What would be the best thing to use to season a cast iron grill?
Your friend is absolutely correct - and you, too, are correct in stating that it is indeed counter intuitiveI find it very difficult to accept - and I know it is trueMy own personal experience with this phenomenon was in the middle of winter - after some minor mechanical repairs and in an ill conceived rush to get an automobile over to the paint shop (which was approximately 2 miles away) we filled the radiator with water and brought it up to teperature in the garage and headed outSince we were going to leave it in the heated paint shop when we arrived, and we KNEW the water wouldn't freeze at ~160 degrees F in such a short run, it didn't concern us at all - you guessed it - we were wrong! The engine overheated and we found the radiator was full of iceThe cold air rushing through the radiator had frozen the ~160 F water before we had arrivedThere are many theories as to why this happens, but none is totally accepted as the one and only conclusive factBut you can believe it because it is indeed the truth.
Any closed cell insulation is a good match for applications with water, my personal preference is with the rubber product as it seems to last longer before the material gets brittle and crumbles off.
I would use the foam rubber type (usually black, in color)Actually, it's more like a foam plastic, than rubberIf you live where the temps drop below freezing, however, you may need more than insulation on the pipes.
Ok go to your favorite home improvement store, and ask for heat tapeIt is a short run of wire you put on your pipesYOu plug in the other endIt draws a tiny but of electricity, but your pipes will not freeze.
Wash the grill with soapy water and dry it well with a towelUse Crisco shortening better that liquid oil to rub the entire grill, do not leave an inch without this coat of Crisco, it doesn't need to be a thick coatPut it inside a heated oven to 300 FPosition the skillet upside down in the oven with aluminum foil under it to catch any dripping from the criscoWait for 20 minutes, the oil by now should be absorvedNow raise the oven temperature to 500 F for one hourCheck your cast iron grill, it should have an even, black, shiny sheen, if it does you are doneIf it doesn't have that shiny sheen coat raise the oven temperature to 525 F and wait for 30 more minutesIt should be ready by nowTurn the oven offYou can have in detail the entire process in this siteWe took it from here to season aour brand new cast iron grill and it worksGood luck!
