Seasoning a Weber Genesis E-435 - Necessary or Not?


 
G

GastonC

New member
Hey everyone! 👋

I just bought a Weber Genesis E-435, and I’m super excited while I wait for it to arrive. Can’t wait to fire it up!

I’ve been researching whether it’s necessary to season it before first use, but I keep finding mixed opinions. Some say it’s essential, others say it’s not needed, and now I’m a bit confused.

I live in Spain, and my model comes with porcelain-coated cast iron grates. I also have the Weber Crafted griddle, which is also porcelain-coated.

So, I was wondering:
- Do I need to season this grill at all?
- If so, which parts should I season? Just the grates, or also the lid interior, cookbox, Flavorizer bars, etc.?
- Any tips on maintaining it properly so it lasts for many years?

I’d love to hear from anyone with experience on this grill! Thanks in advance for your advice! 🍖🔥😄
 
Greetings from Switzerland

The only thing that I consider truly necessary is a proper "burn off" after assembly. But that should all be written in the manual. Get it piping hot for several minutes to burn off all production/assembly residue.

I'd season the grates and griddle. Those see regular scratching, scraping and cooking oils. The lid does not need seasoning. It gets all kind of sut layered on it. I brush that off with a non-metal brush, and that's it. The flavor bars... I mean it won't hurt them, but personally I don't.

As for maintenance, you can argue an enamel coating does not need seasoning. But my enamel griddle insert has a much better non-stick property since I gave it a proper seasoning. Similar for the grates.

I believe I have cast iron grates. Any kind of enamel is long gone by this point. I store them "wet". Every cook, they get a scraped, brushed by a steel wire brush, wiped clean and then a thin layer of olive oil. I put some olive oil on a paper towel and wipe my grates. For what anecdotes are worth, they are rust free for close to a decade.
 
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Seasoning is not necessary. I usually give it a good wash with hot soapy water first. Then do the burn off as noted above. Although personally, I do a couple coats of veg oil for kicks.
 
I do a hot burn off on all my cooking items.
Our oven reeked the house out with an unnatural smell.
I’m not sure if it’s the oil used in manufacturing or a random piece of plastic that didn’t get cleared out.
Regardless of what causes the smells it gets a hot run
Some manufacturers say this is not necessary and I think If I remember correctly Weber is one of the companies that say it is not needed.
I’d hate to lose a nice cut of meat because of this.

Seasoning is is really not the same thing.
 
LMichaels said:
The enamel is not gone. Unless you damage it. Though honestly if you damage those coatings I'd replace the item(s). Because the last thing I want to eat are porcelain chips
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Yes, you are right. Should not have made that comment. My grates have not chipped. If they chip, they should be replaced.

I was told the grates were cast iron, and I treated them as such. Never did I question the original information. For an enamel coating, my grates had a pretty rough surface. With regular seasoning and "wet" storage, my grates hold up well. I saw other grates on youtube that were rusty and bone-dry after four years and needed replacement.
 
Jonas-Switzerland said:
Yes, you are right. Should not have made that comment. My grates have not chipped. If they chip, they should be replaced.

I was told the grates were cast iron, and I treated them as such. Never did I question the original information. For an enamel coating, my grates had a pretty rough surface. With regular seasoning and "wet" storage, my grates hold up well. I saw other grates on youtube that were rusty and bone-dry after four years and needed replacement.
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Some of the newer Weber stuff is PCI but it's in a way "impregnated" rather than simply "coated". I've noticed the rough type does not chip off. It simply stops being "effective" at stopping the rust
 
Thanks for all the input, really appreciate the different perspectives. I’ll start with a proper burn-off as suggested, just to make sure any manufacturing residue is gone.

I’ll season the grates and griddle, since it seems like adding a thin layer of oil can help with non-stick properties and general maintenance. But since everything is porcelain-enameled, I understand that seasoning isn’t strictly necessary for protection.

From what I understand, there’s no real benefit in seasoning the inside lid or the inside walls, right? Just keeping them clean should be enough?

Looking forward to getting it set up and putting all this into practice. Thanks again for the advice!
 
GastonC said:
From what I understand, there’s no real benefit in seasoning the inside lid or the inside walls, right? Just keeping them clean should be enough?
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I had one that I cleaned and the inside lid was mottled silver, black, brown.

I got the grill hot and sprayed the inner lid with some cooking spray and let it bake on. Net result was a consistent look.
 
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