How to Season a Blackstone Griddle for a Long-Lasting, Stick-Resistant Coating

Also called flat-top grills or planchas, griddles are exceptionally versatile. Many people view them through a breakfast lens as a tool for making eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausage or as an appliance for feeding the masses, but they’re useful in plenty of other ways.

A large griddle is a perfect surface for searing meats, seafood, and vegetables, sauteeing large amounts of food, or setting up multiple heat zones for high- and low-temperature cooking. The popularity of homemade smash burgers has perhaps helped the griddle's recent ascension. An almost edgeless flat surface allows plenty of room to flatten burger patties and attain the trademark crispy edge far easier than a skillet. 

The best materials for griddles are cast iron or carbon steel, as they each heat evenly, distributing the heat across the cooking surface instead of leaving one scorching spot under the burner and the rest of the griddle cooler. But these metals require some special considerations, like seasoning. Some manufacturers ship their griddles pre-seasoned, others bare metal. In either case, seasoning will be a factor in prolonging the griddle’s life and ensuring a nonstick surface. 

The good news: It's easier than you might think. We wrote this guide to seasoning a Blackstone griddle, as the 1554 model topped our tests as Best Overall, but the same steps below apply to other griddles, like our picks from Traeger and Weber. Here's what to know to get started.

Why Season a Griddle?

Cast iron and carbon steel griddles are bare metal when brand new unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise. So, the first reason to season a griddle is to protect that bare metal from rust. That bare iron or steel is also a horrible surface for cooking, so giving it a coating of seasoning alleviates sticking, too. Done well and properly, seasoning a griddle can turn the cooking surface as effective as the best nonstick pan. Failure to season your griddle will leave you with a rusted piece of metal that food will desperately cling to.

Seasoning involves building polymerized layers of oil on the griddle, which act as a smooth buffer between the food and the metal. Ready for a science lesson? Polymerization is the process that converts small molecules called monomers into a chain-like big molecule called a polymer. Heating a well-oiled griddle converts the oil into what’s essentially bio-based plastic and gives you your nonstick, rust-inhibiting coating that improves your cooking quality and extends the griddle’s life.

What Do You Need to Season a Griddle?

Seasoning a griddle seems like a Dark Art when it’s actually a simple process. To perform the ritual, you need a heat source, a high-temperature oil or a specialty product for seasoning (we’ll discuss those later), some paper towels, and a pair of heat-resistant grill gloves or a pair of tongs.

The Best Oil to Season a Griddle

The best oils for griddle seasoning have a high smoke point — the temperature where the oil stops shimmering from heat and starts burning and smoking. Oils with the highest levels of saturated fat have the highest smoke point and are the best choices for this task. The list of preferred oils includes avocado, vegetable, coconut, ghee, grape seed, sunflower, and canola. 

There are divided camps on whether olive oil is suitable because its lower smoke point requires multiple coatings to build sufficient thickness of the seasoning. Some argue, however, that a higher-quality extra virgin olive oil has a higher smoke point and is therefore perfectly acceptable, albeit with a significantly higher cost than many others. 

There is also a new category of cultured oil made of sugar cane that experts are eyeing as a viable candidate for cast iron and carbon steel seasoning. Some manufacturers, like Weber and Crisbee, have developed products that combine high-smoke oils with beeswax for easy application, and these handle the task quite well. 

Other Supplies

• Dish soap and a scraper: To properly season your griddle, it must be clean before you start. Dish soap and a sponge are the bare minimum. A soft plastic or silicone scraper is a good choice for stuck-on food. Be careful with metal scrapers, as you could take chips out of your existing seasoning if you're not careful. Contentious items for deep cleaning among some camps include sandpaper or a grill brick. These tools are handy for removing caked-on residue and rust, but some say they damage the metal.
• Heat source: This could be a stovetop burner, oven, or the burners on a grill or griddle stand.
• Paper towels: No magic here. Paper towels will evenly spread the oil over your griddle’s cooking surfaces, handles, edges, and bottom. You can use an old kitchen towel or something similar; just be aware that it will soak up the oil and remain hot after application, and your towel will smell like burnt oil, even after washing. 
• Tongs or heat-resistant grill gloves: You’ll apply oil to a hot pan with a towel, which you don’t want to do with your bare hands. Holding the towel with tongs is the most accessible way to do this, as most folks have a pair sitting around. But tongs are clumsy, so if you have a pair of grill gloves, you can use them for heat protection while having most of the dexterity of your fingers to spread the oil and rub it in. But, following the example of the kitchen towel, gloves with a cloth or an aramid exterior will absorb the oil and smell like an old fryer.

How to Season a Griddle

There are two areas of seasoning: the initial seasoning and maintenance. Luckily, the maintenance follows the same steps as the initial seasoning. It just doesn’t require as many repeating steps. If you’ve got chips in your seasoning, you can specifically target those without coating the entire griddle, somewhat simplifying the process.

