How to season a blackstone griddle for the first time

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Seasoning a Blackstone griddle or flat top grill is incredibly easy if you know what you're doing! Check out all my tips and tricks to keep the process simple.

In the spring of 2020, our friends decided they would come camping in our yard. The world was going crazy and we were stuck at home.

The 8 of us spent the warm May days playing games with the kids and the cool spring nights around the campfire. Life was good.

On one morning, our buddy pulled out a monster flattop and cooked us a killer breakfast.

Since that moment, I've wanted one of my own.

This how to season a Blackstone guide is dedicated to getting what you want.

what is seasoning?

Seasoning has nothing to do with salt and pepper!

Seasoning is simply heating an oil past its smoke point to polymerize the oil and bond it to the porous metal surface. Much like seasoning cast iron.

All that is a fancy way of saying that you're cooking oil till it stops smoking to coat the bare metal.

why is seasoning necessary?

Seasoning your flattop is necessary because the polymerization of the molecules in the oil creates a hard, non-stick surface on which to cook your food. Unseasoned cooktops will undoubtedly cause food to stick.

If you already cook with cast iron, this will be really familiar to you. Unseasoned cast iron can be a bit of a sticky devil to cook with, and the same goes for the flat top.

The other reason that seasoning is necessary is that it protects your griddle from the elements, including water and humidity, to prevent oxidization (rust) and damage to the steel.

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best oils for seasoning

This one is all a matter of personal opinion. A number of years ago, I went down a major rabbit hole, reading an article extolling the virtues of flaxseed oil for seasoning cast iron. I stripped all my iron and reseasoned with flax and I wasn't overly fussed by it.

Then I experimented with coconut oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, olive oil, and various other oils. If you were wondering, Blackstone even makes their own Blackstone griddle seasoning.

Now, 10 years later, and wiser, I use plain old lard.

Yup, the no-name, the bottom of the barrel lard. It's cheap, it's soft and easy to work with, you can store it at room temperature, and it has a long shelf life.

Any of the above will work, but try the lard, you'll be happy with it!

tips + tricks

No. 1 --> Make sure you have a full tank of propane when you start this process! There is nothing worse than running out of fuel mid-season!

No. 2 --> Use suuuuper thin layers of oil on your griddle surface. Many people think that a little bit is good, more must be better, but basically, you want to spread oil on the flat top and then wipe almost all of it off.

No. 3 --> Don't fret if your cooking surface isn't perfectly black after a few rounds of seasoning. It will continue to season itself as you cook on it.

No. 4 --> If the layer of seasoning is still tacky after it's cooled, it means there was either too much oil left on the griddle before heating, or that it wasn't heated long enough. The remedy is to re-heat the griddle until it stops smoking and allow it to cool.

No. 5 --> Some people get squirrelly about using hot soapy water on seasoned cast iron, and likely on a seasoned flattop, I, on the other hand, use soapy water on my cast iron occasionally and have never had an issue, so if your Blackstone looks like it just needs to be washed with soapy water, do it. It will not hurt a thing.

No. 6 --> Don't forget to give your griddle a light coating of oil after it has cooled down from seasoning. Oil is hydrophobic and won't allow water to rust or otherwise damage your steel cooktop.

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