How Do You Remove Rust From a Griddle

Are you a big fan of hamburgers, falafel patties, grilled sandwiches, pancakes, hashbrowns, steaks, etc.? All you need is an exclusive griddle at your place to create some amazing dishes. Griddles have a good flat surface with even warming and more space for cooking in large numbers. Further, it offers grease-free cooking and excellent warming capabilities.

However, many people feel discomfort when it comes to managing the griddle at their place. Let us help you understand all about the rust removal from the griddle on your own. Let us start with the top reasons which are making your griddle rusty.

What makes griddle rusty?

Before jumping to quick solutions, it is important to have a look at the key reasons making your griddle rusty. It is all in the type of materials used in making griddles. Most griddles are made using cast iron or steel. These materials tend to rust due to their interaction with water and air. 

Griddles used in high humidity areas have high chances of getting rust due to the increased amount of water in the air. Further, the griddle left in the rains and other atmospheric conditions face the brunt of the atmosphere and attain rust. So are you thinking if you can cook on a rusty griddle?

Should you cook on a rusty griddle?

The answer is a clear no. You should never cook on a rusty griddle. It is highly dangerous as rust has bacteria that may infect the food and make it unfit for consumption. Hence, it is not recommended to cook on any rusty pan like a griddle and go for its deep cleaning. 

Further, a lot of people simply don’t like to cook on a griddle full of rust. Thus, it is not appealing as well as good to cook on a surface having rust. Let us start our preparation to clean the griddle from rust with a quick list of the necessary tools and equipment.

What do you need to remove rust from the griddle?

Along with a free afternoon and a will to clean your griddle, all you need is a couple of other things like:

• Paper towels
• Metal scrapper
• Steep wool or sandpaper or grill stone
• Oil

With that being said, let us now move to the steps to remove rust from the griddle.

Steps to remove rust from a griddle:

The quick yet effective steps to remove rust from a griddle are mentioned below:

• Loosen the rust: It is easy to clean the rust when you can loosen it first. Hence, all you need to do is heat the griddle. It should be kept on high heat for at least 20 minutes in one go. All the rust will get detached from the surface. You can remove the griddle from heat using heat-resistant gloves.
• Scrapping the rust: Once you’re done with the loosening of rust, all you need to do is take the metal scrapper. It is recommended to start the scrapping using the specialized tool for griddles only. It will take some time and you need to complete it properly to get rid of every last particle of the rust from the griddle. 
• Rubbing with grill stone: After scrapping the rust, the next step is to use the rubbing on the griddle. You can go for grill stone or complete it using sandpaper or steel wool. Put a few drops of oil on the griddle surface and start rubbing using grill stone. Once done, the griddle should look properly treated and polished. 
• Wiping the griddle: The next step is to get rid of the rust and the oil on the griddle. All you need to do is take some rag or paper towels and soak as much oil and rust as you can from the griddle.
• Repeating the scrapping, rubbing, and wiping: When it comes to the rusty griddle, you may need to repeat the scrapping, rubbing, and wiping steps a couple of times. It ensures that the griddle is clean with almost no signs of corrosion or rust on the cooking surface.
• Seasoning the griddle: Once the griddle is cleaned properly, you must season it. All you need to do is take some oil and put it on the griddle’s surface to season it. This addition of the protective layer keeps the griddle in good condition over years.

How to prevent your griddle from rusting?

Yes, you know the steps to remove rust from the griddle now but how soon do you want to repeat these steps? Not too soon! All you need to do is prevent the rust from getting accumulated on your griddle by staying precautious. Some of the methods which can help you prevent the griddle from rusting include:

• It is essential to check the griddle at least once a month irrespective of the frequency of use. It will help you remove the small components of rust from the griddle surface in the place of removing large amounts of rust accumulated over a long period.
• The simple yet effective method to prevent your griddle from rusting is to get a high-quality cover for your griddle. It helps your griddle be protected from environmental factors like air, water, etc. and adds an extra protection layer.
• Keep the griddle away from the humidity and hot conditions which are ideal for the development of rust. You can keep the griddle in a cool and dry place when not in use to keep the rust and corrosion away from the griddle.
• Once you’re done cooking on the griddle, you need to clean it using a paper towel. It is important to drop some oil on the griddle and spread it evenly on the entire surface. This oil layer works as interference between the air, water, and the griddle surface. It prevents the accumulation of rust on the griddle surface.

Wrapping Up:

Hence, getting rid of rust from the griddle is no more a distant dream. All you need to do is follow the quick steps to clean rust from the griddle. Not to miss are the amazing methods to keep your griddle safe from further rusting.