How to Prepare a New Grill | First Fire-Up Done Right

That first hot session is what separates clean-tasting burgers from food that picks up a faint metallic or chemical note. New grills ship with protective coatings, packing dust, and oils from the factory that you don’t want on your dinner. Whether yours runs on gas, charcoal, or electricity, the prep follows the same arc: unpack, clean, optionally season, then burn off. Your owner’s manual is the final word on any step, but the process below covers what nearly every manufacturer expects.

Unpacking and Initial Inspection

Start by stripping away everything that came with the grill—stickers, plastic wrap, cardboard sleeves, and packing foam from inside the cooking box and out. Leftover packaging is the most common cause of a smoky, foul-smelling first fire-up, and melted plastic is a nightmare to scrape off a new grate.

Set the grill on a flat, stable surface away from structures, and read the Use & Care Guide before you light anything. The manual lists your model’s specific first-use steps, and those override generic advice found online.

Cleaning and Seasoning the Grates

Wash the cooking grates to remove shipping residue before the first meal. Char-Broil’s guidance for new gas grills is straightforward: wash the grates with mild dishwashing liquid, rinse them with hot water, and dry them completely. Do not put cast iron or painted steel grates in a dishwasher—the detergent and cycle will strip their finish.

After drying, check whether your manual calls for seasoning. Many manufacturers recommend a thin, even coat of high-heat oil such as vegetable or canola oil, worked into the corners and edges. If the manual says to season, use only a light layer; excess oil will smoke heavily and can drip into the burners during the burn-off.

Burn-Off: The First Preheat

This step removes whatever residue remains, and it is not optional. For gas grills, verify the supply connection first: attach the propane tank or natural gas line per the manual, then check every connection with a soap-and-water solution. Bubbles mean a leak, so tighten and retest before lighting.

Once the connections are confirmed safe, light the grill following the ignition instructions in your manual, set all burners to high, and close the lid. Weber’s US blog recommends preheating a new grill for 20 minutes before first use to burn off packing material or oils, and Char-Broil’s guidance says to heat until the oil smokes and then stops smoking, roughly 15 minutes. Many owner’s guides simply say to preheat on high for 10–15 minutes or until the cooking grate reaches about 500°F (260°C). Any of those windows works; the signal that you are done is when the smoke clears.

Electric grills warm up faster—one manual example calls for just 4–6 minutes on medium or high heat before first cooking. Charcoal grills need the same burn-off: light a full chimney of coals, spread them, and let the grill run hot with the lid down until the residue stops smoking.

First Cook and Beyond

After the burn-off cools, give the grates one more light coat of high-heat oil if the manual recommends it, then cook as you normally would. Your first few meals may still produce a little extra smoke as the grill finishes curing, which is normal.

If you are shopping for your first grill rather than prepping one you already own, a roundup of the best budget BBQ grills can point you to a model that fits your patio and your wallet.

Do the burn-off once, and every cook after that starts clean.