How to Season a Blackstone Griddle

A new griddle arrives as bare steel with a protective coating on it, and bare steel does two things you do not want: it sticks, and it rusts. Seasoning fixes both. What you are building is not a coating you apply, it is a chemical change — thin layers of oil heated past their smoke point stop being oil and bond to the metal as a hard, dark, slick surface. That is why the instructions below are so insistent about thinness and heat. A thick layer of oil does not become seasoning. It becomes a sticky mess.

The good news is that this is a one-afternoon job done once, and after that cooking on the griddle maintains it. Blackstone’s own guide is the authority here and it is refreshingly specific, so the whole of this page follows it.

The routine, as Blackstone publishes it

That is the entire first-time process. Note the ordering of step 1: the soap wash happens before any seasoning exists, to get the manufacturing residue off. Once the plate is seasoned, soap is no longer part of the routine — the point of the layer you have just built is that it stays there.

Thin is the whole technique

If you take one thing from this page, take this. Blackstone’s phrasing is almost aggressive about it: wipe the oil as though you are trying to remove all of it. The plate should look barely damp, not glossy.

The reason is physical. A thin film can polymerize all the way through — every molecule gets hot enough to change. A thick film cooks on the outside and stays oily underneath, which is what produces the tacky, blotchy, patchy finish people describe when they say their seasoning “went wrong”. Blackstone’s guide names both failure modes to avoid: thick puddles and dry spots. Even and almost invisible is the target.

Include the walls of the griddle plate, not just the cooking surface. The edges are where rust starts, because that is where oil gets wiped away and water collects.

Which oil

Blackstone recommends its own Griddle Seasoning & Cast Iron Conditioner, and its guide also lists canola, flax, vegetable, shortening and olive oil as oils that work. It does not publish smoke points for those, and we are not going to invent them — the practical point is that any of the listed oils will do the job if the layer is thin enough and the plate gets hot enough.

What matters more than the brand of oil is consistency: finish the initial seasoning with whatever you start with, rather than switching halfway and introducing a layer that behaves differently.

After the first day

Blackstone’s position is that once the initial seasoning is done, simply cooking on the griddle keeps adding to the layer. Between uses, it suggests applying its seasoning product or a non-stick spray as maintenance. In practice the routine most griddle owners settle into is: scrape the plate down while it is still warm, wipe it, put a very thin coat of oil on, and shut the hood.

Expect food to stick a little during the first couple of cooking sessions. That is normal and it is not a sign the seasoning failed — keep cooking and keep oiling before and after each use, and the layer evens out as it builds.

Rust: prevention beats rescue

Rust is the thing that actually kills griddles, and it is a water problem rather than a use problem. Blackstone’s advice is a heavy-duty cover to protect the plate from the weather. If the griddle has an integrated hood, that is a start — but a hood is not a cover, and a plate left out through a wet week will find the gaps.

If surface rust does appear, the fix is the same process as seasoning, with a scrape first: take the rust off the steel, then run the routine above again. Nothing about a rusted plate is terminal, which is one of the quiet advantages of bare steel over non-stick.

What to look for in the gear

Seasoning needs almost nothing, but the few things it does need are specific.

For applying oil, the problem to solve is control. Pouring from a bottle onto a 500°F plate puts far too much on and flares. A refillable mister gives you an even, light coat, which is exactly what Blackstone’s “almost wipe it all off” instruction is describing. Look for food-grade and refillable rather than an aerosol, because aerosol propellants and additives are not what you want bonding to the plate.

For cleaning between cooks, the tool is a scraper, not a brush. A griddle has no bars to get between, so the job is pushing debris to the grease channel. A wooden scraper has a real advantage here: it has no metal parts to shed and it wears its own profile to match the surface. Avoid anything with wire bristles on a flat top — there is nothing for them to do except leave wire behind.

For the heat, you need gloves with forearm coverage, because a seasoning round means reaching across a plate running flat out for half an hour. And for cooking, flat-top turners are the right shape — grill tongs are nearly useless on a griddle, and the wide turner plus scraper combination is what the surface actually asks for.

How to season a Blackstone griddle, step by step

1. Wash it once. Soapy water poured gently over the plate, then rinsed with clean water. This is the only time soap belongs on the griddle.
2. Run the burners on max for 10 to 15 minutes. Wait until the steel starts to brown — that is the signal it is hot enough.
3. Wipe on a very thin layer of oil. Blackstone’s test: use the paper towel as if you are trying to wipe all the oil off. Include the walls of the plate.
4. Let it smoke. Blackstone says it takes about 30 minutes for the plate to reach its smoke point, after which the griddle can be turned off.
5. Repeat, 3 to 4 rounds total. Stop when the plate is dark brown.
6. Cook on it, and oil it after each use. Cooking adds to the layer; Blackstone suggests its seasoning product or a non-stick spray between uses.

Mistakes to avoid

Too much oil. The most common error by a wide margin. Thick layers go tacky instead of hard.

Not enough heat. Oil has to pass its smoke point to bond. A gentle warm-up leaves you with a plate coated in oil, not seasoning.

Soap after the first wash. The initial wash removes manufacturing residue. After that, soap is working against the layer you just spent an afternoon building.

Leaving it uncovered. Water is what ruins a griddle. Blackstone’s answer is a heavy-duty cover, and a hood on its own is not the same thing.

Wire bristles. There is nothing for them to do on a flat surface except leave wire behind. Our bristle-free brush and scraper roundup covers the alternatives.

Which griddle is worth seasoning in the first place

If a griddle is still a purchase rather than a possession, the size decision matters more than the brand. Our Blackstone 22 vs 28 comparison sets out what the extra plate actually buys, and the flat top griddle roundup compares eight of them on published cooking area, zones and whether a lid is included. If a griddle is competing with a grill for the same money, read charcoal grill vs flat-top griddle first.