Can You Use Avocado Oil to Season a Blackstone Griddle?

Who would have thought that avocado oil would become the latest culinary trend? Avocado oil is now appearing in everything from salad dressing to stir-fries. It is packed with healthy fats and antioxidants.

That’s all well and good, but what about its usefulness on a griddle? Can avocado oil be used for seasoning a Blackstone griddle?

Yes, avocado oil is one of the best oils to use for griddle seasoning. High smoke point oils are recommended for seasoning and avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points of any plant-based oil. The only major disadvantage of avocado oil is its relatively high cost when compared to other cooking oils suitable for seasoning.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a healthy option that will also help to season your griddle, avocado oil is a great choice.

Table of Contents

• Seasoning with Avocado Oil – Things To Consider
  • Which Type of Avocado Oil to Use?
  • Smoke point
  • Price
  • How to season with avocado oil?
• Avocado Oil Alternatives for Griddle Seasoning
• Can You Cook on a Blackstone with Avocado Oil?
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ

Seasoning with Avocado Oil – Things To Consider

When it comes to seasoning Blackstone with avocado oil, there are a few things you need to take into account.

Which Type of Avocado Oil to Use?

Unlike many other oils, avocado oil is not obtained from the seed or a pit. The oil is extracted from the flesh of the avocado fruit.

There are two main types of avocado oil you can choose from:

• Extra virgin avocado oil – This is the most expensive type of avocado oil and it’s also the healthiest. Extra virgin avocado oil is made from pure, usually cold-pressed avocados. It has a mild avo-flavor and can be used for pretty much all cooking adventures.
• Refined avocado oil – This type of avocado oil is less expensive than extra virgin avocado oil. The refinement process removes some of the healthy nutrients and essentially eliminates its typical taste but it also gives the oil a higher smoke point.

Both types of avocado oil are suitable for seasoning a Blackstone griddle or any other cold-rolled steel or cast iron griddle or pan. However, the extra virgin oil has a mild flavor to it and some people have reported it can give food a slightly “off” taste when used as the initial seasoning layer.

Smoke point

Both the extra virgin and refined avocado oils have a very high smoke point. The extra virgin oil has a smoke point of about 480°F (250°C) and the refined oil can have an even higher smoke point of up to 520°F (270°C) depending on the refinement process.

Since Blackstone griddles can reach temperatures over 500°F (260°C), avocado oil is a great option for seasoning your griddle. You can just apply a thin coat of avocado oil on the griddle top, turn the burners on high, and wait for the magic stuff to happen.

Price

Avocado oil is not the cheapest oil around. That is partly because the oil is made from the flesh of the fruit and not from a byproduct. You either sell the avocado for the flesh or make oil out of it.

A 17 fl. oz. bottle of extra virgin avocado oil costs about 30 bucks. The refined version is about 9 bucks for the same amount.

Of course, some really cheap avocado oils can be found on the internet, but I would be suspicious of the quality.

How to season with avocado oil?

There’s no difference in the steps you should take when seasoning your griddle with avocado oil compared to any other oil such as olive oil or even coconut oil.

The goal of seasoning is to build up a nice layer of polymerized oil on the cooking surface of your griddle. This creates a non-stick layer that will protect your food from sticking to the cooking surface and also help protect the griddle’s surface from rust.

For more information, read my step-by-step guide on seasoning griddles.

Avocado Oil Alternatives for Griddle Seasoning

So although from a technical point of view avocado oil is one of the best oils you can use for both seasoning and cooking, I would say it’s perhaps a bit of waste. Just like I said about using extra virgin olive oil for seasoning, there are much cheaper and widely available oils that will work perfectly:

• Canola oil
• Sunflower oil
• Peanut oil

All three of these oils have a high smoke point and are relatively inexpensive.

So if you’re looking to season your Blackstone griddle on a budget, I would recommend one of these oils over avocado oil.

Of course, the refined version of avocado oil is not extremely expensive, but it is still more expensive than the other oils I mentioned.

So yeah, avocado oil is great for seasoning your Blackstone griddle if you don’t mind the cost. I would do the initial seasoning with something cheaper and then use the avo oil for cooking.

Can You Cook on a Blackstone with Avocado Oil?

Cooking on a Blackstone more often than not involves very high temperatures. That’s just the name of the game. For that reason, you should be using cooking oil that can withstand such high heat without burning.

As I’ve mentioned before, avocado oil is perfect for this as it has a smoke point of 520 degrees Fahrenheit. That means it’s perfectly safe to use for high-heat cooking methods like frying and sautéing.

Similar to olive oil, it is a heart-healthy oil that can help to improve your cholesterol levels.

Avocado oil is not exactly neutral in taste, or at least not the extra virgin type. This is something to consider as the oil can slightly affect the taste of the food you are cooking. The refined version is almost neutral though and can be used without worry of it overpowering the flavor of your grilled food.

So to sum up, if you’re looking for healthy cooking oil, avocado oil is a good option to try.

Final Thoughts

Avocado oil is one of the best oils for seasoning griddles, as it has a high smoke point and forms a strong bond when polymerized.

However, there are cheaper and more widely available oils that will work just as well to season a griddle such as canola oil.

But if you don’t care about the cost, avocado oil is one of the best options for both seasoning and cooking on your griddle.

Thanks for reading and happy griddling!

FAQ