First Time Use
Curing The Cooking Surface
During manufacturing, the cooking surfaces (hotplate and grills) were coated with oils, and in the case
of cast iron, with non-toxic paint. This paint will come off completely over time. Its purpose is purely
to help protect your barbeque during transport and storage.
Before first use, wash the hotplate and grills with warm soapy water, then rinse thoroughly with fresh
water. Coat the top of the hotplates and grills with canola oil or something similar. Light the barbeque
as described earlier. Leave the barbeque with all burners on low for about 30 minutes. Paint may come
off at this time. Now clean the surfaces with water and a brush. Be careful of steam coming off the cast
iron surface while doing this. The hotplates and grills are now cured and ready for use.
This process only needs to be done the first time you use the barbeque. For ongoing protection of the
cooking surfaces, follow the procedures in the Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance sections.
Fill The Fat Tray
It is a good idea to line the main fat tray with aluminum foil to assist with cleaning.
Many people also place absorbent material onto the tray.
Preparing To Cook
Lightly coat the cooking surfaces with oil. This will prevent food from sticking. Light the burners
and leave on high for about 3-5 minutes to warm the barbeque up. Once the barbeque is warmed
up, you should set the burners to your desired cooking temperature. You’re now ready to start
cooking up a feast.
Controlling Flare Up
Flare-ups are sudden bursts of flame that come up over the top of the grill. They are caused by natural cooking juices
from your food falling onto the flame tamer and then burning.
A little bit of flare-up, as well as the resulting smoke, is a good thing. It’s what gives barbequed food that unique
outdoor flavour. But if it happens too often, or if the flame lasts more than a couple of seconds, your food will char,
so you need to control it.
First of all, cooking very fatty foods will cause a lot of flare up. You should trim excess fat off your meat. Also, excess
flaring usually means your burner controls are up too high. Try turning them down.
Finally, moving the meat away from the flaring will help reduce the problem. Some very fatty foods can really only be
cooked on the hotplate, or using the indirect cooking method as described on page 17.
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