I have my great grandmother's ERIE griddle (purchased in 1890 before Griswold put their name on them) has only been greased with bacon rind. About every 15 years I buy a slab of bacon about 4-5 inches wide, cut the bacon off, cut the rind into 2 squares - approximately - heat the griddle and rub the fat side on the griddle until it is well coated then allow it to "cook" a bit longer then turn the burner off and let it cool slowly. I have heavy cast iron grates so it takes a while.
The last time I stripped it and started over was in the early '70s when my stepdaughter put it in the dishwasher!
It is non-stick. Eggs, flapjacks, crumpets, Eng. muffins, meats, etc., slide right off.
I have used various oils on other cast iron and carbon steel pans. Forty years ago I used lard or crisco.
Lard was preferred in my grandparent's kitchen.
We used lard to grease steel baking sheets, steel bread pans, muffin tins, etc., in my mom's bakery in the '50s.
