If you have just bought a new grill, then you need to season it properly before you start cooking on it. If you do not season the grill properly, then you are going to get a very chemical flavor out of the food. The food can get stuck in that metallic taste, and you will definitely not be getting that smoky flavor that everyone looks for in grilled food. Seasoning the grill will help you make quality and tasty food every time. It also helps with prolonging the life of the grill. There is a proper way to season grills. We have discussed how to season a new gas grill in detail below.
How To Season Your New Grill?
It does not matter what your grill is made up of. You need to season your new grill. Take a look at the steps that you need to follow to know how to season a new gas grill.
Clean The Grill
When you get your grill, the first thing that you need to do is to clean the grill. Clean your grill grates with warm water to get rid of all the dust and wood shaving that might have gotten on the grill during the shipping process. After you have cleaned the grill, you need to allow it to dry completely.
Season The Grill
After you are done cleaning the grill, you have to season it. You have to coat the grill in oil and then heat it before cooking. This will also help burn off any toxic substances that are used on the grill during the manufacturing process. The chemicals will burn off when you are seasoning the grill. Apply the oil with a brush on the grill grates as well as the lid of the grill. If you are going to be using a cast iron grill, then the oil will get into the pores of the grill and harden with the use of time to create a nonstick layer on the grill. It enhances the color of the grill as well as the taste of the grill.
Heat The Grill
Bring the heat up. Allow the oil to cook in the grill for 30 to 40 minutes. The smoke will mix with the oil, and it will impart the flavor. The color of the grill will darken, and that is a good sign because it means that your grill is getting all the flavor that you want. If you are using a cast iron grill, then you will find the rich black color on the grill with a sleek shine. This will show that the grill is getting a nonstick property. After the time being, you should stop the heat and then allow the grill to cool down. Now you need to wait for some time, and then you can start cooking on your grill. Make sure that you keep seasoning the grill at regular intervals. This will ensure that you have a good grill for a long time.
What Is The Best Oil To Season A Grill With?
Select an oil with a high smoking point. It is really important to keep this in mind. Since you are going to cook it for a long time, you do not want your oil to burn and ruin the entire seasoning process. Certain oils have a low burning point, and it is important to steer clear of them. The smoking point, if you don't know, is the temperature at which an oil begins to smoke. The oils that you should be used to season your grill should have a smoking point of around 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are several kind of oils that you can use for this process. Some of them are -
- Canola oil
- Peanut oil
- Corn oil
- Almond oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Avocado oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Olive oil, refined
- Sesame oil
Some people will use lard and other animal fat to season the grill. This is because of the intense flavor that comes from animal fat. Many people love this flavor and want it to be in their food. However, if you are using animal fat and you hear your grill for too long, then it can go bad and create an unpleasant flavor.
Soybean oil is another alternative that a lot of people use. It is easily accessible, and it has no synthetic chemicals, peanut oils, animal fats, or proteins that can trigger soy allergies.
Why Should I Season My New Grill?
There are several reasons for seasoning your new grill. Here are a few of them to justify going the extra mile before you start cooking your food.
The grill just came out of the factory, and it is going to have residual paint, manufacturing oils, and wood shavings on the grill. This is to be expected out of any recently made products. Seasoning the grill will get rid of all these unwanted substances. These can be injurious to your health, so it is always better to remove them. The seasoning process will burn it all off. It makes sure that the users are safe.
This will make sure that you have a good time cooking and cleaning the grill. Seasoning the grill will create a nonstick layer on the top of the grill. This layer will help you cook all the food that you want without worrying about it sticking to the grates. It does the cleaning of the grated easier too.
The flavor of the food will get better and better every time you use the grill. This is because when you heat the grill, you will see that smoke coming out and getting in the nooks of the grill. This enhances the flavor of the grilled food that you cook on it. This just gets a lot better than the present.
Your grill will last a long time if you season your grill regularly. We are not saying that you have to do it before every grilling session. However, you should do it a few times in the beginning before you start to do it a few times a month. Your grill will last a long time. If you do take care of the grill properly, then you can even make the grill last a lifetime.
Do I Have To Season A New Grill?
The new grill might seem to be very cool with the new shiny exterior and the grill grates, but this grill also has a lot of chemicals stuck to it after the manufacturing process. If you do not want your food to taste like these chemicals, then you need to season this grill. It might seem useless to season a perfectly new grill but trust us. You need to season it. During the seasoning process, you will need to heat the grill. This will help to burn off all those chemicals and those smells that otherwise would have ended up in your food. It makes the food you cook on the grill safer and healthier too.
The seasoning will also help in the cleaning and cooking process. When you season a grill, you do not risk the oils and gravy being stuck to the grill. When you are using cast iron grills, then it has a higher chance of getting into those little pores, and now you will not get that nonstick surface. It is important to season your grill. The smoky flavor that your grill provides will continue to deepen when you use the grill more and more. This will happen if you season your grill before use. Believe it or not, seasoning your grill can also help your grill avoid any rust. The oil creates a protective barrier that will not allow any moisture to come in contact with the grills and, therefore, prevent any rust from forming.
Conclusion
We hope that you have understood the importance of seasoning a grill. It is rather vital to make your grill well seasoned so that you can get the best grilling experience. Many people tend to skip this step because they think it is not necessary but do not make that mistake. Make sure that you learn how to season a new gas grill properly before you start using it. The steps that we have mentioned in this article need to be followed properly so that there is no effort left undone. Thanks for giving this article a read. Have a good day, and happy grilling!