Shoutout to the line cook who taught me how to actually season a grill

Back in 2017 at a busy spot in Portland, this guy showed me how to oil the grates with a rag on tongs instead of a spray bottle. It made all my proteins release clean without flare-ups. Has anyone else picked up a weird trick from a coworker that just stuck?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah91416d ago

The rag on tongs thing is a game changer for sure. I used to work in a kitchen where the head cook would season the flat top with a beer can cut in half. He'd pour the flat beer on the hot surface and scrape it with a brick, then wipe it clean. Smelled weird but made everything nonstick. That trick stuck with me way more than I ever expected. Simple stuff like that makes a huge difference when you're in the weeds on a Friday night.

hernandez.brooke16d ago

I used to roll my eyes at stuff like that... beer on a flat top sounded like such a hack move to me. Then I tried it one slow Tuesday after a bad shift, just to see what the fuss was about. The smell was weird at first, almost sour, but that brick scrape made the surface so clean and smooth. Now I won't even start a weekend service without doing it first... totally changed how I look at those old kitchen tricks.