Seasoning a griddle or, how bad did I screw up?

[bigb56]

I just seasoned my griddle with the Blackstone Griddle Seasoning and Cast Iron Conditioner product they sell for seasoning (which comes as a paste with the consistency of lard) and I am not sure if I like the outcome. As the griddle got hot and the center expanded the liquid ran to the edges. I kept pushing it to the center but after 5 applications and letting it finally cool down it was built up on the edges and if I try and wipe it, it just comes off all the way down. The majority of the cooking surface came out good and has a nice black color but one edge in particular never got black, and has a thick layer of dried conditioner.
Should I just go with it or scrub it all off and start over with vegetable oil? How do you re-season, clean it off with a grill brick then start over?
Pics below, you can see the right edge and the corner where I attempted to wipe some off. (As a side note I finally realized that my swamp cooler was blowing on the edge which is likely why it didn't get hot enough to season)

 

[SmittyJonz]

I’d just cook 2 lbs of bacon on it………

 

[bigb56]

I’d just cook 2 lbs of bacon on it………

hmmm.. that might work, been wanting to try my hand at breakfast.

 

[sackedbysapp]

Season more over time.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I would say you used too much oil for actual seasoning to occur.

I'd fry the bacon and from now on as you add seasoning, do it on a hot griddle and wipe the excess oil off. You want your seasoning layers as thin as possible.

 

[Fooball]

Swamp cooler....Ha! Never heard that and I live in Florida.

 

[bigb56]

Swamp cooler....Ha! Never heard that.

No, not in FL would you hear about that. Here in the dry desert they work great though. Got one on the house, presently 105F outside and 74F in the house.

 

[Gore]

No, not in FL would you hear about that. Here in the dry desert they work great though. Got one on the house, presently 105F outside and 74F in the house.

I didn't know they still used swamp coolers, dang! I grew up in Tucson and I remember the smell oh so well and going on the roof every year and changing the pads and putting on another layer of tar inside. Wow, what memories! Whenever I visit, everyone has AC and I figured swamp coolers were becoming museum pieces. Yeah, they would never work in Florida. Heck, they don't work very well in August when the monsoons arrive.

Anyway, I was going to say, these things don't really season overnight or over a few weeks even. Just give it time and it'll get there. You'll usually begin with patchy areas, but it'll even out eventually and get good. It's a good excuse to eat a lot of bacon.

 

[Dweverett]

I’d try to scrape/wipe whatever will come up off the edges and then just start cooking. I don’t see a benefit to leaving the extra on there but it’s not worth the effort to try to start over again either. Even under the best of circumstances it takes some time for one to really become seasoned.

On GORE’s comment about being surprised swamp coolers still exist…. It’s been many years since I had one when I lived in El Paso and agree with him that in August as the rains came it didn’t work all that well. It was sooo much cheaper to operate than an actual AC unit though. It was 30 years ago so don’t remember for sure but think I was paying something like $50-75 a month to cool my 1,500 sq/ft house with one and a friend with a similar home and traditional AC was north of $300.

 

[WeberWho]

I've tried 3-4 different varieties of products for seasoning and lard has by far worked the best for seasoning. The trick is super thin coats. You don't want any liquid to pool up when seasoning it.

Like others have mentioned above just use it. You'll drive yourself crazy looking to create a perfect seasoning. Overtime with bacon, onions, etc you'll build up a natural seasoning with use.

 

[bigb56]

We have AC but we use the swamp till the rains come. I like the moisture and with AC when the humidity is so low my sinuses dry out. The odor is a thing of the past, I have a paper media and a pump that replaces the water every 6 hours. Plus we run the pad pump 24/7.
2 coolers on my shop, one on the house, one on the back porch, one in my outdoor blacksmith shop and 3 portables.
I likes me some swamp cooling.:wink:

Thanks for all the advice. My lamb chops came out great and will be using it today and tomorrow. Using propane right now and the NG conversion kit is on the way.

 

[smoke ninja]

another +1 for bacon

 

[bschoen]

Get a 1 inch wide metal putty knife for cleaning the corners.

 

[Maylar]

I read somewhere that coconut oil was good for seasoning something. Is that true? I happen to have some.

 

[1MoreFord]

If you have a gasser, coat the griddle surface with as thin a coat of oil/grease as possible and put in the gasser upside down.
The excess oil will drip off and leave you a thin coating.
You can do the same in an oven but the smoke will be bad indoors.

 

[WeberWho]

I read somewhere that coconut oil was good for seasoning something. Is that true? I happen to have some.

It might work okay for pans. I've tried coconut oil, grape seed oil, flaxseed oil, and lard for seasoning the Blackstone. Lard by far was the most effective and long lasting in my personal opinion.

 

[bigb56]

If you have a gasser, coat the griddle surface with as thin a coat of oil/grease as possible and put in the gasser upside down.
The excess oil will drip off and leave you a thin coating.
You can do the same in an oven but the smoke will be bad indoors.

Interesting. I have a large 5 burner Turbo gas grill I could try that with before I scrap it.