Seasoning CI Grate - Tutorial

I thought I would put together a little tutorial on seasoning a Cast Iron Gate for the BGE. I searched around when I got my egg and really didn't find anything super clear with pictures so I thought I would put something together to give a little back to this wonderful community. I hope you all enjoy!!

1) Wash CI Grate with dishwashing liquid and hot water to get rid of any protective coating that may have been applied for shipping - rinse throughly and let drip dry

2) Preheat oven to 200 degrees

3) Place CI Grate in over for approximately 10-15 minutes - If your grate does not fit all the way in the over, it is ok for the door to be open slightly... do this at your discretion as we wouldn't want any kids or adults to come by and get burned (this is to thoroughly dry the grate as water and oil do not mix well)

4) Remove grate from the over and allow to cool (be very careful as it will be extremely hot)

5) Once cool, place on some aluminum foil and pull out a basting brush and some Crisco



6) Brush the inside of the Crisco then apply liberally onto the grate





7) Preheat BGE to about 250-300 degrees

8) Place grate on grill and heat it for an 1 - 1 1/2 hours



9) Now you are done and your grate is ready to use. The CI Grate will have a nice clean and protected finish on it



You will have to repeat this process more frequesntly with a new grate but will get less frequent with time. If rust occurs, it is an indication that the grates have not been seasoned enough or the seasoning has been burned off.

Do not do a burn-off after you grill, but rather leave the cooking residues on the grates to keep a protective coating on the cast iron. Do a burn-off just before you grill. The more you use your cast iron grates, the easier the maintenance will be.

Enjoy!!!