What Order to perform Burn-off and Season

[Kascon11]

Just got a new Pit Boss 1150. Won't get a chance to break it in until Sunday. The instructions say I need to do a burn off and I need to season it with bacon fat or high temp oil. ( I will probably use canola). What order do I do this? Can I just spray the canola oil before the burn off? Do I do the burn off, let it cool and then season? I have a PBC and a Summit (gasser) so, I have no experience to draw upon. I am hoping the "Wisdom of the Pit" can shed some light on this first world problem.

[Panhead John]

I’d burn it off first with no oil, then spray it and do another. You might have drips on the 2nd burn off, so you’d want to take precautions if it’s on a surface you want to protect.

[Sid P]

This.

[HawkerXP]

I would imagine you do the burn off first, to get rid of manufacturing oils and such.

[Alan Brice]

I do like the avocado spray. high temp up around 500 degrees.

[Kascon11]

Thanks I did not think about the higher temp oils, what about Flaxseed?

[jfmorris]

What they said. You don't want your canola oil over the top of the manufacturing residue that you need to burn off - might seal some of it in.

[Kascon11]

That makes sense. I will do the burn off and then a seasoning.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Does it even recommend seasoning? Yes all will need a burnoff and should have instructions.... but as far as spraying down with something, I don't believe I've seen that as a recommendation. Just smoke up some chicken thighs or pork butt or even bacon for your first cook or two, get some greasy smoke in that thing with forgiving proteins while you get familiar with it and then cook whatever ya want.

[Panhead John]

Here’s what Pit Boss says, but I’d still do an initial burn off with no oil….just to be safe, and it can’t hurt.

https://pitboss-grills.com/blogs/how-to-season-your-pit-boss-grill-or-smoker

[Spinaker]

Burn it off first. Let it cool. Wipe as clean as you possibly can. Then heat it back up and add oil for seasoning.

[Kascon11]

After reading all the comments that is what I will do. Thanks!

[Uncle Bob]

The sequence and rationale most often enumerated above is correct. I'll add a comment about my resistance to using a bacon as a first "fat" seasoning. Some bacons contain a fair amount of sugar so they end up leaving a gummy residue that some sort of plain fat won't............so I suggest to never use bacon for initial seasoning.

[Kascon11]

I agree, I do not think animal fat seems like good choice in the hot sun.

[RiverJeff]

What I did to my grid iron was to burn off the manufacturing oils once cooled down wiped down all my removable parts with canola oil to remove any left over oil residue char put it all back together sprayed it down cold than when it hit 400 degree sprayed once more with the canola. I am THAT type of guy, my own worst enemy

[Kascon11]

I am not that type of guy... ;-) But it sounds like the right way to do it. After some research I might switch to flax-seed oil. Not sure how that will work on the enamel cooking grates, but I cannot think of how it would hurt coating them.

[Steve R.]

The answer is right there in the title. Burn off, then season.

[Kascon11]

As many on this site tend to do, I over think the obvious. Thank you for your input!

[bbqLuv]

Follow the manufacturer's directions for your pellet grill.
Welcome to the wonderful world of pellet grilling.
The burn-off first I did on my Traeger.
Spray oil such as PAM is an EZ way to oil/season the grill.

[Davek8282]

They say you should not use spray oil in non stick pans, the propellant in the spray leaves a residue that effects the non stick coating. Wondering if the same might apply to griddles? Quite a potential difference in cooking temperatures.

[Davek8282]

Uncle Bob. Most cooking sprays contain an emulsifier like Lecithin, it adheres to the non stick pan and builds up over time causing a "sticky" residue. Here's a link to one of the many articles. https://www.firstforwomen.com/posts/...-nonstick-pans

[Uncle Bob]

Davek8282 that's nice to know, about the emulsifier potential, but in your original post you said it was the propellant that caused residue..........that is what I addressed.

[Davek8282]

apologies Uncle Bob. I was going off my failing memory and after your first comment I went looking for one of the many articles available on line.

[Alan Brice]

I have a new Char Griller Grand Champ Offset on the way. I ordered the LavaLock RTV 650 to seal any gaps after the initial nekid burn. Once that has set up I am going to lightly spray Avocado oil on the entire interior and do several burns to get everything set. Then I will have pics and plans for a full packer briskie. The waiting is the hardest part! (ty Tom Petty)