To season a Blackstone griddle or any bare-steel flat top, wash it once with soapy water, rinse, and heat it dry on high. Wipe on a paper-thin coat of high-smoke-point oil, then keep the burners on high until the smoke stops and the surface darkens. Repeat 3–5 times until the top is evenly brown-black, which takes roughly 1–2 hours on a new griddle.
If your seasoning turns sticky, flakes or rusts later, the cause is almost always too much oil, too little heat or moisture left on the steel. Thin coats, high heat, every time.
What do you need to do?
Find your situation, then jump to the section that answers it.
| You have or want | Answer | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| A new Blackstone or bare steel flat top | Full 6-step seasoning | Step-by-step |
| Not sure your griddle needs it | Bare steel and cast iron do; nonstick doesn't | Cooktop check |
| To choose an oil | Any neutral high-smoke-point oil | Oils compared |
| A stovetop cast iron griddle | Season it in the oven | Oven method |
| Sticky, flaking or rusty patches | One step went wrong | Fixes |
| To keep it slick after cooking | Scrape, wipe, oil, cover | Daily care |
Does your griddle need seasoning?
Bare carbon steel and cast iron need it; coated and stainless tops don't.
Seasoning is oil heated past its smoke point until it polymerizes: the fat links into a hard, plastic-like film bonded to the metal. That film seals bare steel from air and moisture, which stops rust, and fills the steel's tiny pores so food releases instead of sticking.
Check what your cooktop is made of before you start.
| Cooktop | Season it? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rolled carbon steel (most Blackstone, Camp Chef and similar) | Yes | Rusts if left bare; use the full method below |
| Cast iron griddle or plancha | Yes | Often pre-seasoned, but extra coats help |
| Nonstick-coated (ceramic, PTFE) | No | Seasoning can leave a gummy film; wash and use |
| Stainless steel | No | Doesn't rust like carbon steel; manage fat and heat instead |
| Chrome-plated | No | Slick by design; scrape and wipe only |
The Blackstone Original 36" Griddle is a typical bare-steel top: rolled carbon steel that must be seasoned before its first real cook and oiled after every cook. The cold-rolled steel top on the Traeger Flatrock ships unseasoned too. For more bare-steel options, see our flat-top griddle hub. Nonstick plates like the Ninja Sizzle and the Blackstone 2364 camping griddle need no seasoning at all.
Which oil should you use to season a griddle?
Any neutral oil with a high smoke point works; technique matters far more than the bottle.
| Oil | Good for seasoning? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Canola or vegetable oil | Yes | Cheap, easy, reliable |
| Avocado oil | Yes | Very high smoke point; pricier |
| Shortening (e.g. Crisco) | Yes | Easy to spread thin |
| Blackstone Griddle Seasoning & Cast Iron Conditioner | Yes | Soft blend that spreads thin easily; costs more per coat, no proven advantage over plain oil |
| Flaxseed oil | With care | Builds a hard layer but can flake if applied thick |
| Butter, extra-virgin olive oil | No | Milk solids and low smoke points burn and go sticky |
| Cooking spray | Not ideal | Lecithin and propellants can leave a gummy residue |
Blackstone's conditioner and other branded blends are convenient, but any neutral high-smoke-point fat polymerizes into a similar film when it's wiped thin and heated hard. Pick the cheap neutral oil you already have and spend your effort on wiping it thin.
What else you need
- A high-smoke-point oil from the table above
- Paper towels or lint-free rags, and long tongs to hold them
- Heat-resistant gloves
- A flat metal griddle scraper and a squeeze bottle of water for cleaning
- A griddle stone or fine steel wool, only if you're removing rust
- A hard lid or fitted griddle cover
- A full propane tank, since seasoning runs the burners on high for an hour or more; our guide to how long a propane tank lasts shows how to check
Step-by-Step: How to Season a Blackstone Griddle
Six steps take a bare steel top to a dark, slick cooking surface.
Step 1 of 6Wash off the factory coating
Time: about 5 minutes, new griddles only
Wash the top with warm, soapy water and rinse well. This removes the protective oil applied at the factory, and you won't need to scrub with soap like this again.
Step 2 of 6Heat it dry
Target: burners on high for 10–15 minutes
Heat drives off every trace of water. The steel will start to discolor, often bronze or blue in patches, which is normal.
Step 3 of 6Wipe on a thin coat of oil
Target: a few tablespoons spread across a 36-inch top
Pour the oil on, then spread it over the whole surface, the side walls and the edges with a folded towel held in tongs. Wipe again, removing as much as you can, until the steel looks almost dry.
