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Football is back! Tomorrow is opening-day for most football fans. Time to put those summer, baseball tailgates to shame. But before you break out the grills for another NFL tailgate season here’s a tip for you…season your grill. And do it today, not on game day (it’s what I am doing today)!
Below is how our group goes about prepping the grill for the upcoming NFL season. Our grill is a gas grill, but the below should also work for a charcoal grill.
1 – This part sucks but it’s a must…clean the grate. The scrubbing is worth it in the end, trust me!
2-Either with a paper towel or a new, thin cloth (think under shirt) rub the grate with oil. My wife whips up some olive oil mixed with a few sprigs of rosemary, fresh oregano, 2-3 cloves of garlic, basil, thyme, and a dried red chili pepper.
3 – After the grate is coated with the oil, heat the grill to 400+degrees, and close the cover. This will bake a layer of oil onto your grate.
4- After about 10 minutes, turn off your grill and let the baby cool off completely. Even while the grill is cooling down the oil run will continue to bake and become harder.
5- Bad news…you need to repeat steps 2-4 another 2-3 times. Again, so worth it in the end.
6- On game day and each grill afterwards, rub a bit more oil on the grill. With the oil I suggest also rubbing an onion lightly seasoned with a BBQ rub. Your grill grate now will add some seasoning to your foods, your meats will stick less to the grate, and clean-up after the game becomes easier.
And since it’s opening-day and your grilled is now primed for some cooking, how about breaking in the season by grilling some steak.
Combining sun-dried tomato seasoning, roasted garlic seasoning, with some salt and pepper makes a simple, yet dynamite steak rub. Enjoy!