How to Clean a Blackstone Griddle, According to Barbecue Pros

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It's easier than cleaning a grill.

A Blackstone griddle is a fun way to elevate your outdoor kitchen and alfresco dining setup. The popular flat-top griddles (so popular that blackstone griddle TikTok is a thing) are essentially gas-powered grills with a large, flat surface instead of grates—think a smaller outdoor version of the cooktop at your favorite diner or hibachi place. Griddle masters can whip up a pancake breakfast, sizzle all the fixings for tacos simultaneously, and flip burgers for a barbecue crowd.

Cleaning a Blackstone griddle is a pretty easy task too. In fact, it's easier than cleaning your grill—that's partly why people love them so much. Quick and easy as it may be, it's important to do every time after you cook to keep the nonstick cooking surface working its best and to help prevent cracks, chips, and rust.

"My biggest tip is to clean it after every use and make sure you're taking care of the seasoning layer," says Jeremy Pike, recipe creator at Angry BBQ. "That protective layer is what helps prevent food from sticking to the surface, which makes cleaning easier."

So follow the "scrape-scrub-season with oil" rhythm to keep your griddle in tip-top shape, says Mike Futia, founder of GrillFrenzy.com, a barbecue, grilling, and smoking site. Go over the griddle after cooking with a grill brush to get off all of the greasy food bits and prevent them from getting cooked on the next time you use it, and occasionally deep clean it with warm, soapy water and a grill scraper. Learn how to clean a Blackstone griddle step by step, with tips and tricks from barbecue pros.

The sooner you clean your flat-top griddle, the easier it will be. If you scrape while the griddle is still slightly warm, any food bits should come off easily.

Turn your griddle off, then scrape the surface down with your griddle scraper, Pike says. Scrape toward the grease tray to make cleanup easier. This will get any cooked-on bits and grease build-up off your surface and save you from a mess the next time you fire up your griddle.

If there's any stubborn debris that the scraper alone will not get off, add warm or hot water to help loosen the debris, Pike says. (Spraying it on with a squeeze bottle is what all the TikTok pros seem to do.) Then scrape again. Never use cool or cold water because it can cause the cooking surface to warp. Next, wipe the cooking surface dry. You don't want any extra moisture sitting on your griddle.

Add a small amount of cooking oil to the griddle, and spread it with a paper towel to cover the entire cooking surface. If you're not sure how much to use, go light, Pike says. "You can always add a little more," he says. "You just want to cover the entire surface in a very thin layer of oil. This will help protect the cooking surface and season it for future use."

If you use your Blackstone frequently (about two to three times per week), Futia advises deep cleaning it every four to six weeks. If you use your Blackstone less frequently (one time per week or less), then he recommends every eight to 10 weeks or so. "This will help clean out any grease buildup, excess food debris, and burnt-on grime that can be hard to get off with just regular cleaning," he says.

Make sure your griddle is turned off and cooled down. Use warm soapy water, a scrub brush, and some elbow grease to scrub down your griddle, Futia says. A spatula or grills scraper helps loosen cooked-on bits.

Scrub everything off the griddle, paying special attention to the grooves and edges, too, Futia says. Rinse it thoroughly to get rid of any soap residue.

Dry your flat-top griddle's surface completely so you can reoil it. Wipe the entire surface with oil, then turn the griddle on low for a minute or two, then turn it off and let it cool. "I like to heat it up gently to open the pores and help the oil penetrate," Futia says. "This gives it a fresh seasoned coating ready for the next backyard cookout."

Brittany Anas is a former newspaper reporter (The Denver Post, Boulder Daily Camera) turned freelance writer. Before she struck out on her own, she covered just about every beat—from higher education to crime. Now she writes about food, cocktails, travel, and lifestyle topics for Men’s Journal, House Beautiful, Forbes, Simplemost, Shondaland, Livability, Hearst newspapers, TripSavvy and more. In her free time, she coaches basketball, crashes pools, and loves hanging out with her rude-but-adorable Boston Terrier that never got the memo the breed is nicknamed "America’s gentleman."

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