This much oil is a starting point; keep buffing until the surface looks dry.
Step 4 of 6Heat until it stops smoking
Done when: the smoke dies down and the surface looks darker and dry
Keep the burners on high. The oil smokes heavily for 15–30 minutes, then fades as it bonds to the steel.
Stay upwind and keep the griddle well away from the house. Wind cools a flat top fast, so season on a calm day or shield the griddle.
Step 5 of 6Repeat 3–5 times
Time: roughly 10–20 minutes of heat per coat after the first
Each round goes faster because thinner layers bond quicker. Corners and edges run cooler and often lag, so give them extra passes.
You should see: a dry, satin-dark surface with no wet sheen and no tacky feel when you touch it with a towel.
To confirm it's sealed, let the top cool to warm and flick a few drops of water onto different zones. Tight beads mean the coat is sealed; a flat film means that zone needs 1–2 more thin coats. Wipe the water off and oil lightly afterward.
Step 6 of 6Finish with a protective coat
Target: a very light wipe of oil while warm
Turn off the burners, let the griddle cool a little and wipe on one more thin coat. Your griddle is ready to cook.
How do you season a cast iron griddle in the oven?
A stovetop cast iron griddle or plancha cures evenly in a home oven.
Wipe on the same paper-thin coat of oil, then set the griddle upside down on the middle rack with foil on a lower rack to catch drips. Bake at around 450°F for an hour, let it cool in the oven and repeat for 2–3 coats.
What should you cook first on a new griddle?
Fatty, low-moisture foods add seasoning; wet, acidic foods take it away.
Bacon, sausage, smash burgers, fried potatoes and onions, and pancakes in a little oil all lay fat onto the steel and build seasoning while you cook. Your first few cooks finish what the seasoning rounds started.
Go easy on tomato sauces, lemon, vinegar or wine deglazing, long steam-cooking and sugary glazes for the first few weeks. Acid and water strip a young coating, and burnt sugar leaves carbon that flakes.
Common seasoning mistakes and how to fix them
Almost every problem comes back to oil thickness, heat or moisture.
Over-oiling
Sign
oil pools in low spots or runs to the edges, and each coat smokes far longer than 30 minutes.
Fix
- Before heating, wipe the coat back with a clean towel until the steel looks almost dry.
- If a thick coat is already cooking, keep the heat on high until it stops smoking, then go thinner on the next coat.
Expect
faster, cleaner coats. Over-oiling is the root cause of most sticky and flaking seasoning below.
Sticky or gummy patches
Sign
the surface feels tacky, and lint from your towel sticks to it.
Fix
- Heat the griddle on high until the tacky spots smoke off and turn dry.
- Wipe future coats until they look dry before heating.
Expect
a hard, dry finish after one more full heat cycle.
Flaking black bits
Sign
dark flakes lift off and land in your food.
Fix
- Scrape off anything loose with a flat scraper.
- Re-season that patch with 2–3 thin coats.
Expect
a smooth patch that blends in after a few cooks. Flakes come from thick layers or burnt-on carbon, and the griddle isn't ruined.
Food sticks
Sign
eggs and pancakes tear when you flip them.
Fix
- Add 2–3 more thin coats, focusing on the patchy areas.
- Preheat the whole top fully before food goes on; our guide on how long to preheat a grill gives realistic times.
- Add a little oil before each cook.
Expect
clean releases within a cook or two. If it still sticks, why food sticks to the grill covers the other causes.
Rust spots
Sign
orange spots or a dusty red film, often after rain or humid storage.
Fix
- Heat the griddle for 10 minutes, then scrape off the loose rust.
- Scrub with a griddle stone or fine steel wool and a little oil until the towel comes away clean.
- Re-season with 2–3 thin coats.
Expect
a dark, even top again in under an hour. Heavy, pitted rust may need sanding back to bare metal and a full re-season.
Uneven color or bare spots
Sign
edges stay bronze while the center turns black, or one zone looks worn.
Fix
- Give the edges and corners extra coats and extra heat time.
- Turn unused zones down during cooks, since a burner left on high with nothing on it burns seasoning off.
Expect
an even color that keeps darkening with use.
Watch out: don't scrub with soap and soak the top after cooking. Harsh scrubbing wears early layers away; a little mild soap now and then is fine.
How do you clean a seasoned griddle after cooking?
Scrape, wipe, oil and cover while the top is still warm.
