How to clean a Rusty Blackstone Griddle

⭐️MY FAVORITE GRIDDLE TOOLS (affiliate):

1. Scrape off all the rust.
2.. Add oil and scrub with a grill brick.
3. Scrape and wipe off all the dirty oil.
4. Turn on the griddle and season it by burning off thin coats of oil.

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[JWolf]

Spent years as a line cook. Brick the griddle with water and vinegar while it is cold to remove a good portion of the rust. Scrape the rust off of the brick and turn on the griddle to 350 degrees. Brick with oil a couple/three times, scraping the oil off in between bricks. Use a griddle screen holder on top of 3M scratch pad on top of a griddle screen to clean entire griddle use cooking oil. Use the same to also get the edges and sides. Scrape off the dirty oil and wipe down with burlap or an old towel. Without oil, use the grill screen holder on top of a 3M scratch pad (no griddle screen) to polish the surface. With enough effort the griddle can be made spotless.

[bun]

Clean it with oil not water! Best advice I’ve gotten working with metals - oils are the new water lol. It even helps lift the rust and debris as it protects. You can remove rust really well with WD-40 even. I have mineral oils I use on almost everything. Cutting boards, knife sharpening, cleaning metals, oh and I guess lubricatjng too. Food safe mineral oils are so useful.

[peterjames]

I grew up in the restaurant business and couldn't wait to buy one of these. That being said, this thing is just a pain in the ass to own. I'm about to give mine, a 4-burner, a much needed cleaning. I didn't use it even one time all of last year.

[brandonkdrummer]

I use this method every time and have saved many peoples black stones using this method. Thanks!

[ruthblackman]

Thank you so much for this. It’s only my second year with my Blackstone and I was upset to open it today and find some rust. All gone now!

[saintsunday]

I ordered my new black stone but picked up a used one till the other gets here. Now to clean and prep this one in the meantime! Perfect timing as always! 🙌🙌🙌

[harleyhawk]

have a camp chef 3burner.. love it. after cleaning and reseasoning.. I take the top off, store inside the house, don't want rust.

[shawncampbell]

I used a wire wheel on a cordless drill took off all the old seasoning and rust to bare metal.

[davidstouffer]

So you’ve joined us on the “Dark Side” with Blackstone ownership!!! 👍Enjoy. Another nice video. Dave

[testticklehead]

My Blackstone is about a year old, it was outside with the Blackstone Cover over the winter. The grill was fully seasoned and covered with a light coating of oil, along with the cover. This spring I took the cover off and the grill is full of rust. I'm currently in the process of sanding and polishing the entire top. I soon realized that the factory finish was not fully finished, and has pits and grooves which allow for rust to set into the metal. Removing the pits and grooves along with polishing will help deter rust and allow for easier cleaning.
Anyone that has dealt with carbon rolled steel (Blackstone cooking surface) will tell you that the more polished the surface, the less rust and sticking. Blackstone doesn't take the extra step in finishing or polishing the grill surface because it's costly and will affect the overall price of their products. If you have the time and tools, refinish your griddle and polish it for better cooking and less maintenance.

[jarhead]

Thanks for this video, worked like a charm on my grill!

[kevinc]

Johnny, as a former fry cook (long ago) I find your videos on-point and informative. Thanks.

FYI, I just finished trying a “light re-season“
of my Pit Boss KC Combo (griddle/pellet smoker). Due to poor design of both that unit (integral metal lid doesn’t keep out rain) and the additional fitted fabric cover (two have ripped in the wind - each within 6 mo), it recently got some very minor rusting on one half when some rain infiltrated under the cover and lid. Because I caught it quickly and it was very minor, I didn’t want to do a complete re-seasoning going into the winter months (it only gets infrequent use then, due to cold & snow). Therefore I tried a light grill block scour with oil followed by a minimal re-seasoning with the Blackstone product that worked very well on my initial seasoning. For this seasoning, I did four light layers (oil-oil-cool down-oil-oil). The re-seasoning looks pretty good, but my first cook (hash brown and eggs) had some minor sticking on the eggs (even though I cooked the eggs on the side that was previously not rusted; hash browns cooked on the other side were fine). I’m thinking I should have cooked a big batch of onions first, as that had really given me an excellent non-stick surface when I did my initial seasoning on the new unit. I will do that before cooking more, but so far, I think this work-around might get me through fall/winter. I will probably do a more complete re-seasoning next spring.

I’m wishing now that I’d bought separate griddle and smokers though. More expensive initially, but the griddle would have come with a much better cover. I’m currently placing plastic sheeting between the metal lid and the fabric cover to keep rain out. I’ll have to re-engi-nerd the griddle side to ensure that stays dry during storms.

[sasensham]

Naval Jelly will remove rust a lot easier than what it took you and then clean / wash and season.

[Nick-kqsw]

Very good video, thanks for sharing. My griddle has gotten really nasty so this should help (once i get one of those bricks).

[jimmiddleton]

I hope my griddle never gets rusty but this is good info to know. Great video Johnny.

[wildernessman]

i used a course abrasive wheel on my electric grinder. then i seasoned with grape seed oil used 5 coats of oil to season it.

[dw]

Thank you for reminding me to get a beer with the subliminal(or not so subliminal) sound of a pop top cracking open mixed in with the music. Well done, Johnny. Well done. Here's to you!

[TaylorStickley]

THANK YOU!!!! Worked just fine the way you suggested. I used to work in the restaurant industry and used these and we used sprite and vinegar and that was not working on my black stone so this was super helpful.

[TheBeardedItalian]

Looks like you found a good buy. I’ve also seen people do a bunch of onions which supposedly aids in seasoning the flat top. 🤷 Haven’t tried it yet but by spring my Blackstone will need stripped down and re-seasoned I’m sure. Good video my friend! 🍻🔥

[ehazgro]

Thanks for this video! My griddle looks good as new! 🙌