Season a Carbon Steel Cooktop (The Right Way)

The Quick Take: How Do You Season a Carbon Steel Cooktop?

To season a carbon steel cooktop on your Arteflame, build a fire to heat the steel until it is hot enough to smoke cooking oil. Wipe a very thin layer of high-smoke-point oil, like grapeseed or canola, across the entire flat surface using a cloth and tongs. Let the oil smoke and burn off completely, then repeat this process three to five times until the steel turns dark, slick, and non-stick.

What Is the Best Oil for Seasoning Carbon Steel?

Choosing the right oil is the most critical decision you make before lighting the fire. You need a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point. When heated, these oils undergo polymerization, a chemical reaction where liquid fat transforms into a hard, slick shell. This bonds directly to the carbon steel to create a tough, non-stick, rust-resistant layer that will last for years.

Grapeseed oil and canola oil are the absolute top performers for seasoning carbon steel cooktops. Grapeseed oil has a smoke point of 420 F and provides an incredibly durable, smooth finish that resists chipping. Canola oil has a smoke point of 400 F, making it an inexpensive and widely available alternative that performs just as well. Avocado oil is another excellent high-heat option with a massive smoke point of over 500 F, though it is significantly more expensive for a large outdoor griddle.

Some oils do more harm than good on a high-heat grill. Extra virgin olive oil and butter have low smoke points and will burn, leaving a bitter residue rather than a slick patina. You also want to avoid animal fats for the initial coats, as they contain impurities that disrupt the bonding process.

Pro Tip: Avoid using flaxseed oil or bacon grease for your initial seasoning. Flaxseed oil creates a brittle layer that tends to flake off on high-heat flat tops, and bacon grease contains salt and sugar that prevent the oil from bonding properly to the bare steel.

Key Facts: Carbon Steel Seasoning at a Glance

Before you start building your fire, gather your supplies. You do not need any special chemicals, expensive degreasers, or complicated equipment. Seasoning your Arteflame is a natural process that requires just basic grilling tools, the right cooking oil, and a steady wood fire.

How to Prepare and Light Your Grill for Seasoning

Your Arteflame grill uses a wood or charcoal fire built directly in the center, heating the solid carbon steel cooktop from the inside out. There are no knobs to turn, no temperature gauges to monitor, and no oven to preheat. You need a hot, steady fire to reach the temperatures required for the cooking oil to polymerize and bond with the steel.

To get started, skip the lighter fluid. Pour a little vegetable oil on three paper napkins. Place the oiled napkins in the very center of the grill, stack your dry firewood over them in a crisscross or log-cabin pattern, and light the paper. The fire will draw oxygen from the center opening and begin heating the heavy Corten steel body and carbon steel cooktop.

Let the fire burn for about 20 minutes. You will know the cooktop is ready when you can feel intense heat radiating from the center. The flat solid-steel cooktop griddle surrounds the grate, creating natural heat zones. It will be hottest near the center and cooler toward the outer edge. This gradient is perfect when you are cooking, allowing you to move food outward to finish gently or keep warm. But for seasoning, you need the entire surface hot enough to smoke oil, so build a robust fire that pushes heat all the way to the edges.

Step-by-Step: How to Season the Cooktop

Once the heavy carbon steel is hot, it is time to build your non-stick surface. The secret to a bulletproof, durable patina is applying the oil in extremely thin layers. If the oil pools, drips, or looks wet, you have applied way too much, and it will become sticky rather than smooth.

1. Clean the steel: If this is a new grill, wipe away any factory dust. If it has been used, scrape any debris into the center fire using a flat metal scraper. Wipe the surface entirely clean with a dry cotton cloth held firmly by your tongs.
2. Apply the first coat: Dip a clean cloth or folded paper towel into your chosen seasoning oil. Using your long metal tongs, wipe a micro-thin, even layer of oil across the entire flat solid-steel cooktop. It should look like a light sheen, not a puddle.
3. Let it smoke: The oil will immediately begin to smoke as it hits the hot steel. Watch the surface carefully. This smoke is exactly what you want; it indicates the oil is breaking down and polymerizing into a hard shell.
4. Wait for the smoke to clear: Leave the oil alone until it stops smoking completely. When the smoke clears, it means that specific layer has fully baked into the metal.
5. Repeat the process: Apply another micro-thin layer of oil, wait for it to smoke, and let it burn off. Do this 3 to 5 times in total. You will watch the steel transform from a dull metallic gray to a dark, glossy, non-stick black.

Pro Tip: Pay special attention to the inner edge of the cooktop near the center fire. This area gets the hottest and requires thorough, repeated oiling to prevent the seasoning from burning off during intense, high-heat cooks.

How Do You Maintain a Seasoned Carbon Steel Griddle?

A well-seasoned carbon steel cooktop gets better, darker, and more non-stick with every single cook. Unlike traditional gas grills that require constant deep cleaning, scrubbing, and replacing rusted parts, maintaining an Arteflame solid-steel griddle is fast, rugged, and straightforward. The natural fats from your steaks, burgers, and vegetables will continually add microscopic layers of seasoning to the steel while you cook.

To keep your cooktop in perfect condition and ready for the next backyard cookout, follow these simple maintenance rules after every meal:

• Scrape all food residue and leftover grease inward, directly into the fire, while the grill is still warm. Because the grease drains inward into the fire, there are no messy grease traps to empty and no dangerous flare-ups to worry about.
• Wipe the warm cooktop with a clean, dry cloth or paper towel to remove any remaining fine debris.
• Apply one final, very thin coat of cooking oil over the entire flat surface. This acts as a barrier to protect the steel from moisture and rust before the grill cools down.
• Never use wire brushes on your cooktop. They can scratch the steel and leave dangerous metal bristles behind in your food.
• Never use chemical degreasers or dish soap. These harsh agents will strip the hard-earned, polymerized seasoning right off the metal, forcing you to start the seasoning process all over again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my carbon steel seasoning sticky or gummy?

A sticky cooktop happens when you apply too much oil at once, or when the grill is not hot enough to fully burn off the oil. To fix a sticky surface, build a hot fire in your Arteflame, let the steel heat up, and allow the gummy oil to burn off until it stops smoking. Then, wipe it down with a dry cloth and apply a much thinner layer next time.

Can I use olive oil to season my grill?

Extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point of around 375 F, making it a poor choice for seasoning high-heat carbon steel. It will burn and degrade too quickly, leaving a bitter taste and a weak, uneven patina. Stick to high-smoke-point, neutral oils like grapeseed, canola, or avocado oil.

How often do I need to re-season the cooktop?

You only need to do a full 3-to-5 layer seasoning process when the grill is brand new, or if the seasoning has been severely damaged by rust or chemical cleaners. For regular upkeep, simply cooking on the grill and wiping it down with a thin layer of oil after each use is more than enough to maintain the non-stick surface.

What do I do about the center grill grate?

The removable center grill grate on your Arteflame reaches over 1,000 F. Use it to sear steaks, burgers, chops, and seafood to lock in juices. Because it gets so incredibly hot, traditional seasoning layers will simply burn off. You do not need to build a patina on it; just brush the grate with a little cooking oil right before placing your food down to prevent sticking.

What happens if my carbon steel cooktop rusts?

Rust on carbon steel is completely normal if the grill is left unprotected in wet weather without a coat of oil. It is also very easy to fix. Simply scrub the surface rust away with a scouring pad or pumice stone, wipe the steel clean, build a fire, and run through the standard 3-to-5 layer seasoning process to restore the cooktop to perfect condition.