Seasoning a Blackstone Griddle

[JeffJohnston]

Hello all

We got a Blackstone 22 for Christmas for our camper. I know we need to season it before the first use and I believe I know how to do that part (watched many videos, etc). My question is if we don't plan to use it until spring and it's going to be stored indoors, can we wait until spring to season it or should we do it immediately.

The reasoning - it's put together and my GF (the long time camper between the 2 of us) wants to set it up in her basement to look at. It helps her get thru the winter looking forward to camping. but she's afraid that it will smell and won't look as nice. My fear is that the longer we wait to season it, the better chance it won't end up seasoned correctly.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Camping family]

You can season now or later. Makes no difference. If it sets till later no problem. How long do they set in the stores or warehouse before purchasing and being season. If season now you will end up using now. Do it

[JeffJohnston]

Originally Posted by Camping family

You can season now or later. Makes no difference. If it sets till later no problem. How long do they set in the stores or warehouse before purchasing and being season. If season now you will end up using now. Do it

You're 100% correct. I wasn't thinking of how long it may sit on a shelf in the warehouse or store. Or basically, I just wasn't thinking LOL.

For now it's set up in her basement, but you are also 100% correct in your last line. I will be seasoning it soon so I can use it. I don't want one of our camping trips to be the first time I use it. I've never cooked on a griddle before (not counting eggs on an old one that you put on a stove) and to parapharse "The Ghost and the Darkness" - never go into battle with an unproven rifle (don't cook the first time when it counts - griddle some practice burgers first).

Thanks for the reply!

[NH_Bulldog]

Ours came with a sort of factory oil film coating (probably as byproduct of manufacturing). It won't hurt to leave it sit until you are ready to use it. Seasoning does the same thing so there is no harm doing it now, especially to test out some recipes.

We use Grape Seed oil to season and cook with. It is light, flavor-neutral and has a high smoke point. We do also occasionally use Bacon-Up depending on what we are cooking.

We started out with Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, then the next time it was sausages, peppers and onions, and then chicken, or pork, or shrimp fried rice....probably the biggest request we get now is our fried rice.

[Camping family]

Originally Posted by JeffJohnston

You're 100% correct. I wasn't thinking of how long it may sit on a shelf in the warehouse or store. Or basically, I just wasn't thinking LOL.

For now it's set up in her basement, but you are also 100% correct in your last line. I will be seasoning it soon so I can use it. I don't want one of our camping trips to be the first time I use it. I've never cooked on a griddle before (not counting eggs on an old one that you put on a stove) and to parapharse "The Ghost and the Darkness" - never go into battle with an unproven rifle (don't cook the first time when it counts - griddle some practice burgers first).

Thanks for the reply!

I have three 36 at home on deck. 22 elect in the house and a 22 gas at the camper.

The more you cook on it the better it will get. The main thing is when done clean it. Best way I found is while still warm scrape it down to remove anything stuck. Squirt water on any tough spots that will loosen it up. Once all scraped down wipe it off with paper towels or a cloth. Then while still warm apply a small amount of cooking oil whatever kind you use. Don’t forget to wipe the sides also. Then cover the griddle. Mine has a lid. If you don’t have a lid purchase a grill cover large enough to cover it. When ready to use the next time heat it up wipe it down and griddle away.

[sourdough]

As was just mentioned, be SURE and clean the griddle after each use and reapply oil. Also you need a cover for it whether it has a lid or not. The cover helps keep moisture out of the griddle and lessens the chance of rust forming.

Cooking is a breeze - sort of like cooking on a great big, flat, no sided skillet. There are some interesting recipes out there for a flat top or make up your own. They make covers to go over veggies and such to "steam" it along with quite a few other accessories. Be sure and get the little set of spatulas so you can impress her by clanging them around when using two of the....just don't throw the shrimp at her.

[JeffJohnston]

Thanks again all (I love this forum LOL)

We got the Adventure Ready 22 from Walmart on a great sale ($147). It has the lid and the stand with it. We've since bought a cover and carrying case (to store it in the camper pass-thru). I also bought the Blackstone seasoning and conditioner for the first seasoning.

