Rusty grille - How to avoid

I leave a dirty greasy layer of old dead food and when I do clean it off no rust.

Spray with Pam before each use.

Don't clean it so fastidiously. Don't burn off the olive oil.

If the cast iron grill will fit in an oven, you can season it the same way as a cast iron frying pan. Use a "high heat" oil such as walnut.

For me, the heavy scrap and clean is before each use. Preheat the grill on high and stuff comes off easily, no rust.

Treat it similar to seasoning a cast iron pan.
- Yes, you clean off the food residue after each use.
- You do not do a deep clean...particularly avoid soap.
- While still hot, oil it, so the oil gets pulled into the pores when it cools and leaves a light layer on the surface.

As long as it doesn't get wet in storage, that should largely eliminate rust.

I would clean it and then put a light coat of oil on it. That's what I do to my Blackstone and it does not rust.

I was having this problem with my smoker I use maybe twice a year. Its grill is flat expanded metal, not even cast iron. I've been covering the grill with an old bath towel soaked in cheap $ store vegetable oil for several years. Problem solved. And yep, that old bath towel smells horrible, but no rust.

With the price of brisket these days I don't know when I'll use that smoker again.

2112 wrote:
I was having this problem with my smoker I use maybe twice a year. Its grill is flat expanded metal, not even cast iron. I've been covering the grill with an old bath towel soaked in cheap $ store vegetable oil for several years. Problem solved. And yep, that old bath towel smells horrible, but no rust.

With the price of brisket these days I don't know when I'll use that smoker again.

Double ditto. I don't use olive oil as it has salts in it that cause rust. Cheap vegetable oil or lard with no salt is advised.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
I shall take them to heart! :)

I grill/BBQ almost every day. Over the past 45 years I have had many cheap gas grills, 3 charcoal and one smoker. The worst thing you can do to a grill with cast iron grates is to burn the food off after cooking and not seasoning the grates for the next use. I never clean my grill after use. I clean my grill when I am going to use it and season the grates. However, if you don't cook as often as I do then clean the grates after you cook and oil the grates. I live in a hot humid place so I now have a Weber Geneses III gas grill with heavy stainless steal grates (expensive but worth it). For my 34 year old Weber charcoal grill and smoker every few years I replace the grates. I will not have another grill with cast iron grates. I have also had grills with cast iron burners that did not last 2 years. I do love my cast iron pans.

Olive oil isn't a good choice because it usually carries a distinct flavor and anything other than a refined OO has a smoke point too low for grills. They don't have any more sodium or salts than any other oils.

Any refined vegetable oil or even the Pam spray mentioned above work great.