- Scrape food off into the grease trap.
- Squirt a little water on stubborn bits to steam them loose.
- Wipe the top dry with a towel.
- Wipe on a thin coat of oil.
- Cover it, or store it out of the rain.
Steam from a splash of water lifts stuck bits so the scraper does the rest without hurting the seasoning.
Empty the rear grease cup regularly. Old grease turns rancid and attracts pests, and an overflowing cup is a fire risk.
Off-season storage
Oil the top, let it cool and keep it under a hard lid or fitted cover in a dry spot. Check it every few weeks in damp weather, because catching a rust spot early means a quick scrub instead of a full re-season.
Our guide to how to winterize your grill covers propane tanks and the rest of the cart, and the grill cleaning and maintenance guide has a year-round schedule.
What should you do next with your griddle?
Match your griddle and its condition to the next move.
- New Blackstone or steel flat top: run all six steps before your first cook. Three-zone tops like the Flatrock season the same way, with every zone running at once.
- Rust after winter: scrape, scrub and add 2–3 coats rather than stripping it.
- Nonstick camp griddle: skip seasoning and metal tools; wash and use.
Supplies for this job: griddle seasoning oil · griddle scrapers · heat-resistant gloves. These are Amazon search links; we may earn a commission, which never changes our advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
01How do I season a Blackstone griddle for the first time?
Wash it once with soapy water, heat it dry, then add 3–5 paper-thin coats of oil, heating each until the smoke stops. The six steps above are written for bare-steel tops like the Blackstone 36, and a new top takes roughly 1–2 hours. The 2364 camping griddle is the exception, since its nonstick plate needs no seasoning. Finish with a light protective wipe of oil while the top is warm.
02How many times should I season a new griddle?
Plan on 3–5 thin coats. Stop when the whole top is evenly dark brown to black and feels dry, not when you hit a number. Edges and corners run cooler and often need an extra pass or two, and each coat after the first takes roughly 10–20 minutes of heat. Your first fatty cooks keep building the layer. Thin coats bond faster and won't turn sticky.
03What is the best oil to season a griddle?
Any neutral oil with a high smoke point works: canola, vegetable, avocado or shortening. Any of them polymerizes into a similar film, so technique matters far more than the bottle. Branded conditioners spread easily but cost more per coat. Skip butter and extra-virgin olive oil, which burn and go sticky, and go carefully with flaxseed, which can flake if applied thick.
04Should I season my griddle after every use?
No full seasoning rounds, just a light oil wipe while the top is still warm after cleaning. Save the high-heat rounds for a new griddle or for patches you've scraped back.
05Does a pre-seasoned griddle need seasoning?
Usually a little. Factory seasoning is often a single light layer, so 2–3 extra thin coats help food release from day one. Heat the top dry first, wipe the oil until the steel looks almost dry, and heat each coat until the smoke dies down. Then cook bacon or smash burgers to keep building it. Go easy on acidic sauces for the first few weeks.
06How do you re-season a Blackstone griddle?
Heat it for 10 minutes, scrape and scrub off loose bits and rust, then add 2–3 thin coats. Only heavy, pitted rust calls for sanding back to bare steel and a full re-season.
07Why is my griddle seasoning sticky?
Sticky seasoning means the oil went on too thick or didn't get hot enough to cure. Heat the griddle on high until the tacky spots smoke off and turn dry, which takes one more full heat cycle. Next time, wipe each coat until the steel looks almost dry before heating; a few tablespoons covers a 36-inch top. Lint from your towel sticking to the top is the giveaway.
08Can I use soap on a seasoned griddle?
Partly: a little mild soap won't strip cured seasoning. Long soaks and harsh scrubbing will wear early layers away, especially in the first weeks. For everyday cleaning, scrape the top, squirt a little water to steam stuck bits loose, wipe it dry and finish with a thin coat of oil before covering it. Then cover it or store it out of the rain.
The Takeaway
Seasoning a griddle is thin oil plus high heat, repeated until the top is evenly dark. Get the first coats right, scrape and oil after every cook, and keep it covered, and the surface gets better each time you use it. Still choosing one? See our best outdoor griddles.
Written by
Tom Bricker
Consumer Research Analyst & Editor
Tom Bricker has 10+ years of grilling on every fuel type and a consumer-research background. He researches and writes SmokyHQ’s gas, portable, electric and flat-top coverage, so if you’re weighing price against how long a grill will last, his reviews compare specs, materials and warranties to show which ones look worth the money.
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