[Dobbs]

If you have a gas grill that has enough room to fit the Blackstone griddle into, and be able to close the lid, it is the best way to season in my opinion.
Wash the never used griddle with soap and water. This should be the only time it sees soap. Rinse and dry and put a coat of whatever oil you want. I used flaxseed oil. Put the griddle into the grill and turn on high with the lid closed. When it stops smoking let cool slightly and repeat two or more times. I use a long tongs and spread the oil with paper towels.
I've found doing this you get that beautiful black seasoning all over. If you do it using the Blackstone burners you get hot spots of black that take time to eventually cover everything.
We use ours every trip.

[ken56]

Start using that thing. I love mine. I take it camping and use it at home all the time. I still have my baby Weber Q too cuz some things just need to be done the grill. As everyone else said, clean it after every use and simply recoat it with a light coating of oil. It should not be sticky when done cleaning and reoiling. If it is then get it hot and burn it off till it stops smoking. THEN recoat it with oil.

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by sourdough

As was just mentioned, be SURE and clean the griddle after each use and reapply oil. Also you need a cover for it whether it has a lid or not. The cover helps keep moisture out of the griddle and lessens the chance of rust forming.

So, what do you do if some rust does form on the surface? (Asking for a friend?)

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

So, what do you do if some rust does form on the surface? (Asking for a friend?)

Well, how bad is it and where is it? Minor rust in non cooking areas can be gently removed from the surface, oiled and reheated. I knew a guy that did not care one whit if there was rust - just wiped it down with an oily towel to get the loose stuff off, fired it up, let it get hot then lightly rubbed it down after hot with tongs and oily paper towels....food always tasted good.

If the cooking surface gets a significant amount of rust on it I completely clean the top using a scraper then a pad made for the griddle to remove all rust, seasoning etc. then re-season the griddle. Took mine camping (3 months) and I didn't use it. It was under a cover so didn't worry. When it came time to get it ready to go there was about 1/8" of water covering the griddle from condensation (never thought about it) and the accompanying rust. That was the "first" time that happened. I chose to use a flat top pumice block (we used to use them all the time cleaning the huge griddles we carried around for community cooks when I worked) and found that the block will make a "pumice mess" that is very hard off a small griddle with edges. I've used the scraping pads since - I think Blackstone sells them (maybe Walmart?).
Just an fyi - I owned 3 of the Blackstones (now 2 - 22"). I have moved to a Camp Chef system that provides me the griddles, grill, hi powered open burners for cooking outside (regular, hi heat wok, 30/40qt. pot for boils). It's a gas unit and the grill box is gas as well but the center is perfect for moistened wood chips wrapped in foil....tastes as good (maybe better) than a charcoal grill. Sorry, had to throw that in because it's really made me happy - got a setup in the trailer and one on my back patio.

[Bill-2020]

Thanks Danny. Mine is the little capital brand that Keystone puts in the campers now. I seasoned it, but apparently I didn’t leave enough olive oil on it. It also doesn’t heat very evenly. Super hot spot in the middle. If all else fails, I’ll get my self a small blackstone.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

Thanks Danny. Mine is the little capital brand that Keystone puts in the campers now. I seasoned it, but apparently I didn’t leave enough olive oil on it. It also doesn’t heat very evenly. Super hot spot in the middle. If all else fails, I’ll get my self a small blackstone.

Probably won't be much to cleaning it (depending on how heavy the rust is). The bad thing about those smaller griddles like that is the thickness of the griddle and the burner configuration. Many of them are made so there is no way to get even heat across the entire griddle - they seem to hope the heat radiates out from the hot spot and gets the rest of the griddle warm/hot. That can be advantageous is it's big enough and you cook stuff requiring different temps. My mom owned a cafe many, many years ago and that flat top was big with a lot of burners under it. The cook just kept certain areas at different temps for various types of food. Kinda hard to do with a small traveling unit. Good luck on cleaning it or getting a Blackstone. Don't know if you've seen them but I believe some of our members have modified their grills that came with their trailer and put in a Blackstone. A search on that might turn up something you like.

[Bill-2020]

I will do that, Danny. Thanks. I use a small Webber Q that I modified for the spare propane fitting on the trailer. Works wonders. A good griddle would make our evening breakfast meals better. Now that we have the trailer back it could be this year’s upgrade!