Treat Your Grill Grates To A Seasoned Oil Lather For Amplified Flavor
Coating your grill grates in oil is a key step to mess-free grilling, but it's also an opportunity to amp up the flavor of whatever you're cooking. The first step is properly seasoning the grill which helps inhibit rust development, so your grill grates stay in tip-top shape for whenever the grilling urge strikes. The concept of seasoning your cast iron or stainless steel grill is similar to seasoning a cast iron skillet — the oil fills tiny pores and builds a layer of protection on the metal surface which, when done correctly, creates a nonstick layer.
Coat the grill grates in a thin layer of heat-tolerant oil using a silicone brush or kitchen towel that you don't mind getting dirty. Turn the heat on and let the oil burn off — this should take about 15 minutes. Turn off the grill and add another thin layer of oil once cool and consider this process to be regular maintenance.
Each time before you grill, you should also be coating the grill grates in oil to not only prevent sticking but also flavor your food. As the oil heats, it will start to smoke. That smoke perfumes your food with that irresistible grilled taste. Since you're using oil anyway, why not use a seasoned oil to really dial up the flavor of grilled hot dogs, sausages, proteins, and veggies that can stand up to the char of your grill?
What kind of seasoned oil should you lather on your grill grates?
The most important quality to consider when selecting an oil to brush on your grill grates is the smoke point. Oils with a high smoke point can be heated to a greater temperature before they start to degrade — which is especially important when cooking over an open flame.
Choose refined oil over unrefined oil as the sediments in unrefined oils tend to smoke more easily. Canola, grapeseed, vegetable, peanut, sunflower, avocado, corn, and refined coconut oil are some of the best high-heat oils to use. Regular, light, or pure olive oil would also work well, but avoid extra virgin olive oil. EVOO has not been heat processed, so it is more flavorful than regular olive oil, but also more delicate, so save it for a finishing drizzle.
There are tons of options of flavored, heat-tolerant, oils on supermarket shelves, but you can also make your own. Try using an oil infused with aromatic ingredients like thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, or citrus peel, but it may be best to avoid chili oils so you don't accidentally gas yourself with capsaicin. Make garlic confit by slow-cooking fresh garlic cloves in oil for an hour or so. Strain out the garlic, use the oil on the grill grate, and mash the sweet and savory garlic cloves into mayo for a delicious hot dog or burger bun spread. Let your creativity run wild!