Rusted Griddle
My Blackstone Griddle is rusted! Not bad mind you, but enough to cause concern and question,” Did I really get a good seasoning on my griddle last year when I set it up?” Think not! Just knowing how to clean a rusted Blackstone Griddle is just part of the process. After I show you how to re-condition your griddle, we will put a good seasoning on it as well!
Cutting the Rust on Your Blackstone Griddle
I found my flat Blackstone Griddle Scraper but the griddle stone was not with it, hmmm. I remember a storm blew through here late last fall and when I came home from work, the griddle was upended and strewn out on the ground in front of my camper.
The metal griddle itself was separated from the stove and the sheet metal walls and supports were tweaked a bit. That griddle stone may be in the next county but I will take a look outside. Yea, here it is on the shelf under the grill.
If you do not have a full roll of paper towels you might as well stop what you are doing and go grab some. If you do not already have a griddle stone, cooking oil (any kind), Blackstone Seasoning Oil, wide putty knife, or griddle scraper, then pick them up as well. I found all of these things at Wally World.
Do This First When Cleaning a Griddle
With a cold griddle, take your Blackstone Griddle Scraper and start scraping the loose rust and winter pixie dust from your griddle. Tilt your scraper at about a 45-degree angle and scape up and down and side to side paying attention to the sound scraper makes.
Starting out the scraper as it going to make a course gritty sound as you push the scraper across the metal. As you begin to remove the oxidation you will start to hear more of a higher pitch “sing” as your scraper gets past the junk and makes contact with the cleaner metal top.
Now that you have the loose stuff removed with your scraper, take the griddle stone and make several passes to loosen the more stubborn, deeper rust.
Don’t spend a lot of time with the cold griddle stone rub because you are going to need most of that stone for the heated rub. Take the scraper and scrape the bulk of the stone particles out the back drip hole. That stone is actually made of tiny glass particles.
Use Griddle Stone on a Hot Griddle
Next, turn your griddle on medium and allow to warm up for about 10 minutes. You may want to wear a pair of gloves for this. Now take the cooking oil and drizzle it onto your griddle and begin rubbing the stone against the griddle top using a circular motion in the oil.
If the particles start bunching up as if they are getting dry then add some more oil. You want to be able to slather the stone particles and the oil into a thin wet mush that will carry away the foreign particles as you continue with the circular motion. Don’t forget the sides.
Okay, we are getting closer. Turn the grill off and give it a minute to cool and start rubbing paper towels across the surface of the griddle, It should look pretty nasty.
Once you have all the crud and griddle stone particles gone you should start to see more of a gray surface minus the rust. Drizzle more oil on the griddle surface and repeat the previous step, rubbing the stone getting any of the areas or spots that may still have a tint of rust.
Continue repeating this step till you are satisfied that the griddle is as clean as you can possibly get it. You will see the paper towels getting less nasty as your griddle gets cleaner.
Seasoning a Blackstone Griddle
Ok, now you have things going your way! You should have a clean grayish griddle with maybe a few micro black specks from last year’s seasoning.
Adjust the grill to about medium heat and put a tablespoon dollop of the Blackstone bear grease in the middle of your now clean griddle.
While that is melting, reach and grab the roll of paper towels, unrolling a couple of sheets or more if you have those half or quarter-sheet ones.
Roll the sheet up and fold it in half and use it to spread your now melted oil across the surface of the griddle. This will give you better results if you spread the oil on thin.
Now it should be getting hot by now and it was at this point that I turned mine up to about 3/4’s on the dial, just below high. I did adjust it up and down a few times till I got it just right.
It will not take long and you will start to see smoke meandering up from your grill. If you start to smell a strong burnt smell, then turn it down a notch. You are finished with this cycle when it stops smoking.
Next, turn your burner off and let it cool off to the point that you can touch it. Start the same process over again, putting a thin layer of Blackstone seasoning oil on and turning the temperature back up, getting a good smoke, and turning it off when it stops smoking.
I would estimate each burn cycle to take about thirty minutes and the cooling cycle the same. Do this again and again till you get the results that you want. I seasoned mine 6 cycles then grilled sausage and veggies right after.
You will find that each time you use your griddle you are going to see more and more of the black seasoning that you want, spreading out farther and covering your entire griddle surface.
When you use your griddle, it is important to put a thin layer of oil on the griddle before you put it away. This will protect your griddle and condition your new layers of seasoning. GRIDDLE ON!