A question from a newbie regarding grease fire from dripping meat inside the grill


 
J

JohnIdila

New member
I have a newbie question don't shoot me if it sounds stupid

I've never had a bbq and I just purchased a Genesis II EX-315 GBS Smart and waiting to be delivered.

I bragged to my best friend who has a GrandHall that he swears by it and loves it and told me mine is no good because the grill inside has space for the grease from the meat to drip onto the flame and make fire burning the meat on top. A lot of smoke as well.

I am like, ***, what is this story? Than I took a look at his bbq and instead of a grill with spaces that you can see the flavoriser bars there are plancha plates with ribs and the grease just goes on the sides, doesn't drip inside.

I am lost here, is it really the case? Perhaps with some grease sausages, but I can't see how it can happen on the Weber anyway?

Should I go buying a compatible plancha or Weber Crafted for my Genisis II or see how it goes first?

Thanks in advance
 
It sounds like he has Grill Grates, or that his grill has a similar grate from the factory. Either way, don’t buy what he’s telling you. The whole point of Flavorizer bars is to protect the burner tubes, and to control the rate at which fats and juice from the cooking grate get burned. If his grates have no holes and they’re holding the drippings next to the cooking meat, they’ll end up frying or steaming whatever he’s cooking.
 
Thank you, yeah it is very similar of what he has, here is a photo of his setup, they look exactly like those grill grates

That Grill Grate looks like a quality add-on I might as well buy it.

His BBQ is more than 10 years old, I can't imagine technology hasn't advanced that much that today you don't have to worry about fire from grease dipping...

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See how it goes first.

The Weber will absolutely flare up if you throw something like fatty burgers onto a hot grill. This is normal. As stated above, the Weber is engineered to reduce these flareups via the flavorizer bars, but they can certainly still happen if you cook fatty food.
 
JohnIdila said:
Thank you, yeah it is very similar of what he has, here is a photo of his setup…
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That looks functionally more like a grill pan. It’s fine if you lay something down on hot metal and it immediately gets a hard sear, but put something down on a cold area and it’s just going to dump its juices and get steamed.

A key part of grilling is cooking over an open grate - or, in the case of the Grill Grates, at least a decent gap for air under the food - so that radiation and convection take over as the primary modes of heat transfer to the food. Grease management isn’t about technology - it’s about understanding your food and what you’re doing to it.
 
JohnIdila said:
I have a newbie question don't shoot me if it sounds stupid

I've never had a bbq and I just purchased a Genesis II EX-315 GBS Smart and waiting to be delivered.

I bragged to my best friend who has a GrandHall that he swears by it and loves it and told me mine is no good because the grill inside has space for the grease from the meat to drip onto the flame and make fire burning the meat on top. A lot of smoke as well.
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I always thought smoke was a good thing when grilling. Either from burned food juices or added wood. They impart a lot of flavor into your meat or whatever you are cooking.
JohnIdila said:
I am like, ***, what is this story? Than I took a look at his bbq and instead of a grill with spaces that you can see the flavoriser bars there are plancha plates with ribs and the grease just goes on the sides, doesn't drip inside.

I am lost here, is it really the case? Perhaps with some grease sausages, but I can't see how it can happen on the Weber anyway?

Should I go buying a compatible plancha or Weber Crafted for my Genisis II or see how it goes first?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
His "plancha" plates sound and look like a version of Grill Grates. Get those if you really feel the need/desire. But the drippings on a Genesis should not be hitting the burners. That is what "Flavorizer" bars are for. In fact, the name comes from the fact that drippings land on them and burn up creating the smokey flavor that gets imparted back into the food being cooked.

If you want, you could just buy a griddle for your grill which funnels all the juices and drippings off to a collection tray or down off and into the side of the grill.
 
Welcome John,

you mentioned the Genesis II EX-315 GBS Smart is ordered awaiting delivery? Is it too late to change for a slight upgrade?

If you can, and budget allows, one with a sear burner in my opinion is a huge improvement to the front control 3 burner genesis.

It looks like the 325 model has the sear burner.

I haven't researched the "smart" features or the GBS, but the sear burner is in my opinion a game changer and is well worth it.

As far as the flare-ups, as others above have said that's part of the design. small flare-ups are not a concern.
 
