What Oil To Use for Seasoning a Blackstone Griddle?

Seasoning your Blackstone griddle is key to ensuring that your food doesn’t stick to the griddle top and it’s also a vital part of rust prevention. What oil is best to season your Blackstone griddle with? Well, if you ask around, you’re likely to get a few different opinions. Some people swear by flaxseed oil, while others prefer canola oil or even just plain vegetable oil.

The truth is that the exact type of oil you use for seasoning isn’t all that important. The key is to make sure that you do the seasoning properly in the first place. It’s also important to do it multiple times to build up the seasoning and make sure it’s evenly distributed.

In general, vegetable-based oils are the recommended oils for seasoning a Blackstone griddle.

Table of Contents

• Why Is Seasoning Important?
• Best Oils for Seasoning Your Blackstone Griddle
• Oils and Other Stuff to Avoid When Seasoning Your Griddle
• What Product Is Recommended by Blackstone?
• What Is a Smoke Point Anyway?
• Conclusion
• FAQ

Why Is Seasoning Important?

Seasoning is important because it creates a protective layer of polymerized fat or oil on the surface of the griddle. This layer protects the griddle from rust and also prevents food from sticking to the surface. If you leave your griddle without seasoning it, you’ll most likely find that it rusts rather quickly. That is because most outdoor griddles are made of cold-rolled steel, which is fairly susceptible to rusting.

So do some research and season your Blackstone griddle properly. This means evenly coating the entire surface of the griddle with oil and then heating it until it smokes. Repeat that process a few times and you’ll be good to go.

Best Oils for Seasoning Your Blackstone Griddle

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, there are a few different oils that people like to use for seasoning their Blackstone griddles. They all work pretty well, so it mostly comes down to personal preference.

There are two recommendations I can make, however.

• Use an oil with a high smoke point
• Avoid using bacon grease for your first seasoning

Now let’s have a look at some of the most popular oils used for seasoning Blackstone griddles.

Canola Oil

Canola oil is one of my personal favorites for seasoning Blackstone griddles. It has a very high smoke point. In fact, with a smoke point of 460 degrees Fahrenheit or 238 degrees Celsius, it’s one of the best oils you can use for both seasoning and high-heat cooking.

Not only that, but canola oil is also great in that it’s readily available and it’s also relatively inexpensive.

Some people get confused between canola oil and rapeseed oil. Canola oil and rapeseed oil are pretty much the same things. Canola is a group of rapeseed cultivars bred to have lower levels of erucic acid.

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil is another good option for seasoning Blackstone griddles. It has an even higher smoke point than canola oil. Compared to canola oil, avocado oil is quite a bit more expensive and I am not sure it’s worth the extra money. I would rather keep the avocado oil for cooking and use the canola oil for seasoning.

Avocado oil is also considered very healthy. It’s high in monounsaturated fats and it’s also a good source of vitamins E and K. Of course, that’s gonna help with seasoning in any way, but it’s me trying to convince you to use this oil for cooking.

One specialty of this oil is that it has a distinctive flavor that can enhance the flavor of your food and this flavor can sometimes get transferred from the seasoning as well.

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is made from pressing sunflower seeds. It has a high smoke point and it’s also pretty inexpensive. Sunflower oil is a good option for seasoning and can be a great alternative when canola oil is not available. It’s also a perfectly viable option for cooking thanks to its neutral taste.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil that you can buy. It’s made from pure, cold-pressed olives and it has a lower acidity level than other olive oils. While it can be used for seasoning I think it is a total waste of delicious oil. It also has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil.

I would recommend using a cheaper oil to turn it into carbon and keeping the extra virgin olive oil for cooking or drizzling over food.

Olive Oil

Regular olive oil is another popular choice for seasoning Blackstone griddles. It’s a good option, but it doesn’t have as high of a smoke point as canola oil or avocado oil. It’s cheaper than extra virgin olive oil and doesn’t have such a strong flavor which is why it’s often preferred for high-heat cooking.

Peanut Oil

Peanut oil is made from pressing peanut kernels. About 50% of the peanut kernel is fat. Peanut oil has a high smoke point and it’s not as expensive as avocado oil, making it a popular choice for seasoning.

