My old head chef told me to stop scraping the grill every night

At a diner in Scranton, the head chef kept telling me to leave the grill seasoned overnight and just scrape it in the morning. I thought he was lazy and gross, so I kept scrubbing it shiny every night. After 2 weeks, my steaks started sticking and the flavor went flat. He was right, the buildup helped the sear and taste. Has anyone else had a boss give advice that sounded wrong but actually saved your ass?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantmartinez1d ago

Man's got that grill marinating like a cast iron skillet... I'd still give it a wipe down though, just scrape off the chunks.

sam_thomas1d ago

Feel for you man, that's a hard lesson to learn the slow way. A good chef knows that little layer of char and oil is what makes the flavor pop. Nothing wrong with trusting your gut but sometimes the old timers actually know what they're talking about.