How To Season A Charcoal Grill?

ByDelores Time to Read: 7 minutes

Have you got your new charcoal grill, and are you excited to grill food for a delicious dinner? If yes, then hold yourself for a while because every grill comes with oils and impurities due to the manufacturing process. I am sure you do not want to burn these contaminants while grilling your food, as they can add nasty flavor to your food.

To prevent it from happening, you should opt for seasoning a new charcoal grill. When we hear ‘season,’ our mind thinks of adding spices to the food to make it tasty but seasoning a grill is way different as it is performed to cure charcoal grill. If you have never seasoned a charcoal grill, then no worries because I will tell you how to season a charcoal grill.

Why Is It Important To Season A Charcoal Grill?

After buying a brand-new grill, you are surely eager to cook your favorite grill food but wait until you are done seasoning it. Every grill comes with dirt and nasty oils that can make your meal unflavored. You can eliminate these toxic factory contaminants from your grill and get amazing results when you grill for the first time. Moreover, it will save your grill from rust and corrosion as well.

How To Season A Charcoal Grill Step By Step?

Seasoning a charcoal grill is also termed curing a charcoal grill. It helps you get rid of factory residual and non-edible oils and protects it from rusting and corrosion. These are some steps you can follow to season a new charcoal grill like a pro: 

Step 1: Clean Interior Of Charcoal Grill

clean interior of your charcoal grill
clean interior of your charcoal grill

You need to clean the inner surface of your newly purchased charcoal grill. Do this with a rag or damp sponge dipped in warm water to remove all the grime, oils, and contaminants from the grill. After that, leave your grill to dry in the open air before going to the next step.

Step 2: Coat The Grill With Oil

Apply a thin layer of cooking oil to the inner surface of the grill using a grilling spray or a clean piece of cloth. Only use the oil with a high heat point to avoid any hassle because it will not burn too quickly. You can use any of these oils for seasoning charcoal grill: 

  • Canola Oil 
  • Grapeseed Oil 
  • Sunflower Oil 
  • Sesame Oil 
  • Peanut Oil 
  • Avocado Oil
Coat The Grill inner surface With hot Oil
Coat The Grill inner surface With hot Oil

Step 3: Put Charcoal On The Basin

Put Charcoal On The Basin
Put Charcoal On The Basin

It is time to put in 10-pound of raw charcoal on the basin or coal grates. Before you plug in the device, amass all the charcoal in the center of your grill. After that, you have to bury the electric charcoal starter in a pile.

Step 4: Open All The Vents

As coal takes time to burn, you can speed up the process by letting all the vents. By doing so, you are allowing maximum flow of air in the charcoal grill. In addition, let the electric charcoal starter remain in the coal for at least 10 minutes until the coal lightens up.

open all vents of charcoal grill
open all vents of charcoal grill

Step 5: Remove The Charcoal Starter

Once the coal starts to burn, you should take the electric charcoal started out of the coal grate. Use the iron to evenly spread the charcoal in the basin or coal grate. After that, place the starter at some spot to cool it down.

Remove The Charcoal Starter
Remove The Charcoal Starter

Step 6: Start Seasoning

Close the lid and let your grill run for the next two hours without any break. Make sure that the temperature is between 300 to 400° Fahrenheit. Do not stop the process until the grease starts to yield smoke that gets stuck on the inner surface of your charcoal grill.

How To Season A New Charcoal Grill
start seasoning of charcoal grill

Step 7: Eliminate The Residual

After you have seasoned your brand-new charcoal smoker, discard the waste. Do not dump the ash and unburned charcoal before they are completely cool. Coal remains hot for hours after burning, which can be dangerous to dispose of immediately after the seasoning process.

Video Guide

How To Season The Grill Grates?

You can season the grill grates in two easy steps as given below: 

  1. Coat the grill grates with high heat oil and then turn the grill on at full temperature. 
  2. Wipe off any skimpy oil with tissue paper. Let this process continue for about 15 to 20 minutes until the oil starts to smoke.

Frequently Asked Questions

The oil you can use for seasoning must have high heat points so that it will not produce a burning smell on heating up. Unlike other cooking oils, olive oil has a low heat point, which implies that it is not great for seasoning your grill.

Yes, charcoal grills must be seasoned before you use them for the first time. It comes with toxic factory chemicals and oils that can impure your food due to the nasty smoke they produce when burned at high heat.

You should season your charcoal grill at a high temperature between 250 to 275° Fahrenheit. Let it go for 2 hours at this temperature, and you can add wood to the charcoal grate as well.

You might have experienced that food sticks to the grates while cooking because the grates are dry. Dip a clean and soft cloth in a small quantity of oil and apply it to the grates to avoid food from sticking when grilling.

Final Words

In the end, I can say that a seasoned charcoal grill not only enhances the taste of the cooked food but also increases the life of your grill. My suggestion is to season your grill every month to ensure that it remains in great touch. You can apply coats of grilling spray to your grill after a few months because the protective coating tends to wear out.

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