How To Clean A Rusty Griddle? (And Tips To Prevent Future Rusting)

A griddle can be used for cooking various things. It is an essential item in many households for outdoor breakfast parties, brunches, and much more. However, a griddle can also easily rust and turn brown.

Cooking on a rusty griddle can make it difficult to cook some dishes. It may also affect the aesthetics of the cooking process. Luckily, you can easily clean a rusty griddle to make it shine again.

If you want to know more about cleaning rusty griddles and tips to prevent the tool from rusting again, you’re in the right place. Here is what you need to know.

Why Does A Griddle Rust?

Understanding why griddle rust will help you perform better practices. So here are the top reasons behind rusting:

1. Leaving Your Griddle Without A Coating

Every time you cook on your griddle, the tool will lose some of its protective coatings. This will make it vulnerable to oxidizing particles, humidity, and moisture. The tool will also lose its protective coating if you leave it in an outdoor setting without a cover.

2. Cook Foods With High Acid

A griddle can be used for cooking various dishes for a party. Of course, you must avoid putting some things on the tool if possible. Citrus fruits such as oranges and vegetables such as tomatoes have high acid content.

Typically, a griddle is made of iron as the primary component. The acid will react with iron to corrode it. Because of this, rust will gradually develop on your tool.

3. Letting The Griddle Be Unclean

Cleaning your kitchen tools is necessary to prevent microbes and rust from building on them. If you let your griddle stay unclean for a long time, the appliance will start to degrade and corrode. So you will face a rusty cooking surface.

Besides that, not drying the tool properly after cleaning can also cause rust. This is because rust develops on wet spots more easily than on dry parts. 

Things You Need To Clean A Rusty Griddle

• Heat resistant gloves
• Metal scraper or wooden spatula with a flat head
• Cooking oil
• Microfiber
• Grill stones

How To Clean A Rusty Griddle?

Here are the steps you must follow to clean a rusty griddle:

1. Scrape The Rust

You must wear your heat-resistant gloves and turn on the griddle. Let it heat up so that rust can loosen up. It is advisable to keep the tool on high heat for at least 25 minutes.

Allow your tool to cool down a bit before using a metal scraper or wooden spatula for scraping off the rust.

2. Scrub With Stones

After scraping, you must apply at least 5 tablespoons of oil on your griddle’s cooking surface and use a grill stone for scrubbing it. You may also use sandpaper with medium grit if you cannot get a stone.

3. Wipe The Griddle

Wipe the excess oil from your griddle by using a clean microfiber cloth. You may also use another garment for wiping, but it must be smooth from all sides. After wiping, you must apply 5 tablespoons of oil on the surface again.

Scrub the griddle with a grill stone and wipe it with a clean cloth again. You must repeat this step five to six times or until there is no sign of rust on the tool.

The best part about this is that excess grease and old food residues will also be removed. So your griddle will be thoroughly clean.

4. Season The Griddle

Seasoning the griddle is necessary to offer additional protection to your clean griddle. You should use extra virgin oil for this purpose. Flax oil is also good for seasoning. Remember that you can use any cooking oil, but the earlier-mentioned ones will deliver long-lasting protection.

After seasoning, apply five tablespoons of oil on the griddle again to prevent air and water from reacting. No reaction means that rust will not develop on the surface.

5. Let It Dry

It is necessary to let the griddle dry and store it in an optimal place for a better lifespan. Typically, you must choose a dry and cool place for storing your griddle.

You must also cover the tool with a cloth to prevent humidity from damaging the protective layer.

How To Prevent Your Griddle From Rusting?

Seasoning and applying extra oil after cooking will prevent rust from developing on your griddle. However, these layers can wear off easily after cooking a few dishes. So here are other tips that will prevent your griddle from rusting again:

1. Keep Your Grill Away From Moisture

Moisture can create optimum conditions for rust development on your griddle. This is why your storage space must have a low moisture content to avoid corrosion.

You must also avoid storing the griddle in your kitchen. This is because heat from the stoves can reach your tool’s cooking surface. So the protective layer will start to wear off, leading to rusting.

2. Clean Your Griddle More Often

Cleaning your griddle more often will prevent residues from accumulating on the cooking surface. You will be able to enjoy dishes with better flavours and your griddle will shine due to no rust.

It is ideal to clean the griddle after using it every single time. This will help you maintain the tool’s optimal health. It is also necessary to re-season your griddle frequently.

Typically, you should re-season the griddle after every week to offer better protection. Of course, you can also season your tool monthly if you don’t use it frequently. Remember, Cleaning different types of griddles needs different approaches. Like, you can't clean an electric griddle like a cast iron griddle. You have to take necessary caution while cleaning an electric griddle.

Also Read: The Ultimate Guide on how to Clean a Griddle With Baking Soda
Also Read: How To Clean Non-Stick Griddle: A Complete Guide

Final Thoughts

This is your complete guide to how to clean a rusty griddle. Remember that rust mainly develops on this cooking tool if it is made of iron. The debris can reduce your griddle’s lifespan, so it is essential to clean and dry the tool properly.

You should also check your griddle every week when stored in a safe place to see whether rust has developed or not. If the appliance is rusting, checking it frequently will allow you to learn about it fast, so that you can clean it.