Four weeks into a new flat top and the patina is finally right

I switched from cast iron to a 36 inch flat top at my food truck in Austin, and for the first two weeks the seasoning kept peeling no matter how I treated it. After scraping it down bare and running a few heavy bacon shifts with a proper oiling routine between services, the surface turned that deep black and food stopped sticking at all. Anyone else find it takes a solid month of daily abuse before a flat top behaves, or did I just do the setup phase wrong?

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fiona_lewis378d ago

Think about the oil you're using before you blame the routine. Most folks I know who get peeling within the first month are laying it on too thick, or using something with a low smoke point like olive oil. I run my flat top with a thin coat of grapeseed after every service and it's been solid for years, no need for a full month of "abuse" to get there. Maybe your heat control is off too, like getting it screaming hot before the oil's even had time to bond. Honestly, sounds like you fixed it, but I'd say that timeline is more about trial and error than some magic 30 day rule.