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You just bought a pellet grill and you’re ready to start cooking!
But, first things first. Season your grill before to ensure every meal is marked by pellet-grilled perfection. This one-time task takes just a few hours to complete and is well worth the effort.
Why do you need to season your pellet grill?
The seasoning process gets the grill ready for cooking and burns off any leftover chemicals or residue from the manufacturing process. Additionally, during the seasoning process, the auger operates to deliver pellets from the hopper to the firepot, ensuring a steady stream of smoke rolls through your grill.
This process also serves as a test run, ensuring all grill components are installed and working properly. Save yourself a headache–and a wasted meal–by finding out if there are issues before you’ve got a delicious cut of meat on the grill.
Finally, seasoning your grill prevents rust and build-up on the grates and components, increasing the life of your grill and ensuring your first cook is just as good as the 100th one!
How to season your pellet grill
Once you assemble your grill, it’s time to season.
Some pellet grills have a preset, built-in seasoning process, and others require owners to do it manually. Every pellet grill comes with instructions, and most include a seasoning step-by-step. It’s best to follow the manufacturer's guidelines because of differences between pellet grills; however, our information is applicable to the majority of grills on the market today.
Step 1: Plug in your grill and fill the hopper with pellets
Plug your grill directly into an outlet. Never use an extension cord with a pellet grill, as it can cause power supply issues.
Fill the hopper with the pellets of your choice. The pellet flavor doesn’t matter during the seasoning process, so use any variety of Bear Mountain BBQ pellets!
Step 2: Prime the auger
Remove the grates and heat the baffle to see down into the firepot. Then turn the grill on and set it to the highest possible temperature (or at least 400°F).
The auger will audibly engage and start pulling pellets through the auger assembly. Monitor the firepot for the next 3–5 minutes until you see pellets drop down into the firepot.
Once a handful of pellets are in the firepot, run the shutdown cycle on the grill and let it fully shut down. After this, replace the heat baffle, any drip trays or racks, and the cooking grates.
Your grill is working as intended.
Step 3: Seasoning your pellet grill
Once the shutdown process is done and all the components are back in place, turn the grill back on and set it to 400°F.
Let the grill run the full startup process. Watch to ensure there are no error codes or issues while it heats to 400°F. Once it’s fully heated, close the grill lid and let it run for 3–4 hours. This is sufficient time to burn off any manufacturing residue and leave a layer of seasoning on the entire grill interior. Then run the full shutdown process one more time.
You’re ready to start smoking food and wowing your family and friends with your grill skills!