• Clean your griddle: Cleaning your flat-top grill, even if it's new out of the box, will remove any dust, dirt, or oily residue (including from the factory). Washing it with soapy water is sufficient for a new griddle; gently scraping any food residue or rust before washing a used griddle is best. Some manufacturers recommend using sandpaper or a grill brick to smooth out any rough surfaces. However you proceed, just ensure you wash your griddle afterward to remove any remaining residue.

• Heat your griddle: Warm up your griddle over (or in) low heat. Ideally, you want the metal to reach about 200°F in this step. You can do this on a stove burner, in the oven, on a grill, or if your griddle is a freestanding unit, with its burners turned low.
• Open a window and turn on a fan: Perhaps I’m overly sensitive to the smell of burnt oil, but I find it almost nauseating. If you’re seasoning your pan indoors, some ventilation is to minimize the lingering burnt oil smell.
• Oil your griddle: Pour some oil onto your heated griddle, then spread the oil across every surface: cooking area, sides, handles, and bottom, using a paper towel (see kitchen towel caveats) and tongs or grill gloves. A thin coating across the entirety of the surface is all you need. Too much oil can lead to problems that we’ll address later.
• Turn up the heat: Now’s the time we polymerize the oil. The ideal temperature is between 450 and 500°F (although some beeswax-based products call for 400°F), so turn up your heat source to reach those temperatures and heat your griddle. The oil will start smoking and charring, which is exactly what you want. Let the griddle sit in the heat for about an hour or until the oil stops smoking, whichever comes first.

• Do it again: New pans will need multiple layers of polymerized oil to be truly seasoned. Manufacturers' recommendations call for between four and six coats of oil. If you’re just maintaining your griddle, one coat can be sufficient, depending on how worn the seasoning is. So repeat steps four through six as needed.
• Cool your griddle: Once you’ve created your layers of seasoning, remove the griddle from the heat and allow it to cool at room temperature to complete the process.

Griddles We Love

Blackstone 1554 Cooking 4 Burner Flat Top Gas Grill

Orig. $401 $371 at Amazon $496 at Walmart Orig. $700 $450 at Dick's

The Blackstone 1554 was our favorite when we tested griddles and flat-top grills. It’s got the size and BTUs to cook for a large group, but it’s versatile enough to scale that down to cooking for two. Four burners allowed us to create custom heat zones, and the heat retention impressed us. The side tables, under-shelf, and four wheels make prep, storage, and movement easy and convenient.

Weber Slate 30 Inch Griddle

View on Walmart View on Weber.com $649 at Ace Hardware

We liked the Weber Slate's large working space with side tables and storage, though the extra parts meant it took some time to assemble. It's a well-built griddle with a carbon steel surface and features like a built-in digital thermometer and an effective grease collection system to justify the splurge.

Traeger Flatrock Flat Top Grill

Orig. $900 $765 at Amazon View on Traeger.com $800 at Ace Hardware

The Traeger Flatrock was the easiest griddle to get started with, as it arrived fully assembled, save for needing seasoning. As with the Weber, you're paying for a durable carbon steel surface, features like a fuel gauge, and a generous working space. We also liked the rail to keep a grill brush and other tools nearby.

FAQs

How long does it take to season a griddle?

Most recommendations call for an hour per coat of oil – though more than a prescribed time, you’re really waiting for the oil to no longer be smoking. It could take a little longer or shorter than an hour. Count on a little longer than an hour if you’re only doing a maintenance coat, which is a recommended practice every 10 to 15 uses. If you’re seasoning a new griddle, think five to six hours. But the bulk of that time is passive, waiting for the oil to stop smoking while it sits in or on the heat.

How long after you season your griddle can you use it?

Most manufacturers recommend allowing your griddle to cool completely after seasoning it. Presumably, this allows the polymerized coating to fully set. You're ready to cook after your griddle cools to room temperature (budget an hour after removing it from the heat).

How many times should you season a griddle?

The first thing to realize is when you’ve purchased a carbon steel or cast iron griddle, you’ve entered into a new life-long compact. Seasoning is an ongoing process, not a “once and done” proposition. Maintaining a seasoned griddle is easier than seasoning a new one, but neither is particularly difficult. So, with either a pre-seasoned griddle or one you’ve coated yourself, apply one or two new coats of oil every 10 to 15 uses. 

People have strong, passionate ideas about seasoning and defend their viewpoints with a vigor usually reserved for protecting family members. Some camps call for three to four coats of oil, others five to six, and others upwards of eight coats. We’ll split the difference and recommend five or six coats for optimal nonstick and protective qualities.

Can you over-season a griddle?

It is possible to over-season your griddle. Building up too many uneven layers will result in a ridged and pitted surface that will not only give you sticking issues but also begin flaking. To avoid this, use just enough oil to create a thin film over your griddle’s surface for each coat.

Our Expertise

Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Tasting Table, Serious Eats, and other publications