, metal shavings, or other pollutants that may have been leftover from the shipment process. If you’re seasoning an existing grill, remove any residue with warm, sudsy water.

Scrub away any stubborn particles with a brush or a crumpled piece of aluminum foil. Close the top and let the grill heat up to burn off any remaining residues. Then sweep away any leftover ash with a brush. Allow the grill to dry before using it.

2. Oil-Coat the Grates

You will now begin seasoning. To season the grill at the most basic level, you have to oil the grates. Apply oil to the grates and the inside of the lid using a paper towel or a gentle brush. Coat the grates with a thin, even layer of fat. It is one of the reasons for greater taste.

3. Set it Aside

Turn the heat up to high, close the lid, and let it cook after pouring oil into the grates. Smoke will combine with the oil to produce a robust flavor, a BBQ master’s favorite. Allow the oil to heat for 15 to 20 minutes on the grates. You’ll notice that the grill grates are getting darker and darker as time goes on; this is normal.

4. Cool it down

It’s time to turn off the grill once the grill grates have blackened. Your grill is seasoned and ready as soon as it has cooled completely. You can start grilling the next time you wish to cook outside.

How to know your Grates are well Seasoned?

Your grill plates and grate should now have a bronze or dark brown finish instead of the previously shiny shine. It’s a good idea to get your cooking surfaces dark and well-seasoned so, that you can cook with a perfect grill. After you’ve seasoned the grill and it’s cooled, apply a little coat of oil to keep it from rusting until you’re ready to use it again.

Whether you use your grill weekly, monthly, or yearly, season it and keep it in excellent operating condition. with frequent cleaning makes grilling more manageable and smoother.

How often should I Season My Grill?

When properly seasoned and cared for, your grills provide a nonstick surface for cooking, just like your favorite frying pan. It’s simple to keep them in good shape, and it should be done every fourth or fifth grilling session. Cast iron can resist high temperatures and provide excellent searing.

It is recommended to re-season your grilling grids every four months, or once at the start and once at the end of the grilling season. This will keep the finishing on your cast iron cooking grids looking good and keep them from rusting. Restoring cast iron grill grates is somehow time-consuming. Some people propose oiling the grates after each cook, while we recommend seasoning them every few months. This should be plenty to prevent corrosion and keep your grill in the best working models.

What Happens If You Don’t Season a Grill?

Folks are often heard saying, what happens if I don’t season my grill before using it? Your new grill will have leftover paint, manufacturing oils, dust, and metal shavings from delivery, just like all new goods. Seasoning your grill will burn off contaminants and disinfect it.

The combination of oiling and heating the grill will create a protective barrier that will keep the rust away. Seasoning also produces a nonstick surface on your grill grates, ensuring that you won’t have an annoying mess of stuck-on food the first time you use it. Cooking on rusted utensils is unsafe to use so before cooking over them clean them completely from rust.

How to use a New Grill?

Before using your BBQ grill for the first time, burn it for 20 to 30 minutes to remove any dust, oil, adhesives, coatings, or other crude that may have gathered on it from the factory or the store. Before lighting the grill, open the cover, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, turn the burners too high, and close the lid.

Experts recommend preheating the grill for 20 minutes before using it for the first time to burn away oil or any packing material. After that, toss your stuff on the grill, and you’re ready to go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

While cooking on a new Grill for the first time, most folks are considering throwing out all of the grill cuisines because of the smell of those awful industrial fumes. Give a proper cleaning to the grill before seasoning it. Seasoning the grill entails oiling the grates, heating the grates for about 15 to 20 minutes so the oil can pierce into the holes to prevent rusting, and keeping it perfect in shape.

When you consider the change in the color of the grates to bronze or dark brown, you will get the result of well-seasoned grill grates. The oil prevents rust and makes it easier to clean the grates. Season your grill every time you use it, and you’ll have a long-term grilling partner.

Good luck With Your Seasoning.