I’ve never used peanut oil for seasoning myself but I’m told it works great.

Grape Seed Oil

Not to be confused with rapeseed oil which is a completely different thing. Grape seed oil is made from the seeds of grapes and it has a pretty high smoke point. Its flavor is not exactly neutral and it’s generally quite expensive which is not surprising given the source. Again, it’s a great oil but I’d reserve it for cooking purposes instead.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a white solid at lower room temperature but it melts quickly when heated. It doesn’t have the highest smoke point but can still be used for seasoning. It’s high in saturated fats so it’s not as healthy as some of the other oils on this list.

Unrefined coconut oil is also said to give food a slight coconut flavor so it might be a good choice for some exotic dishes.

Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is cheap and it’s usually not exactly the healthiest oil out there. Vegetable oil is a processed blend of different oils, so the smoke point can vary somewhat depending on the brand you buy. However, in general, the smoke point is pretty high. Does it matter that it’s cheap and does not have the best nutritional value? Nope, not for seasoning. You’re gonna burn it anyway.

Oils and Other Stuff to Avoid When Seasoning Your Griddle

Some stuff is better left off your griddle for seasoning purposes. Here are a few examples.

Flaxseed oil

This might come as surprise because flaxseed oil is a popular choice among many people who season their griddles and pans. Even Blackstone themselves used to recommend this oil.

The reason I don’t recommend using it is that there are way too many reports of flaxseed oil seasoning coming apart and flaking off in huge chunks. There are other reasons as well – it is a low smoke point oil and it’s way too expensive when compared to for example canola oil.

Of course, if you want to, you can go ahead and try it yourself. However, be prepared to reseason your griddle if things go south.

Bacon grease

I know, I know. Seasoning your griddle with bacon grease sounds amazing. But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

The main reason I don’t recommend using bacon grease for seasoning is that it’s not pure fat. Bacon has a ton of salt and other stuff in it that can screw up the seasoning.

Don’t let that discourage you from griddling some bacon, though. Just don’t use the grease for seasoning or at least the first couple of layers.

Butter

Just like bacon, butter is not pure fat. It has water and milk solids in it which can ruin the seasoning process. Butter is perfectly fine for cooking on a griddle though, especially in the clarified form.

What Product Is Recommended by Blackstone?

Blackstone recommends using their own Blackstone Griddle Seasoning & Cast Iron Conditioner. Well, that’s not really surprising as any company is going to want you to buy their own products.

This product is a blend of canola oil, soybean oil, palm oil, and a couple of other ingredients.

Does it work? Yes, it does work very well. It is slightly different from just using canola oil or another type of oil because it’s fairly solid at room temperature. Once you put it on the griddle, it will quickly melt and it’s easy to spread around.

Now if you were to ask whether I’d recommend using this product or just using canola oil, I’d say that it’s up to you. If you want to support Blackstone and you’re happy to pay a bit more, then go ahead and use their product. If you’re on a budget then almost any other solution is gonna be less expensive.

What Is a Smoke Point Anyway?

The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil starts to smoke. Yes, I am sure you’ve figured that out too. Jokes aside, here’s what that means.

When an oil reaches its smoke point, it breaks down and starts to polymerize. This process is important for seasoning because it’s what forms the protective layer on the surface of the griddle. So when seasoning, you do want the oil to reach the smoke point.

When cooking though, the problem is that when an oil starts to smoke, it also starts to release potentially unhealthy compounds. Not only that, but the taste of burnt oil is not exactly pleasant either. And that’s the reason why you should never use low-smoke-point oil for high-heat cooking, eg. for frying, sauteéing, or griddling.

Here’s a table of commonly used oils and their smoke points:

Conclusion

To sum up, it is always more important to focus on the seasoning process itself and not fret about the type of oil you use too much. The most important thing is to get a thin even coat on the griddle top and let it burn off completely before repeating the steps.

Anyway, if you were to ask which oil would I recommend using, I would say go with canola oil. It’s cheap, has a high smoke point, and it works great.

Plus, you can always use it for cooking.

FAQ