Grilling Safety
Grilling Your Food and NOT Yourself

In a previous TTT (Tuesday Tasty Tip), I believe in March, I talked about giving your grill a thorough
cleaning before running out to replace your tired uneven heating grill.  Sometimes all you need to do
to bring your grill back to life is a thorough cleaning.  Since summer is upon us, I thought it
appropriate to start a series devoted to grilling and outdoor cooking.  Over the next few weeks, I will
provide you with tips, tricks and traps of the art of grilling, as well as some of my recipes.

The best place to start is “Safety.”  All it takes to ruin a perfectly great grilling is an accident
accompanied by a 6-hour wait in an emergency room and a $650 hospital bill.  The safety rules
below may all seem common sense to most.  However, realize all those safety instructions and
disclaimers in your grill’s documentation that are longer than the actual operating instructions were
written by high-dollar lawyers because someone somewhere sued the manufacturer because they
lacked common sense and wanted someone else to pay for their stupidity or ignorance.  To that
end, I respectfully submit the following safety rules.

  1. If you still have the owner’s manual, READ IT!  It will contain all the information you need to
    operate your grill safely.  If you do not understand the instructions, try finding your home
    language.  The owner’s manuals are written in English, Spanish, French, Italian,
    Portuguese, as well as the Himba, Surma, Herero, Erbore Africa dialects.  If you do not have
    your original documentation, read on, then contact the manufacturer for replacement
    documentation.
  2. ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher or water source at hand.  Check your fire extinguisher
    annually and verify a full charge.  Once used, discard it and purchase another (if yours is not
    rechargeable).  Even if it still has some charge, replace it.  Don’t gamble on a half-filled
    extinguisher.
  3. Because of the high thermal load and capability of grills, make sure your extinguisher is big
    enough to handle to the worst-case fire.  You don’t want the embarrassment of showing the
    firefighters your little $5 fire extinguisher you bought at a neighbor’s garage sale, buy the right
    size.  Bigger is better.  Make sure it is a Class B as it will put out flammable or combustible
    liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil.  The numerical rating for class B
    extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish.  
  4. Many grills are equipped with side-burners.  These are great for boiling corn and frying
    potatoes and corn chips.  Never use water to put out a grease fire.  Doing so only increases
    the size of the fire, and the number of stories people will tell about you for years.  See rule 3.
  5. While in use, NEVER leave your grill unattended, especially if children or drunk friends and
    relatives are present.  Better yet, keep your kids, pets and drunks always from the grilling
    area altogether.  Some pets, if prepared correctly can easily be cooked on the grill.  
    Quackers, my pet duck was very tasty.
  6. Outdoor grills are just that – for use outdoors.  Never use an outdoor grill inside any part of
    your house or apartment.  Guys, that includes your garage (or covered patio) on a rainy
    playoff day.
  7. Keep your grill away from the walls of the house and from under low hanging tree branches
    when in use.  Your insurance company will appreciate it.
  8. Do not use your grill during periods of high wind.  Ashes and burning embers will upset your
    neighbors when they see their landscape and eaves of the house on fire.
  9. Position your grill in a level area, such as a patio or designated lawn space, but not in similar
    areas covered with a roof.  This might be a challenge to those living in the hills of San
    Francisco, but do your best.
  10. If you use your grill on a wooden deck, a large piece of metal or a fireproof patio/deck
    protector should be placed under the grill.  Your new Grill King Master Zoom 2010 Six-zone
    grill with dual side-burners and warming tray will not work nearly as well once it has fallen
    through your burning deck.
  11. When using a charcoal grill, never add starter fluid to coals that are already hot.  This is
    asking for trouble.  The safe and proper way to light your charcoal is to build a mound in the
    center of the grill.  Spray lighter fluid on the coals soaking lightly.  WAIT FIVE MINUTES.  This
    allows the lighter fluid to soak INTO the coal and provides a longer burn.  Allow the coals to
    get complete gray with ashes.  This ensures you have completely burned off the lighter fluid,
    preventing you from having Chevron or Exxon flavored kabobs.  
  12. When lighting a gas grill equipped with automatic ignition, open the hood BEFORE turning
    on the valve to the tank or the individual burner valves/knobs.  Put another way, the burners
    should not be lit when the hood is closed.  The buildup of gas under the hood can ignite and
    cause an explosion.  This is part of the Darwin selection process where only the smartest
    survive.  Remember, Darwinian moments last a lifetime, usually counted in minutes or
    seconds.
  13. Use only quality charcoal or pre-burned coal from a reputable source.  Never use
    chemically/pressure-treated wood, such as scrap lumber building project, as fuel for a fire
    meant for grilling; that is, unless you want to have three-headed children, or some similar
    mutation.

While these safety rules are written tongue and cheek, taking them seriously will provide you with
safe and enjoyable cooking experiences for you, your family and friends.  Until next week, live and
eat well and healthy.

Blessings,
Chef David
Copyright 2010, Thyme for a Chef, LLC.  All rights reserved.