How To Season a Stainless Steel Griddle: A Guide
You just got a new stainless steel griddle put together; just before you put it up to be used, you need to season it. Everything you need to know about how to season your stainless steel griddle is outlined in this helpful guide.
One of the best things you can do to increase the lifespan of your griddle is to season your stainless steel cooking griddles. At least every four months or so, you should season your stainless steel cooking griddle. It is logical you integrate it as a segment of your habitual maintenance schemes. Overall, we cannot emphasize enough how crucial it is to season your griddle properly.
What Is Seasoning?
Seasoning is the process of polymerizing the surface of your stainless steel griddle to make it fit for seamless griddling.
Seasoning is done by creating a coat that is both non-stick and protective, which is made by smearing a light coating of oil, such as flaxseed or canola oil, on a surface. Heat is applied to these high-temperature oils, which polymerize on the griddle’s frames due to the high temperatures.
How To Season Your Stainless Steel Griddle For First-Time Users
Contemplate adhering to the conventional norms for seasoning a stainless steel griddle for the unprecedented time, even if it is an at-home or an outdoor griddle:
1. Get the Oven Ready
It would be best if you preheat the oven to 350-400°F. Subsequent to lubricating it, you’ll position the new cookware in the oven.
2. Go for a Befitting Oil
To avoid the oil starting a fire inside the oven, hand-pick an oil with a minimum burning point of 400°F. These are awesome selections of avocado, flaxseed, canola, and vegetable oil.
3. Scrub the Griddle
It would be best to wash the new griddle with hot, soapy water because a new stainless steel griddle will have residue straight out of the factory. It would be best if you washed your griddle in heated, soap suds at this distinct period and do not attempt it again. It is vital to desiccate the griddle thoroughly.
4. Smear a Thin Coat of Oil to the Griddle’s Surface
Smear a thin coat of your grease choice to the griddle’s surface using kitchen paper or a clean towel. To avert oil dripping around your workspace, use the towel to absorb extra oil. You don’t want to muddle up your space.
5. Place the Stainless Steel Griddle in the Oven
Warm the griddle for three-quarters of an hour in the oven as soon as you lubricate it. You must ensure that it stays for this timeframe: this action is expedient so that the oil can create a non-adhering surface on the griddle.
6. Re-heating and Re-layering
Heating up and layering with oil will be repeated in three cycles. Put on flame-resistant gloves whenever you remove the griddle out of the oven to put on a fresh coat of oil. Grasp the lubricated kitchen paper or dishcloth making use of tongs to prevent burning your hands.
7. Repeat the Seasoning Process if Required
You can repeat the whole seasoning methodology if you become conscious of any corrosion or burnt buildup. The stainless steel griddle can be scoured as though you just got the griddle.
What Next After Fully Seasoning Your Stainless Steel Griddle?
It is advised that you carry out the following procedures after seasoning for the first time and each time you grill:
To prepare for cooking, power your griddle and let it heat up.
Use a brass grill brush to clean up any leftover food from your prior culinary endeavors.
Before cooking, brush the grids with a silicone basting brush with high-temperature oil, such as flaxseed or canola oil.
What Justifies Seasoning Stainless Steel Griddles?
For several reasons, seasoning a griddle or any stainless-steel cooking surface frequently used is always a brilliant idea.
Therefore, what is the purpose of seasoning your stainless steel griddle?
Thwart Sticking
Food may adhere to stainless-steel griddles if you prepare meals without lubrication. When cooking, many people add oil or fat, which is frequently insufficient to complete the task.
Frequently seasoning your stainless steel griddle with an oily layer will keep food from adhering on every cooking occasion. Naturally, preparing meals on a surface where they often stick is unpleasant.
Prevents Rust
Preventing rust is a further factor in the necessity of seasoning your stainless steel griddle. Rust will develop when steel is exposed to a lot of air and moisture, especially over extended periods.
Cooking on a rusty surface can be a little dangerous, but it’s also often unpleasant. Nobody desires to consume meals prepared on a very rusted griddle.
Maintaining a Griddle Regularly
Let’s go over some additional crucial advice and associated issues since you’re now equipped with the knowledge of seasoning your stainless-steel griddle and why it’s vital.
Tidying Up
One thing you should do is clean your stainless steel griddle frequently, ideally after each usage. Regularly emptying the grease containers is one crucial action to do.
Additionally, always use a grill scraper to eliminate leftover food particles after cooking. You can more easily remove fresh food than wait for it to become stuck-on food. You avoid damage by getting rid of the debris before it’s stuck.
Seasoning
Contigent on how habitually you use it, you ought to season your griddle around once a week. Omitting your seasoning procedures degrades the quality of the cooking surface and the flavor of your dish.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which Oil Works Best to Season a Griddle Made of Stainless Steel?
The best oils to season stainless steel with are sunflower, avocado, corn, or peanut oil. Virgin or extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and canola oil should not be used by you for a season since they have too low a smoke point.
Is Seasoning Your Stainless Steel Essential?
A new griddle looks fantastic when unwrapped but is not yet ready to cook. You must season the stainless steel exterior appropriately to make it rust-free and non-stick, just like an unseasoned cast-iron griddle.
What Can You Use to Prevent Rust on Stainless Steel?
Use high durability silicon coatings, such as Silcolloy and Dursan, after the rust has been removed to increase the corrosion resistance of stainless steel and other alloys.
Is Coating Necessary for Stainless Steel?
Despite its corrosion resistance, stainless steel still needs adequate corrosion protection. Stainless steel may occasionally need to be coated with extra materials to strengthen the equipment’s ability to resist corrosion.
Which Oils are Best Left Unheated?
You ought to by-pass preparing your meals with soybean, corn, canola, sunflower, and safflower oil. Due to the fact that saturated fats are relatively impervious to heat and will not easily break down when heated, this highlights why they should not be heated.
Final Words
You will experience issues if a stainless-steel griddle is not routinely cleaned, maintained, and seasoned. It will rust, food will stick, and it’s generally a significant pain in the neck! Finally, the process is not complex and not time demanding. It must be done by you frequently to be effective.