The picture posted doesn’t look like GrillGrates to me - more like a griddle with slightly elevated grooves. For me, I would ignore that advice. Keep your grill clean, leave room on your grill for a “safe” zone you can move food to when needed, and enjoy grilling! I like cooking on a regular Weber setup but also with GrillGrates. As was noted above, GGs have deep channels and holes that allow more heat and smoke than that griddle layout. Whether using GG or getting even more of that effect with a “regular” Weber setup (using quality grates), I think that smoke and brief flares are a part of grilling and are to be desired as @Bruce said above.
 
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Thank you all for the input, I appreciate it a lot.

I already bit the bullet on the model and snapped it up, it was 42% off so I didn't have that much choice, I basically paid Spirit money for a Genesis, the deal was too good to be passed upon.

Waiting for it to arrive and to fire it up and see how it goes.
 
Enjoy the new grill and don’t worry.

Yes, you can still get a flare up, it’s normal bad expected. You can literally just blow it out and keep going. Besides, a little flame tickling the meat isn’t a bad thing.
 
@JohnIdila , I own a G 310 and a G2 435. I used the G 310 with Weber's supplied gates for 10 years. Last year I switched over to GrillGrates on both models.

With regular grates, you should clean out your grill every now and then. For me that came after every 5 to 7 BBQs. I remove all the bars and deflectors. I use a putty spatula to scrape down those parts and all the grease I can find in the box.

A flare is one thing. A grease fire is a different story. You want to avoid the latter.

I mainly chose to buy GrillGrates for what I consider the cooking quality advantages. Less grease is a secondary benefit they provide. There are separate discussions on GGs, if you get interested.
 
Darren Lebner said:
A flare is one thing. A grease fire is a different story. You want to avoid the latter.
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Grease fire is an out-of-control situation that can destroy your grill and other flammable materials around it, like your deck, house, landscaping, etc. To avoid grease fires, you need to clean your grill occasionally--it is not self-cleaning!

See these articles I've written on the subject:

virtualwebergasgrill.com

How To Avoid A Grease Fire In Your Weber Gas Grill - The Virtual Weber Gas Grill

Grease Fires Can Be Scary! This is NOT a photo of the actual grease fire I experienced recently, but it might as well be. In early March 2022, I was vacationing with my extended family, staying in a rented house in a state park that included a Weber Genesis II E-325 gas grill. My brother …...
virtualwebergasgrill.com virtualwebergasgrill.com

virtualwebergasgrill.com

Deep Cleaning Your Weber Gas Grill - The Virtual Weber Gas Grill

In a post last year, I said I was a clean freak when it comes to my grill. But sometimes I get busy and/or lazy and I let my Weber Summit 450 go too long between cleanings. I know it’s starting to get bad when I have a hard time lighting the grill because the ignitors are … Continue reading Deep...
virtualwebergasgrill.com virtualwebergasgrill.com
 
I’ve only ever had one grease fire, doing jerky on the Smokefire. I caught it early as I noticed dark smoke and thought “that ain’t right” and pulled it away from the house, unplugged and I hosed that puppy down. Luckily all she needed was a new glow plug; had I not been out working on the truck at the same time, it may have gotten real bad real quick.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Grease fire is an out-of-control situation that can destroy your grill and other flammable materials around it, like your deck, house, landscaping, etc. To avoid grease fires, you need to clean your grill occasionally--it is not self-cleaning!

See these articles I've written on the subject:

virtualwebergasgrill.com

How To Avoid A Grease Fire In Your Weber Gas Grill - The Virtual Weber Gas Grill

Grease Fires Can Be Scary! This is NOT a photo of the actual grease fire I experienced recently, but it might as well be. In early March 2022, I was vacationing with my extended family, staying in a rented house in a state park that included a Weber Genesis II E-325 gas grill. My brother …...
virtualwebergasgrill.com virtualwebergasgrill.com

virtualwebergasgrill.com

Deep Cleaning Your Weber Gas Grill - The Virtual Weber Gas Grill

In a post last year, I said I was a clean freak when it comes to my grill. But sometimes I get busy and/or lazy and I let my Weber Summit 450 go too long between cleanings. I know it’s starting to get bad when I have a hard time lighting the grill because the ignitors are … Continue reading Deep...
virtualwebergasgrill.com virtualwebergasgrill.com
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What he said. Webers are designed to vaporize the grease drippings and cause a "flare". If you let the charred bits and debris accumulate in the bottom of your grill, they act like wicks and you will eventually get a fire. Keep it clean. Scrape out the pan.
 
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